Lyla Lindsey
Making plum wine is a relatively simple process, and a great way to use up a glut of plums. The first step is to wash and sterilise your equipment, then wash the plums and remove any stalks, leaves and bad fruit. The plums are then placed in a fermentation bucket and mashed, before boiling water is poured over them. After this, a number of other ingredients are added, including sugar, lemon juice, yeast and sometimes grape juice concentrate. The mixture is then left to ferment for several weeks, before being decanted or siphoned into another container. The wine can then be bottled and enjoyed, either young or after a couple of months, when the flavour will have changed.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Recipe | The Boots Book of Home Wine Making & Brewing (New and revised edition 1978) Recipe 119 PLUM (dry) |
| Ingredients | Red/black plums, red grape juice concentrate, white sugar, citric acid, strong tea, tannin, pectolase, Campden tablets, yeast nutrient, yeast |
| Equipment | 5-gallon / 25-litre bucket with a snap-on lid, electric blender, long spoon, 1-gallon / 5-litre demis, fermentation lock, siphon tubing |
| Process | Examine and wash plums, remove stalks and leaves, add plums to a food-grade bucket, cover with boiling water, add remaining ingredients, stir, seal the bucket, leave overnight, add yeast, stir, decant or siphon wine, add Campden tablet |
| Fermentation | Ferment for at least one month, out of direct sun, at room temperature, gas escapes through the fermentation lock, wine is ready when no bubbles rise and no gas escapes |
| Sanitation | Sterilise all equipment before use, sanitise buckets and tools, prevent bad bacteria from entering the mix |
| Plum Variety | Use ripe, wild plums or cultivated varieties like Elephant Hearts, Santa Rosas, or Red Beauties, the variety of plum affects the final colour and flavour of the wine |
| Aging | Drink some young, and some after a couple of months, the flavour improves and gets clearer and drier with age |
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What You'll Learn
Plum wine recipe
Making plum wine is relatively easy, and it always ends up tasting delicious. The final colour of the wine depends on the variety of plum used, but it is usually beautiful, in shades of gold, orange, pink, red, and purple. The riper the fruit, the higher the concentrations of sugar and juice, which makes for a better-finished wine. Plum wine can be mild-flavoured, so harvesting your plums when they are most fully flavoured is key to the success of your wine.
Ingredients:
- Plums (42 red/black plums or 1.5-2kg per gallon of wine)
- Water (1 gallon)
- Sugar (1kg or to taste)
- Lemon juice (from 1 lemon) or citric acid (1 tsp)
- Yeast (1/4 tsp per gallon or 1 sachet)
- (Optional) Grape juice concentrate (245g or 0.5 pint)
- (Optional) Tannin (or 1 cup of strong tea, preferably English Breakfast)
- (Optional) Yeast nutrient
- (Optional) Pectic enzyme (or pectolase)
- (Optional) Campden tablets
Directions:
- Sterilise all equipment before using.
- Wash the plums well, discarding any that are overly bruised or mouldy.
- Remove the stems and put the plums in a large pot or food-grade bucket. There is no need to remove the pits, as they will be left behind when you filter out the solids. However, if you are concerned about the presence of cyanic glucosides in the seeds, you may choose to remove them.
- Use a potato masher to roughly break the skins.
- Bring the water to a boil. Then, pour the boiling water over the plums. This helps kill off any mould or bacteria that might be on the skin of the plums.
- Put a lid on the pot and let it cool for 24 hours.
- After 24 hours, add the lemon juice, sugar, and any optional ingredients to the plums and give them a good stir.
- Follow the instructions on the yeast package (some yeasts may require rehydration before use). Then, stir the yeast into the mixture.
- Give everything another good stir after one hour to ensure it is well mixed.
- Allow the wine to ferment at warm room temperature, out of direct sunlight, for at least one month. The wine can be drunk any time after three weeks, but it should not be bottled until the month is out to minimise the chance of trapping too much residual sugar in sealed bottles, which could lead to excess carbonation and/or exploding bottles.
