Carrot Wine

[vinny]

I am ready to get going on my carrot wine. Just wondering what direction to go in.

I have made a carrot 'wine' in the past. I was experimenting years back with things we do not discuss here and I made a sugar wash and used fresh juiced carrots from the garden for nutrient.

Once cleared in primary, literally 2-3 weeks with yeast out of suspension but no clarity to the wash it was pretty drinkable. It tasted like a very light white wine, not perceivable as a carrot wine, but I don't even know if that is my intention. I want to make something that tastes good, if it does or does not taste like carrots I don't really care. I am just using carrot because It's available.

I have 2-3 crates of carrots to play with. I am leaning towards trying multiple techniques. As I was not aiming for wine and used the wash for other purposes I have no gauge of what aging would do to flavors, if I imparted enough flavor, etc.

I have done some searching and found some recipe options, but nothing is jumping out as a winner. I am wondering if anyone has a recipe here they enjoy.

I suspect I will need raisins and other tweaks to get a full flavor profile, which is why I think a few gallon batches will be fun to play around with.

Any thoughts or experience on juicing vs boiling carrots down?

Any interesting combinations that jump into peoples mind?

Apple-carrot, beet-carrot, triple berry carrot?

Just asking helps inspire ideas. I'm gonna try a DD with carrot juice as the first experiment.

Whadaya think?

 

[vinny]

Here's one option.. I would skip campden off the hop, but otherwise it offers a starting point.

Carrot Wine Ingredients

• 2.5kg Carrots
• 4 litres Water
• 900g Sugar
• 400g Honey
• 250g Golden Raisins (roughly chopped)
• 1/2 tsp Pectic Enzyme
• 1 tsp Yeast Nutrient
• 1 Campden Tablet
• 1 Sachet Wine Yeast such as Montrachet

Carrot Wine Recipe
Scrub and clean the carrots but you can leave them peeled. Cut into thin slices either by hand or using the slicer attachment on a food processor.

Place the sliced carrot in a large pot with half the water. Slowly bring the pan to a simmer and add the sugar and honey. Simmer the carrots in the sugar solution for 10 minutes. The carrots should be tender but hold their shape. Turn off the heat and add the chopped raisins.

In a clean, sanitised fermenting bucket place the straining bag. Pour the hot sugar solution along with the carrots and raisins into the bucket. The carrot and raisins can be secured in the straining bag and left in the bucket.

Add the remaining water and then add the Campden tablet. Cover the fermenting bucket and let the mixture sit for 24 hours.

After 24 hours add the pectin and mix thoroughly, finally add the yeast by sprinkling on the surface of the must. Cover the fermenting vessel with the lid and airlock and allow the fermentation to begin.

After 48 hours or so the fermentation should show signs of activity. Allow the primary fermentation to continue for around 7 days. After a week lift the straining bag with the carrots and raisins in and discard. Let the wine sit overnight.

After settling overnight, rack the carrot wine to a demijohn/carboy. Fit a bung and airlock and allow the wine to finish fermentation and begin to condition.

The wine will need to condition in the demijohn for at least 3 months and up to 6 would be better. Rack the carrot wine to a new demijohn whenever sediment builds up and the wine has cleared. Racking once or twice is fine.

After ageing for 3 – 6 months in the demijohn it is time to bottle. Sample the wine and if you need to back sweeten the wine then follow this guide on how to do that.

Once bottled it is a good idea to set the carrot wine aside for a little while. I like to sample some after a few months and the wine will continue to change and evolve as it ages in the bottle.

 

[vinny]

Hops and wheat are not uncommon in what I have found. Either ingredient seems to be the wrong direction for a wine in my mind.

Right?

 

[BigDaveK]

I'm planning a carrot wine this year also. I'm months away since they'll be from the garden. And I'm in the same boat - looked at recipes and nothing pops out at me. Post your progress - I'm interested!

My thought was to shred the carrots like for carrot cake and possibly use brown sugar either in the primary or as a back sweetening syrup. I chose my carrot seeds this year with the intention of making wine - black and sweet.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Shredded carrots seems to produce more flavor. I’m thinking along the lines of a shredded carrot salad.

 

[vinny]

I'm planning a carrot wine this year also. I'm months away since they'll be from the garden. And I'm in the same boat - looked at recipes and nothing pops out at me. Post your progress - I'm interested!

My thought was to shred the carrots like for carrot cake and possibly use brown sugar either in the primary or as a back sweetening syrup. I chose my carrot seeds this year with the intention of making wine - black and sweet.

Black is going to be really interesting.

I'm using up last years carrots. I am sure they have lost some sugar content and flavor, but they are still WAY better than anything you can get store bought. We're just not going to get through them we have so many this year.

