Ginger wine

[Featherhat]

Having done a quick search on this forum and online generally I have not managed to find a definitive recipe for ginger wine, so, here is what I will be doing tomorrow, based on my research so far.
Should be ready for next Christmas.

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200g root ginger grated
500g raisins rinsed in warm water to remove the oil they're coated in.
2 lemons
1 chilli with or without seeds(optional)
1Kg sugar
1tsp pectolase
1 tsp nutrient
1tsp Young's super yeast compound
Chop the lemons, chilli and raisins and boil for 10-15 mins with the ginger in 2l of water
Transfer to fv and stir in sugar
Add 2l cold water and leave foŕ 12-24 hrs add pectolase yeast and nutrient and leave for a few days stirring daily.
Strain into dj and leave to ferment out.
Leave for 9 months to a year before drinking.
As I said, this recipe is based solely on academic research and will be subjected to rigorous taste testing the results of which I will share in about a year. I would be very interested to read other members opinions and experiences. :

 

[Featherhat]

Quick update. Got this going this morning. Closer to 250g of ginger, didnt chop raisins,added chilli with seeds, boiled 10 mins. Had a sneaky taste and it's going to be a fairly fiery brew. I'll check sg tomorrow before I pitch the yeast.

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[Featherhat]

Racked this today. It's still cloudy but hydrometer was reading 990 from an sg of 1110 and there was quite a heavy sediment layer in the bottom of the dj. The mouthful I got from the syphon tube was very dry, very fiery, and quite lemony. I added 250g of sugar, dissolved in boiling water to 500ml total volume which just compensated for the loss from racking. New sg 1012. I plan to add more sugar but I'll wait and see how this kicks off first. I'm not expecting anything too dramatic because I don't think I'm far off the tolerance level for the yeast.

 

[doodaa]

I was toying with a ginger wine too. one I came across was this but no idea if it's any good

7-1/2 pts unsweetened white grape juice (from concentrate)
1/2 lb chopped or minced golden raisins
2 oz ginger root
2 lbs granulated sugar
1/2 tsp acid blend
1/4 tsp grape tannin
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 pkt Champagne wine yeast

Mix up the grape juice and dissolve the sugar into it in the primary fermentation vessel. Shred the ginger and add it and the chopped or minced raisins to the primary. Add acid blend, tannin and yeast nutrient to must and stir well to dissolve. Sprinkle dry yeast on top of must (do not stir) and cover primary with sterilized cloth. After two days, stir twice daily until specific gravity drops to 1.020. Pour must through nylon straining bag (to collect solids) into secondary and squeeze bag to extract all juice. Discard solids and fit airlock to secondary. Rack after 30 days, top up and reattach airlock. Ferment to absolute dryness (about 2 more months), stabilize, sweeten to taste, wait 10 additional days, and rack into bottles. May drink immediately, but will improve with 6 months aging. This wine may be served as is or blended with other wines lacking in interest

taken from

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques41.asp

 

[Featherhat]

Looks like a sound recipe although, personally, I'd use more ginger..