- The wine has finished fermenting when there are no longer any air bubbles rising out of the airlock.
- Siphon the wine from the yeast at the bottom into another container.
- Add one Campden tablet to 'deactivate' any remaining yeast and as a preservative.
- Let the wine age for a couple of months. The flavour will shift and change, getting clearer and drier the older it gets.
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Fermentation process
The fermentation process for plum wine is relatively straightforward, but it requires careful sanitation to prevent methanol production and contamination. Here is a detailed guide on how to perform the fermentation process for plum wine:
Firstly, sanitise all equipment, including the fermentation bucket or vessel, to prevent the growth of unwanted bacteria and ensure the success of your wine. Wash the plums thoroughly in water, removing any stalks, leaves, or unripe or mouldy fruit. It is important to select ripe, undamaged fruit, as the riper the fruit, the higher the concentration of sugar and juice, resulting in a better-finished wine.
Next, place the plums in the fermentation bucket and mash them with a potato masher or a clean wine bottle. This process breaks down the plums and releases their juices. The amount of plum required depends on the volume of wine being produced; for a gallon of plum wine, you will need around 1.5-2 kg of plums. It is recommended to keep the plum pits in during this stage, as they impart a pleasant almond flavour to the wine. However, some sources caution against this, as the pits contain cyanic glucosides, which can convert into cyanide.
Once the plums are prepared, bring a gallon of water to a boil and pour it over the crushed plums. This step helps to kill any remaining mould or bacteria that might be present on the skin of the plums. Secure the fermentation vessel with a lid or airlock and allow the mixture to infuse for 24 hours or overnight. During this time, the plums' colour, flavour, and almond essence from the pits will infuse into the liquid.
After the infusion period, add the remaining ingredients, such as lemon juice, sugar, yeast nutrient, and wine yeast. Stir the mixture well to combine all the ingredients. It is important to follow the instructions on the yeast package, as some yeasts may require rehydration before use. Allow the mixture to rest for about an hour, then give it another good stir to ensure everything is well mixed.
At this stage, you can add a Campden tablet, which produces sulphur dioxide to sterilise the mixture further. Leave the fermentation vessel undisturbed for about 12 hours, then add the pectic enzyme and mix again. Pectic enzyme is essential to break down the pectin in the plums, preventing a hazy finish to the wine.
Finally, sprinkle the yeast over the mixture and allow it to float for a minute before stirring it in. The amount of yeast required is approximately 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of wine. Keep the fermentation vessel at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, and allow the wine to ferment for at least a month. During this time, the wine will clarify, and sediment will collect at the bottom.
You can bottle the wine after three weeks, but it is recommended to wait until the month is out to minimise the chance of trapping residual sugar in the bottles, which can lead to excess carbonation or even exploding bottles. To ensure fermentation is complete, check that there are no bubbles rising in the brew and no gas is escaping through the airlock. You can also use a hydrometer to take readings and determine if the wine has finished fermenting.
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Sanitation and sterilisation
Firstly, sterilise all equipment that will come into contact with the wine. This includes the fermentation bucket, demijohns, bottles, airlocks, spoons, and any other utensils. Sterilisation can be achieved by using specific sterilising products, such as Milton baby liquid, or by boiling water and pouring it over the equipment. Ensure that all equipment is completely dry before use.
When handling the plums, it is important to practice good sanitation. Wash your hands thoroughly before handling the fruit. Examine each plum, removing any stalks, leaves, or any fruit that is underripe, bruised, or mouldy. Wash the plums thoroughly under running water to remove any dirt or contaminants.
The fermentation bucket should be sanitised before adding the plums. This can be done by rinsing it with hot water or using a sanitising solution. Ensure that the bucket is completely dry before adding the fruit. If using a potato masher or any other utensil to mash the plums, sanitise it by washing it with hot water and soap, then rinsing and drying it thoroughly.