It's going to be within the week, once I get a plan going. I think I will get 3-4 batches going. I'll post the recipes and update which technique seems the most drinkable, flavourful, offensive and whatever else I note at racking.

 

[BigDaveK]

Shredded carrots seems to produce more flavor. I’m thinking along the lines of a shredded carrot salad.

I think it's hilarious how a discussion of carrot wine can expose a person's lifestyle - I'm thinking carrot cake, you're thinking carrot salad.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

I think it's hilarious how a discussion of carrot wine can expose a person's lifestyle - I'm thinking carrot cake, you're thinking carrot salad.

I’m on a diet. I set out to lose 14 pounds. Only 22 more to go.

 

[ChuckD]

I think it's hilarious how a discussion of carrot wine can expose a person's lifestyle - I'm thinking carrot cake, you're thinking carrot salad.

Are you saying carrot cake is not a vegetable? That explains a lot!

 

[BigDaveK]

Are you saying carrot cake is not a vegetable? That explains a lot!

Hold on now - I think carrot cake IS a vegetable. But the thick layer of cream cheese frosting may not be.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Hold on now - I think carrot cake IS a vegetable. But the thick layer of cream cheese frosting may not be.

Definitely in the dairy family. Good for you.

 

[QuiQuog]

Would there be a reason not to just juice the carrots? Wouldn't that pull the most out of them? If so, would you ferment with or without the pulp, either in or out of a bag?

 

[BigDaveK]

Would there be a reason not to just juice the carrots? Wouldn't that pull the most out of them? If so, would you ferment with or without the pulp, either in or out of a bag?

Certainly a good question and a procedure worth exploring. I suggested shredding because I don't own a juicer.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Certainly a good question and a procedure worth exploring. I suggested shredding because I don't own a juicer.

unless you have a press juicer basically it juices them by shredding them very fine.

fermentation will eat up the carrot, but the finer the better.

 

[QuiQuog]

Then I'll ask another question, because I or someone else may explore it in the future. What's the purpose and effect of boiling? Is it so the carrots break down better? Does it change the character? Would you need to boil if you juiced?

 

[vinny]

Would there be a reason not to just juice the carrots? Wouldn't that pull the most out of them? If so, would you ferment with or without the pulp, either in or out of a bag?

Exactly what I have been wondering. If you juice, is there any benefit or detriment to adding the pulp back in a bag.

 

[vinny]

Then I'll ask another question, because I or someone else may explore it in the future. What's the purpose and effect of boiling? Is it so the carrots break down better? Does it change the character? Would you need to boil if you juiced?

This is the whole reason I am wondering about juicing and adding the pulp back.

With juicing you are going to get a mechanical separation of liquid from solids. With heating you are going to get cellular breakdown and possibly the release of more flavors and compounds. Good or bad I do not know.

The reason I lean to juicing over cooking is flavour, nutrients, and colour. Heat does not benefit any, but it might release more sugars from the fibre.

Lots of things to consider, which is why I was hoping someone wiser, or at least with some experience would throw in a word or two.

 

[QuiQuog]

This is the whole reason I am wondering about juicing and adding the pulp back

I feel a little like a dope. I glossed right over juicing and boiling in your original post.

For what it's worth, my own thoughts are that the chopping and boiling are to break down the structure of the carrot to release all the, um... carrot. Juicing would serve that purpose. I would fear that boiling would give it a more vegetal character. What I would want to do in a perfect world is a batch according to the directions as a baseline, then one each of juiced, not boiled, one with pulp and one without.

I'll be interested in your results.

 

[vinny]

I feel a little like a dope. I glossed right over juicing and boiling in your original post.

For what it's worth, my own thoughts are that the chopping and boiling are to break down the structure of the carrot to release all the, um... carrot. Juicing would serve that purpose. I would fear that boiling would give it a more vegetal character. What I would want to do in a perfect world is a batch according to the directions as a baseline, then one each of juiced, not boiled, one with pulp and one without.

I'll be interested in your results.

Mostly because I want answers to my questions and have a ton of carrots to play with I think I will make a basic carrot juice wine. A large portion of juice chaptalized to a decent potential ABV. Maybe 2 batches, one with pulp added back, one not? Then for sheer curiosity and simplicity, also having something to compare it to as I have made a batch already, I will make a Dragons Blood, fruit replaced with carrot juice. For the third one I will try cooking the carrots and adding the boiled slurry to the primary strained through a bag to hold solids.

I think I will have to play with raisins and other additives, but I am getting a general course plotted.

 

[Steve Wargo]

Once bottled it is a good idea to set the carrot wine aside for a little while. I like to sample some after a few months and the wine will continue to change and evolve as it ages in the bottle.

heard that carrots are good for your eyes. It's recommended to nourish eyes from the inside out. This might be the ticket. lol

Thanks for the recipe. I'll eventually give it a try based on what you've described.