← Seasonal recipes

Crab Apple Wine

Getting confident

In season September to October · makes 4.5 L · target OG 1.090

Restraint with a sharp, tannic fruit — a little carries a lot — and the patience that tannin needs.

You will need

  • Crab apples2.0 kg
  • Sugar1.3 kg
  • Pectic enzymeper dose
  • Wine yeast + nutrient1 sachet
  • Waterto 4.5 L

Picking it at the right moment

  • Crab apple

    Ready when they have coloured up and the first windfalls drop; press one — it should give slightly. Hard green crabs are unripe.

Method

  1. 1

    Sanitise. Crab apples are intensely sharp and tannic — far more so than eating apples — so this is a lesson in restraint: they carry a wine on their own, well diluted.

  2. 2

    Chop and crush the crab apples (discard any bruised or rotten ones) under 2.5 L cooled boiled water; add pectic enzyme.

  3. 3

    Add the sugar dissolved warm; top to 4.5 L (reading ~1.090); pitch the yeast and nutrient.

  4. 4

    Ferment on the pulp three days, stirring daily, then strain.

  5. 5

    Rack and age well — the sharpness and tannin need a year or more to soften into a crisp, characterful dry wine.

  6. 6

    A hedgerow answer to a dry white; patience rewards it.

What this one teaches you

  • · Dilution of strong fruit

Make a free account to copy this into your own recipes and record a batch against it.

An original MakeWine recipe.