Recipe Rhubarb Wine in Five Steps

Learn how to easily transform rhubarb into a delicious fruity wine!

Rhubarb lends itself particularly well to homemade fruit wines. Rhubarb wine has a lovely acidity on the palate and lemony, floral notes. Many homemade wine lovers like to combine rhubarb with other fruits, but here, it's allowed to shine on its own! Making homemade rhubarb wine is very simple. All you need is a few ingredients, the right equipment, and proper sanitation.

In this recipe, we'll give you all the information you need to transform rhubarb stalks into a delicious wine that can be enjoyed both in summer and on cold winter evenings.

If you follow the instructions and quantities carefully, you'll end up with a dry, slightly sparkling (perlant) wine with an alcohol content of around 10%.

Rhubarb
The peak harvest season for rhubarb lasts two to three months. In France, it's mainly found in May and June, and in Canada, it's mainly found in June and July. However, you can also use frozen rhubarb for this recipe. You can make rhubarb wine any time of year.

Sugar
Unlike other fruits used to make wine, rhubarb does not contain a lot of sugar. Sugar must be added to feed the yeast and create alcohol. White sugar works very well. You can also use cane sugar or other natural sugars, but not artificial sugars like erythritol. It is mainly the amount of sugar that will influence the amount of alcohol in the final wine.

Water
Water is the most important ingredient by volume in rhubarb wine. Use filtered water, if possible.

Yeast
Many rhubarb wine recipes use wild yeasts to convert sugar into alcohol. However, to avoid unpleasant surprises, we recommend using wine yeast. For this recipe, we chose Lalvin K1-V1116 yeast, which brings delicate, fruity aromas to rhubarb wine. EC-1118 and D-47 yeasts are two other good options.

Yeast Food
Unlike grapes, rhubarb does not contain the nutrients necessary for yeast to work. Therefore, nutrients must be added to stimulate fermentation! We recommend using yeast food, which contains all the nutrients, mineral salts, and nitrogen necessary for healthy yeast, such as "Fermaid" yeast food.

Tannins (tea)
Tannins give a wine astringency and an interesting taste in the mouth. Grapes contain a lot of them, but not rhubarb! So you can infuse black tea into the wort… or not! It’s up to you.

Equipment for making rhubarb wine:
1 wide-mouth glass jar with lid
1 Knife
1 Spoon
1 Large saucepan
1 nylon filter
1 carboy with pierced stopper and airlock (1 gallon)
1 auto siphon
1 hydrometer (optional)
1 funnel
5 swing-top glass bottles (750 ml)

INGRÉDIENTSSanitation

• 1 tsp. Star San (sanitizer)
• Water

Rhubarb Syrup

• 1.5 kg rhubarb
• 1 kg white sugar

Must

• 1 sachet K1-V116 yeast
• ¼ tsp Fermaid yeast food
• 2 bags plain black tea (optional)
• 3 Filtered water

PRÉPARATIONMaking Rhubarb Syrup

1. Wash the rhubarb and remove any damaged parts.
2. Cut the rhubarb into approximately 3 cm pieces.
3. Fill the jar with the rhubarb pieces.
4. Add the white sugar.
5. Close the jar lid.
6. Let the syrup macerate. Stir at least once a day to help the sugar dissolve.
7. After 3 to 7 days, separate the syrup from the rhubarb with the nylon strainer. Pour the syrup into a large saucepan.
8. Return the rhubarb pieces to the jar and cover with 2 liters of water. Stir to extract as much syrup as possible.
9. Strain again, pouring it back into the saucepan.
10. Heat the syrup over medium-high heat, then remove from the heat as soon as it begins to boil.
11. Add the black tea to the syrup. Let it steep for about ten minutes, then remove the tea bags.
12. Use the rhubarb pieces to make jam, a pie, or muffins. No waste!

Sanitizing the Equipment

1. Add the sanitizer to the carboy.
2. Fill the carboy with cold water to the brim.
3. Let it sit for at least 2 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, clean and rinse your sink, then close its cap.
5. Pour the contents of the carboy down the sink.
6. Soak the equipment you are about to use: perforated cap, auto-siphon, funnel, hydrometer, small bowl, spoon, airlock.
7. Let sit for at least 2 minutes.
8. Drain the water and let the equipment drain without rinsing.

Mash Preparation

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water. Mix gently with a sanitized spoon and let stand.
2. Touch the saucepan containing the rhubarb syrup. If the sides of the saucepan are too hot to touch, wait. The goal is to get the temperature below 40°C (105°F).
3. Add the yeast and yeast food to the saucepan. Mix well with the spoon.
4. Transfer the liquid into the carboy using the funnel.
5. Top up with water to within 5 cm (2 in) of the rim.
6. Submerge the hydrometer into the carboy. Record the result, which should be around 1.075. If it is higher or lower, the final alcohol level will change.
7. Place the perforated stopper on the carboy. Insert the autosiphon tube into the hole. Place the other end of the tube in a glass filled with water.

Wine Fermentation

1. Let ferment for 5 days at room temperature, away from direct sunlight. Fermentation will be very active!
2. Replace the autosiphon tube with the airlock.
3. Fill the airlock with water to the line.
4. Let it ferment for 3 more weeks (1 month total), or until there are no more bubbles in the airlock. It is also possible to age the rhubarb wine for several months in a carboy.

Bottling

1. Sanitize the bottles, auto-siphon, and hydrometer.
2. Measure the specific gravity of the rhubarb wine with the hydrometer. Record the result, which should be around 0.998. If the specific gravity is higher than 1.005, let it ferment for a few more weeks.
3. If desired, add 1 teaspoon of white sugar to each 750ml bottle to obtain sparkling rhubarb wine.
4. Using the auto-siphon, transfer the rhubarb wine into the bottles. Fill to within 3 cm of the rim. Be careful not to suck up any sediment from the bottom of the carboy with the auto-siphon.
5. Close the bottles and let them sit for at least 2 weeks in a cool, dark place.