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Wineberry Wine

From THE WILD VEGETARIAN COOKBOOK

These red-branched, bristly, tart-flavored Asian red raspberries get their name because they're ideal for wine-making. They grow throughout eastern North America, and have been spreading throughout the rest of the country too.

If they don’t grow in your area, other species of wild raspberries or blackberries are just as good. Serve the wine as a table wine, or use it in any recipe that calls for sweet red wine. It's especially good in desserts and sweet sauces.

1 gallon water
6 cups white sugar (necessary to feed the yeast, which convert it into alcohol)
6 cups wineberries, other wild raspberries, or blackberries
4 cinnamon sticks, each about 2 inches long
2 tablespoons chopped fresh spearmint or other mint leaves, or 2 teaspoons dried
1/2 teaspoon champagne yeast or other wine yeast (available from wine-making suppliers)

1. Bring the water to a boil and stir in the sugar until it dissolves.

2. Transfer the mixture to a non-metal (plastic or ceramic) food container, add the berries, mashing them slightly with a hand blender or potato masher. Add the cinnamon and mint.

3. When the mixture is lukewarm, stir in the yeast and cover the container with a non-airtight cover, cheesecloth, or towel.

4. Allow the mixture to ferment for 7 to 10 days at room temperature, stirring it twice a day.

5. Strain the mixture through cheesecloth, transfer the liquid to a jug, and seal the jug with an air lock stopper (which lets carbon dioxide bubbles escape but keeps oxygen out—also available from wine-making suppliers).

6. When the bubbling stops and fermentation ends a week or two later, seal the jug with a cork and age the wine for 6 weeks to 6 months before using it.

7. Siphon the wine to get rid of the sediment, if desired.

Makes 1 gallon

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