Making your own fruit wine is a pretty slick move. Very “pastoral homesteader” chic, if you will.

What Is Fruit Wine? How to Make Homemade Fruit Wine With Step-by-Step Recipe

Fruit wine is a term that refers to a fermented beverage (also sometimes called “country wine”) made with a fruit juice base that is not grape juice. Think plum, pomegranate, or elderberry, or any fermentable plant matter you think sounds delicious, like dandelions.

Technically, fruit wine is wine. Although the term “wine” is conventionally used to refer to the beverage made of grapes, the process of making fruit wine—allowing yeast to feed on the sugars in fruit and become alcohol—is the same. Depending on the fruit used, fruit wine can produce red wines and white wines. 

Fruit wine tastes predominantly of the base fruit you choose to feature. Depending on the length of your [fermentation](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-fermentation-learn-about-the-3-different-types-of-fermentation-and-6-tips-for-homemade-fermentation) process, it can range from tangy and funky to soft and mellow. By measuring and adjusting the acids in a fruit wine, you can make the blend more dynamic and balanced. 

To make homemade wine, you’ll need:

1. Wine yeast
2. A fermentation bag
3. A large crock, gallon jug, or glass jug for the primary fermentation
4. Large carboy or glass containers for the secondary fermentations
5. An airlock
6. A siphon tube
7. Clean wine bottles with corks or caps to bottle your finished product. 
8. A winemaker’s hydrometer, while not necessary, will make your life a lot easier: it allows you to measure the sugar content, and thus the alcohol level, of your base mixture. 
9. Blends of tartaric, citric, and malic acids can also be purchased in addition to the yeast nutrient to further refine the balance and quality of the end result, but they’re optional. 

Like conventional grape wine, homemade wine should be stored in a cool, dry place. While it’s fermenting, you can cover your carboy with a dark T-shirt to block further light.

Making your own wine is a testament to the power of patience to beget great things. (Got a couple years? Good! Let’s do this.) 

1. The main thing to remember is the ratio—which is best worked out through trial and error and personal preference, so stay flexible and open to experimentation. To make 5 gallons of wine, the corresponding amount of fruit is typically around 10 to 15 pounds, depending on the strength of the flavor you’re looking to distill. 
2. The amount of added sugar should be about half. (So, if you’re making a smaller batch, with 4 pounds of fruit, you’d likely use a scant 2 pounds of sugar.)
3. To be exact, use a hydrometer on your starting juice and scale up from there.


1. Blackberry wine
2. Plum wine
3. Cherry wine
4. Elderberry wine
5. Raspberry wine
6. Apple wine
7. Strawberry wine

Making your own fruit wine is a pretty slick move. Very “pastoral homesteader” chic, if you will.

Fruit wine is a term that refers to a fermented beverage (also sometimes called “country wine”) made with a fruit juice base that is not grape juice. Think plum, pomegranate, or elderberry, or any fermentable plant matter you think sounds delicious, like dandelions.

What Is Fruit Wine? 

Technically, fruit wine is wine. Although the term “wine” is conventionally used to refer to the beverage made of grapes, the process of making fruit wine—allowing yeast to feed on the sugars in fruit and become alcohol—is the same. Depending on the fruit used, fruit wine can produce red wines and white wines.

Is Fruit Wine, Wine?

Fruit wine tastes predominantly of the base fruit you choose to feature. Depending on the length of your <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-fermentation-learn-about-the-3-different-types-of-fermentation-and-6-tips-for-homemade-fermentation' target='_blank' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-fermentation-learn-about-the-3-different-types-of-fermentation-and-6-tips-for-homemade-fermentation","linkCopy":"fermentation","category":null}'>fermentation</a> process, it can range from tangy and funky to soft and mellow. By measuring and adjusting the acids in a fruit wine, you can make the blend more dynamic and balanced.

What Does Fruit Wine Taste Like?

To make homemade wine, you’ll need:<ol class="mc-m-4"><li class="mc-my-4"> 1. Wine yeast </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 2. A fermentation bag </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 3. A large crock, gallon jug, or glass jug for the primary fermentation </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 4. Large carboy or glass containers for the secondary fermentations </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 5. An airlock </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 6. A siphon tube </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 7. Clean wine bottles with corks or caps to bottle your finished product. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 8. A winemaker’s hydrometer, while not necessary, will make your life a lot easier: it allows you to measure the sugar content, and thus the alcohol level, of your base mixture. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 9. Blends of tartaric, citric, and malic acids can also be purchased in addition to the yeast nutrient to further refine the balance and quality of the end result, but they’re optional. </li></ol>

What Equipment Do You Need to Make Wine at Home?

Like conventional grape wine, homemade wine should be stored in a cool, dry place. While it’s fermenting, you can cover your carboy with a dark T-shirt to block further light.

How to Store Homemade Wine

Making your own wine is a testament to the power of patience to beget great things. (Got a couple years? Good! Let’s do this.) <ol class="mc-m-4"><li class="mc-my-4"> 1. The main thing to remember is the ratio—which is best worked out through trial and error and personal preference, so stay flexible and open to experimentation. To make 5 gallons of wine, the corresponding amount of fruit is typically around 10 to 15 pounds, depending on the strength of the flavor you’re looking to distill. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 2. The amount of added sugar should be about half. (So, if you’re making a smaller batch, with 4 pounds of fruit, you’d likely use a scant 2 pounds of sugar.) </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 3. To be exact, use a hydrometer on your starting juice and scale up from there. </li></ol>

3 Tips for Making Homemade Fruit Wine

<ol class="mc-m-4"><li class="mc-my-4"> 1. Blackberry wine </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 2. Plum wine </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 3. Cherry wine </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 4. Elderberry wine </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 5. Raspberry wine </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 6. Apple wine </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 7. Strawberry wine </li></ol>

7 Fruit Flavor Ideas  

Simple Homemade Fruit Wine Recipe

Making your own fruit wine is a pretty slick move. Very “pastoral homesteader” chic, if you will.

Making your own fruit wine is a pretty slick move. Very “pastoral homesteader” chic, if you will.