During the fermentation process, maintain a clean and sanitised environment. Keep the bucket covered with a lid or cloth to prevent dust, insects, or other contaminants from entering. Use sanitised utensils when stirring or transferring the must (fermenting mixture). If you need to open the bucket to add ingredients or check on the progress, ensure your hands are clean and consider wearing sanitised gloves.
After fermentation, when transferring the wine to demijohns or bottles, ensure that all equipment is sanitised again. This includes the demijohns or bottles, siphoning equipment, airlocks, and any other tools. Rinse them with hot water or a sanitising solution, and allow them to dry completely before coming into contact with the wine.
By following these sanitation and sterilisation guidelines, you can help ensure that your plum wine is free from harmful bacteria, wild yeasts, or other contaminants that may affect the taste, quality, or safety of your final product.
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Yeast and other ingredients
Yeast is an essential ingredient in making plum wine, as it kickstarts the fermentation process, which is what turns the plums into wine. The amount of yeast you will need depends on the volume of wine you are making. For a gallon of wine, a quarter teaspoon of yeast is sufficient. For a larger batch, you can triple the recipe and use one packet of yeast.
There are different types of yeast you can use. One source recommends cider yeast as a way to speed up the fermentation process, although the wine may be less refined or strong as a result. Another source mentions champagne yeast, which may be a type of yeast nutrient. Beer or lager yeast is not advised. You can also use a yeast compound, which includes a nutrient.
It is important to sanitise all equipment before use to prevent the contamination of your wine with bacteria, yeasts, and fungi, which can break down pectin into methanol.
In addition to yeast, there are several other ingredients you will need to make plum wine. Firstly, you will need plums. It is recommended to use ripe plums, as these have higher concentrations of sugar and juice, which makes for a better-finished wine. You can use any variety of plum, but the colour of your wine will depend on the type of plum you use.
You can also add other ingredients to your plum wine, such as sugar, grape juice concentrate, lemon juice, tannin, pectic enzyme (also known as pectolase), and a Campden tablet. The sugar and grape juice concentrate can be added at the beginning with the yeast, or at any point before pitching the yeast. The Campden tablet should be added after the sugar and grape juice concentrate, and the pectic enzyme should be added 12 hours after the Campden tablet.
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Aging and bottling
Once you have prepared your plum wine mixture, it's time to let it age and then bottle it.
First, let the mixture ferment. Fermentation can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the recipe. During this time, you may need to stir the mixture regularly to prevent mould from growing on the surface of the fruit. You'll know fermentation is complete when there are no more bubbles rising in the brew and no gas is escaping through the fermentation lock. At this point, the yeast will start to settle at the bottom.
After fermentation, you can decant or siphon the wine into another container, being careful to leave the yeast sediment behind. You can add a Campden tablet at this stage to deactivate any remaining yeast and preserve your wine. If you wait long enough, all the sediment will settle, and you can then decant clear wine.
Before bottling your wine, it's important to make sure that fermentation is complete. This usually takes about a month, and you can confirm by checking that there are no more bubbles in the airlock. Bottling too early can result in excess carbonation or even exploding bottles.
You can drink your plum wine young, or let it age in the bottle for a couple of months. The flavour will shift and change, becoming clearer and drier as it ages.
Remember to sterilise all your equipment before use to prevent contamination and ensure the quality of your wine.
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Frequently asked questions
You will need plums, water, sugar, yeast, and a few additional ingredients such as lemon juice, tannin, and yeast nutrient.
You will need a fermentation bucket, a potato masher, a straining bag, a pan, and bottles for the finished wine. You will also need a hydrometer to measure the alcohol content of your wine.
First, sterilise all equipment and wash the plums. Remove any stems and crush the plums in a fermentation bucket. Boil water and sugar together and pour over the plums. Add lemon juice and yeast, then leave to ferment for at least a month. Bottle the wine once fermentation is complete.
