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Muscadine Wine

A simple Southern tradition that transforms fresh muscadine grapes into a naturally sweet, smooth wine with minimal fuss and rewarding results.
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Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 150 days
Total Time 150 days 45 minutes
Servings: 25 five-ounce servings
Course: Drinks and Beverages
Cuisine: Southern American
Calories: 120
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Main
  • 15 pounds fresh ripe muscadines (or 5 gallons of fresh muscadine juice)
  • 5 to 7 pounds granulated white sugar depending on grape sweetness
  • 1 gallon filtered or distilled water
  • 1 packet 5 grams Saccharomyces cerevisiae or champagne yeast
  • 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient optional

Equipment

  • 5-gallon glass carboy with airlock and stopper
  • Large food-grade plastic bucket with spigot
  • Hydrometer
  • Wine bottles and corks or screw caps
  • Large pot or kettle
  • Mesh strainer or cheesecloth
  • Wooden spoon
  • Funnel
  • Thermometer
  • Siphoning tube or auto-siphon
  • Sanitizing solution
  • Measuring cups and spoons

Method
 

  1. Sanitize all equipment using a sanitizing solution per package directions.
  2. Rinse and destem muscadine grapes, discarding any moldy or damaged fruit.
  3. Crush grapes by hand or with a potato masher in a large bucket to release the juice.
  4. Heat 1 gallon of water until steaming (about 170°F) and dissolve 5 to 7 pounds of sugar until fully dissolved.
  5. Stir the warm sugar syrup into the crushed grapes and let cool to 70 to 75°F before adding yeast.
  6. Hydrate yeast and yeast nutrient in a small cup of warm water (80°F) for 10 minutes, then stir into the must.
  7. Cover the bucket loosely with a towel and let ferment at 65 to 75°F for 5 to 7 days (primary fermentation), noting vigorous bubbling.
  8. After primary fermentation, strain out solids using a mesh strainer or cheesecloth and transfer the liquid to a sanitized 5-gallon carboy.
  9. Fit the airlock and stopper, then ferment in a cool, dark place at 60 to 70°F for 3 to 5 months (secondary fermentation).
  10. Rack the wine by siphoning off sediment into a fresh carboy after 2 to 3 months to improve clarity.
  11. After 4 to 6 months total when airlock activity slows and hydrometer readings are stable, rack and bottle the wine.

Notes

Store bottles upright or on their side in a cool, dark place between 50 and 70°F. Wine improves over the first year as flavors meld.