Old-Fashioned Muscadine Wine

This recipe for muscadine wine makes a sweet, old-fashioned wine.
Popular in the South where muscadines grow and thrive. 

A bit of history: This type of grape has been cultivated since the 16^th century. They grow well with tough skins and seeds, in warm, humid climates, their colours range from green to bronze to deep purple. They are generally a bit larger than regular grapes.

This recipe will strain the liquids from the solids, so it is not necessary to remove the skin and seeds from the fruits before mashing them. 1 quart of mashed grapes is needed as basic ingredients, so you’ll need about 4 pounds of grapes to produce that amount.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups granulated sugar
• 3 quarts filtered water
• 1 quart mashed muscadine grapes
• 1/4 ounce active dry yeast

2. Step to make it:

• Gather the ingredients
• In a clean, sanitized glass container, dissolve the sugar in the 3 quarts of water
• Mash the grapes
• Add 1 quart of the mashed fruit to the water and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Cover with a cheesecloth.
  DO NOT STIR.
• The next day, stir the mixture and then stir it every day for a week. Make sure to replace the cheesecloth after each time you stir.
• Strain the liquids into another clean and sanitized container that seals air tight.
• Fill with additional filtered water to the top of the container.
• Let it sit for 6 weeks.
• Strain again and bottle into clean containers.
• Cap lightly for 3 days for any fermentation to cease.
• Cap the bottle and store it in a cool place.

Check out more about muscadine grapes as well as variations of this recipe with regular grapes or blackberries.