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Equipment | Ingredients | Step-By-Step | Cleaning

Delicate, sweet, and delicious, have you ever wondered how to make raisin wine at home?  Raisin wine is a sweet wine made from raisins, these are grapes that have been dried in the sun.  Originally from Europe, this wine is made all over the world, and you can make it at home using my Raisin Wine recipe.

Your raisin wine’s flavor, sweetness, and color will strongly depend on the type and quality of raisins used. White raisins are delicate and have a very mild caramel flavor, whereas dark raisins are richer in flavor and color.  Part of the fun is discovering the type of raisin you like most.  You can even blend varieties!

What Equipment Do I Need To Make Raisin Wine

• 2.5 gallon pan (a stockpot is a good choice)
• Fermenting bucket
• Carboy (I recommend a Conical Fermenter)
• Siphon (with a pump is helpful)
• Wine Strainer Bag
• Wine bottles (I recommend the flip-top bottles)
• Hydrometer (you really need one of these)
• Long Handle Spoon (for home brewing)
• Sanitizer (no rinse)

What Ingredients Do I Need To Make Raisin Wine

Our list of ingredients is broken into 2 parts, ingredients for Raisin Wine only, then essentials supplies for all fruit wine making.

Ingredients Just for Raisin Wine

• 4 pounds (1.8 kg) raisins
• 1 pound (0.45 kg) sugar
• 1.2 gallons (4.5 liters) water

Ingredients Essential for Fruit Wine Making

• Winemakers yeast
• ¼ teaspoon Wine Tannin
• ½ teaspoon Acid Blend
• ½ teaspoon Pectin Destroying Enzyme
• 1 teaspoon Wine Nutrient Salts
• 1 Campden Tablet (for wine making)

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If this is your first homemade wine, take a look at a Wine Making kit! Each kit comes complete with everything you need to make homemade wine. It will save you a lot of time buying each piece of equipment and all the essential supplies.

What Type of Raisins are Best for Wine

If you’re making raisin wine for the first time, then you’re in for a surprise when you start looking for raisins!  There is a huge variety of raisins available, but what type should you choose?  Some examples are green raisins, white raisins, red raisins, black raisins, golden raisins, and Muscat raisins.  Each of these will have a different sweetness, flavor, and color.  It’s worth experimenting with those that you like to eat.  Each type of raisin will produce a unique wine.

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Take a look at the Muscat Raisins below, these are a good choice for a first time Raisin Wine maker.

How To Choose The Right Raisins For Wine

Once you’ve decided what type of raisins you’re going to use for your wine, go look at some brands.  Check the ingredients list on the label.  Be on the lookout for oil on the list as some brands of raisins and sultanas are coated with oil to help the drying process.  We need to avoid brands that do this.  Any oil will affect the flavor of your wine and may interfere with the fermenting process.  Always choose a brand that does not list oil among its ingredients.  Another item to note is preservatives, for example, Sulphites.  These are not going to affect your wine.

How To Prepare Raisins For Winemaking

You need to extract the most flavor, color, and sugar from your raisins.  To help achieve this, you need to chop them.  The quickest and easiest way to chop your raisins is to use a food processor.  They don’t need to be perfectly chopped, roughly minced will do nicely.

How To Sanitize Your Wine Making Equipment 

I cannot stress this enough, you must clean and sanitize all your brewing equipment before each use.  That means everything you intend to use every time.  For example, in some of the steps below, we stir our mix with a long handle spoon, so always clean and sanitize it before each use.  That simple.  We want to prevent unwanted “wild yeast” from finding its way into our wine.

For a detailed article on how to “sanitize your wine-making equipment“, this article is one of the best I’ve come across.

What Is Must In Wine Making

The word “Must” literally means “young wine” and is made of freshly crushed fruit juice (usually grape juice).  It contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit you want to ferment into wine.

How To Make Raisin Wine Steps By Step

Step 1

Using a food processor, roughly chop 4 pounds (1.8 kg) of raisins.  Set aside for a later step.

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Take your large pan or stockpot off the heat. 

Step 5

Step 6

Fill your straining bag with your chopped raisins and close the bag tight.  Put the bag in your fermenting bucket. Pour the boiling sugar water mix from your large pan into the fermenting bucket over the straining bag. With the long handle spoon, move the straining bag so that any lumps are broken up and the hot water will reach all the chopped raisins. Put the lid and airlock on your fermenting bucket while it cools. You have created “Raisin Must”.

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A straining bag is one of those must have items for your kitchen. You can use it for cooking, preserving, and brewing. Always buy the best quality straining bag you can afford. 

Step 7

Once your raisin must has cooled to 68 Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius), add your acid blend, wine tannin, wine nutrient salts, and one crushed Campden tablet. Using your freshly sanitized long handle spoon, stir your raisin must thoroughly and replace the lid and airlock.  You must wait 12 hours before proceeding to Step 8.

Step 8

A full 12 hours after adding your wine tannin, nutrients, and Campden tablet, add the Pectin Destroying Enzyme to your fermenting bucket.  Using your freshly sanitized long handle spoon, stir your Raisin Must thoroughly and replace the lid and airlock. You must wait another 12 hours before proceeding to Step 9.

Step 9

Step 10

For the next 7 days, once a day open your fermentation bucket and stir your Raisin Must with a freshly sanitized long handle spoon.

Step 11

On day 8, open your fermentation bucket and remove your wine straining bag containing your raisins.  Hang it over the bucket for a couple of hours to let any liquid inside drain out.  Tip: you can use a stick across your bucket and tie the straining bag on using the strings to let it hang.  Once you’re done letting it hang, remove the straining bag altogether and replace the lid and airlock on the bucket.  Leave if for 2 days to settle.

Step 12

After letting your Raisin Must settle in your fermentation bucket for 2 days in Step 11, clean and sanitize your 1.5 gallon Carboy.  Using your freshly sanitized siphon, transfer your Raisin Must to the Carboy leaving any sediment behind.  Replace the bung and airlock on your Carboy.  Put it in a warm place to ferment for 30 days.

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Use a Conical type fermenter instead of a Carboy. The Conical fermenter allows you to easily remove sediment.

Step 13

Step 14

How To Clean And Sanitize Wine Bottles

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Use no-rinse sanitizer. It makes sanitizing much faster and less mess is created.

Conclusion

Homemade raisin wine is something special. Its sweet delicate flavor is something to behold. It’s perfect for sharing with friends and family. Better still, you can make delicious raisin wine all year round, because you’re using dried fruit. You’ll never run out! The tools and ingredients are inexpensive, easily accessible, and can be used over and over. Whether you drink it after 4 months or 2 years, you’ll be able to enjoy a delicious Raisin wine that you made yourself.

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