# Cucumber Lime Basil Wine



## wildhair (Jan 23, 2021)

Here's my recipe for a *Cucumber Wine with a hint of lime basil.* I use burpless cukes, because that's what I grow - same with the lime basil. Adjust ingredients as you feel necessary - that's how I made mine. I am also attaching the original recipe I used as a model before tweaking it to my taste. I am not sure where I got the original - might have been from someone here - I aplogize for not giving credit.

It's has light cucumber taste upfront with a bit of lime basil after notes and aroma. It is nearly crystal clear wine with faint tint of green. I let it age nearly a year in the bottle before uncorking the first one.

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Cucumber Wine ~ 4-14-19
Ingredients for *2 gallon **~ Put all fruit in a mesh bag*

8 pounds Burpless cucumbers – washed, chopped w/ peels on
3 oranges ~ zest & juice
3 lemons ~ zest & juice
3 Limes – zest & juice
2 oz. Ginger root – peeled & sliced
1 cup of Reallime juice
12-14 cups sugar to get sg- 1.090
2 gal water (3 gallon mark on fermenter).
Add 3 Campden tablets. Let sit 12 hours. Then add:

1 ½ t peptic enzyme
1T yeast nutrient
2t acid blend
1t citric acid
1T Bentonite
½ t tannin

Mix dry ingredients together, then add to must. Stir. Test ph & Sg. Adjust acid if ph is over 4.00. Let sit 12 more hours, then add

Yeast – (SN9 – Vintners Harvest)

Ferment to under 1.010, then rack into secondary. Add:

1/8 cup Lime Basil – chopped & in small mesh bag. Leave in at least a month or until next racking.

Rack, remove lime basil, let sit at least a month – rack again. Once sg of .990 is reached Add :

1/8 t potassium metabisulfite (K-meta)
½ t per gal. Potassium Sorbate
Treat w/ Sparkalloid or other calcifying agents at this time.

Let sit another month to clear.

Rack & backsweeten as desired. I like this a little on the dry side, so I backsweeten with white sugar to about 1.010 sg. Allow to sit another month or more before bottling.
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Cucumber Wine .......................original

Cucumbers have a high water content, so be careful to not add too much water in the beginning.

Ingredients for *one gallon*
4 pounds cucumbers
3 campden tablets
2 oranges
2 lemons
7 cups sugar
pectic enzyme
nutrients
1 package wine yeast
water

Wash cucumbers. Leave skin on. Chop cucumbers and place in primary fermentor.

Wash oranges and lemons. Slice thinly and add to cucumbers. Stir in sugar and nutrients.

Pour 16 cups cool water over mixture. Stir to dissolve sugar. Let cool. Add pectic enzyme.

The next day, check specific gravity -- it should be between 1.090 and 1.100. Add yeast. Stir daily for five days, until frothing stops.

Strain. Siphon into secondary fermentor and attach airlock.

For a dry wine, rack in three weeks, and every three months for one year. Bottle.

For a sweet wine, rack at three weeks. Add 1/2 cup corn syrup dissoved in 1 cup wine. Stir gently, and place back into secondary fermentor. Repeat process every six weeks until fermentation does not restart with the addition of syrup. Rack every three months until one year old. Bottle.

Variations

Instead of granulated sugar, try honey or brown sugar.
For a spiced wine, add 1 ounce fresh ginger root, sliced thin, to the water before boiling it. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes before pouring it over the cucumbers.
NOTE:

This recipe makes 1 gallon of wine. To make a larger batch of wine, just multiply all ingredients by the number of gallons you want EXCEPT the yeast. One packet of wine yeast is sufficient for up to 5 gallons of wine.

I found the same recipe on several forums. One mentioned that boiling water releases more pectin so they used cool water only. I do not remember using boiling water.

I am ready to make another batch since it will take a year to get to usable loveliness.


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## cenk57 (Apr 13, 2022)

I am looking for a cucumber wine recipe also. I am not finding much, maybe there's a reason for that . But, I keep coming across this same recipe. I believe the original I ran across (2012 post I believe) called for pouring boiling water over the mixture. This is highly questionable and why I never tried (trusted) the recipe. I see you tweaked the recipe some. I am tempted to use yours and tweak it a bit more. I'd double the pectic enzyme, use 71B yeast and drop the pH to 3.5. for starters. Cucumber is full of malic acid which the 71B will cut down. How would you improve on it next time?


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## BigDaveK (Apr 14, 2022)

This is on my radar as well.
I think I would use homegrown pickling cukes rather than flavorless grocery store. Beyond that, still thinking.


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## wineview (Apr 14, 2022)

wildhair said:


> Here's my recipe for a *Cucumber Wine with a hint of lime basil.* I use burpless cukes, because that's what I grow - same with the lime basil. Adjust ingredients as you feel necessary - that's how I made mine. I am also attaching the original recipe I used as a model before tweaking it to my taste. I am not sure where I got the original - might have been from someone here - I aplogize for not giving credit.
> 
> It's has light cucumber taste upfront with a bit of lime basil after notes and aroma. It is nearly crystal clear wine with faint tint of green. I let it age nearly a year in the bottle before uncorking the first one.
> 
> ...


Looks great in the bottle but what does it taste like. I simply can’t imagine.


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