Description
Gather 20 lbs. of Rhubarb and wash and cut into small pieces. Wash & sanitize fermenting bucket.
Add one or so gallons of warm water to the fermenter. You don’t have to be exact because you are going to top it off with warm water later.
Ingredients
5 Campden tablets (crush between 2 spoons)
6 tsp Tannin
5 tsp Yeast Energizer
Pectic Enzyme (as directed on pack)
Instructions
After mixing above ingredients in the water add 12.5 lbs of white granulated sugar. Add slowly as you stir so it dissolves easier. This will take a little while and it probably won’t completely dissolve...but that’s not a problem.
While holding the straining bag in the fermenting bucket (may require 2 people), add the Rhubarb along with the pulp and juice. Tie the bag shut with a rubber band or anything that is handy.
Add more water and fill up to the 5-gallon mark. Using your hands, massage and squeeze the bag, squeezing and mashing the berries as best as you can. Be sure everything is mixed well. This may also be done by stomping them with your feet in a separate bucket.
Put the lid and air lock on the fermenter and let it sit for 24 hours. Be sure to add water to the air lock. Over the next 24 hours the pectic enzyme will do it’s magic by breaking the fruit down giving a better juice yield. It also gives the campden to dissipate a bit so it won’t harm the yeast.
After 24 hours, remove the lid and add one or two packs of yeast simply by sprinkling on top. Fermenting should start in about 24 hours. I like to use Cote Des Blancs yeast which will ferment a more fruiter and slightly sweeter wine but you may also use the Pasteur Champagne yeast that will finish more dry with more alcohol.
Open daily and stir. After 5 days, remove the fermenting bag and stir the contents (be sure to squeeze as much of the juice from the bag as possible).
Since the fruit and bag displaced some of the volume, now is a good time to top off again to the 5-gallon mark.
Siphon into a 5 gallon glass carboy. Let sit for a few weeks and rack another time. Now is a good time to give it a taste test to see if you may want to sweeten it a bit. If you do want to sweeten it, add potassium sorbate to stabilize. Then make a sweetener by boiling 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup of water. Stir into wine a little bit at a time, tasting while adding, until desired taste. Let clear and bottle. Enjoy!