BernardSmith
Senior Member
Summer in North America and many folk harvest vegetables from their yards. Zucchini is a popular vegetable but come harvest time you often have a hard time knowing what to do with so much summer squash. There's only so much zucchini bread you can eat and not everyone loves ratatouille. Here's a recipe for (IMO) a very drinkable white zucchini wine.
For 1 gallon: everything except the yeast is scalable, so just multiply everything by 3 or 5 for larger volumes.
6 lbs zucchini
Approximately 2.5 lbs sugar (Goal is for potential ABV to be about 12%)
Enough water to be able to rack to fill 1 gallon carboy to top in about 2 weeks (so about 1. 25 - 1.5 gallons spring water (chlorine free)
Campden tablet (or K-meta dissolved in water per instructions)
Pectic Enzyme (quantity per instructions)
Yeast - D47, but you could use an ale yeast (Safale US-05, US-04, or Belle Saison) or any yeast of your choice
Nutrient (per instruction but about 1/4 t)
Ginger (about 1 inch) peeled and chopped)
Juice and peel of 1 lemon
K-meta and K-sorbate if back sweetening
Directions
Chop squash and ginger and add pectic enzyme. Allow to stand about 4 hours
Dissolve sugar in boiling water and pour solution over chopped squash
Allow to cool to room temperature.
Place straining bag over mouth of primary bucket and carefully pour mixture into bucket capturing the vegetable and ginger in the bag.
Add K-meta (or Campden tabs), allow to stand 24 hours to evaporate off SO2
Rehydrate then pitch yeast
Add nutrient
Loosely cover
Stir to degas twice daily
After about 3 days remove straining bag after gently squeezing or otherwise draining bag
When gravity drops to 1.010 - 1.005 (could take 1-2 weeks) rack wine into secondary and seal with bung and airlock.
add lemon juice and peel
Rack off peel after 1 month
Allow wine to age in carboy a minimum of 2 more months until bright and clear.
Stabilize (with K-meta and K-sorbate) for sweeter wine: this wine is good with some residual sugar: about 4 oz /gallon (FG about 1.005 - 1.010
Check TA - adjust if insufficiently acidic (aim for about 6g /L ) but your tongue is a good tool.
Bottle.
This wine can taste a little like a pinot grigio.
For 1 gallon: everything except the yeast is scalable, so just multiply everything by 3 or 5 for larger volumes.
6 lbs zucchini
Approximately 2.5 lbs sugar (Goal is for potential ABV to be about 12%)
Enough water to be able to rack to fill 1 gallon carboy to top in about 2 weeks (so about 1. 25 - 1.5 gallons spring water (chlorine free)
Campden tablet (or K-meta dissolved in water per instructions)
Pectic Enzyme (quantity per instructions)
Yeast - D47, but you could use an ale yeast (Safale US-05, US-04, or Belle Saison) or any yeast of your choice
Nutrient (per instruction but about 1/4 t)
Ginger (about 1 inch) peeled and chopped)
Juice and peel of 1 lemon
K-meta and K-sorbate if back sweetening
Directions
Chop squash and ginger and add pectic enzyme. Allow to stand about 4 hours
Dissolve sugar in boiling water and pour solution over chopped squash
Allow to cool to room temperature.
Place straining bag over mouth of primary bucket and carefully pour mixture into bucket capturing the vegetable and ginger in the bag.
Add K-meta (or Campden tabs), allow to stand 24 hours to evaporate off SO2
Rehydrate then pitch yeast
Add nutrient
Loosely cover
Stir to degas twice daily
After about 3 days remove straining bag after gently squeezing or otherwise draining bag
When gravity drops to 1.010 - 1.005 (could take 1-2 weeks) rack wine into secondary and seal with bung and airlock.
add lemon juice and peel
Rack off peel after 1 month
Allow wine to age in carboy a minimum of 2 more months until bright and clear.
Stabilize (with K-meta and K-sorbate) for sweeter wine: this wine is good with some residual sugar: about 4 oz /gallon (FG about 1.005 - 1.010
Check TA - adjust if insufficiently acidic (aim for about 6g /L ) but your tongue is a good tool.
Bottle.
This wine can taste a little like a pinot grigio.
