Berry Bliss: Crafting Your Own Blueberry Wine

Annelize Steensma

With such a wide variety of fruits available, it’s tempting to explore flavours and aromas beyond traditional grape wines. This recipe highlights blueberries to create a light, low-alcohol fruit wine.

It will yield approximately 2 to 3 litres of blueberry wine with an alcohol content of 5–6% ABV.

Consumables:

Equipment:

Steps:

  1. Wash all equipment with dishwashing liquid.
  2. Prepare a sterilising solution by dissolving 30 grams of sodium metabisulphite in 2 L of water. Store the solution in a small bucket.
  3. Rinse each piece of clean equipment with the sterilising solution, letting it sit for 5 minutes. Then, rinse with clean water to remove any residual steriliser.
  4. Wash the blueberries thoroughly.
  5. Using a food processor, chop the blueberries roughly (avoid pureeing to prevent excessive tannin release, and issues with the wine’s clarity).
  6. Transfer the chopped blueberries to a clean, sterilised glass carboy and add water.
  7. Stir in the pectolase enzyme.
  8. Add yeast and nutrients, then mix well.
  9. Close the carboy, fit a fermentation lock on top, and fill the lock with water.
  10. As active fermentation begins, the blueberry pieces will float, forming a "cap." Push this cap back into the liquid twice daily.
  11. After two days of fermentation, measure the pH; it should be between 3.5 and 4.5. If it’s below 3.5, dissolve 1 gram of potassium carbonate in a small amount of wine before adding it to the carboy. Recheck and repeat until it falls within the recommended pH range.
  12. After three days of fermentation, strain the blueberries from the liquid by passing them through a muslin bag, pressing out as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids and continue fermenting the liquid until it reaches 0 Brix (up to 10 days depending on temperature).
  13. Once fermentation is complete, replace the fermentation lock with the red cap.
  14. Refrigerate the carboy to let the yeast and solids settle at the bottom. Over 2-3 days, a pink sediment layer will form, leaving the clear wine on top.
  15. Once clear, siphon the wine into a smaller, clean 3 L container without disturbing the sediment to prevent cloudiness.
  16. Seal the container and refrigerate again for two more days. If more sediment forms, rack the wine once more.
  17. After the second racking, the wine is ready for final adjustments.
  18. Add 0.5 grams (500mg) of sodium metabisulfite to the clear wine
  19. Add approximately 90-120 grams of inverted sugar per litre of wine and mix well. The more sugar you add the sweeter the wine will become.
  20. Recheck the pH, ensuring it’s between 3.5 and 4. Adjust with potassium carbonate if needed.
  21. Add the potassium sorbate.
  22. Once you have made your adjustments, it is time to bottle your wine. Transfer the wine into clean and sterilised bottles and seal tightly using a cork. Allow to age in the fridge for between 3 months up to one year before drinking.

Notes:

  • If you would like to increase the alcohol content of the wine, dissolve 250 grams of sugar in the 3L of water before adding it to the fruits. Your final alcohol concentration should be between 12-14% ABV.
  • Potassium sorbate and sodium metabisulfite act as preservatives and are essential to add in the correct dosage to prevent re-fermentation after the addition of inverted sugar.
  • Blueberries are naturally quite acidic, and ageing blueberry wine in the fridge for at least three months can help reduce excess acidity by encouraging acid crystallisation. This ageing process will create a smoother, rounder flavour in the wine. After ageing, however, you may notice small crystal-like sediments in the bottle. These harmless acid crystals have a grainy texture that can be unpleasant to drink. To avoid this, we recommend decanting the wine before serving.
Back to blog

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.