Zucchini Wine

• 4 pounds zucchini
• 3 campden tablets 
• 2 oranges
• 2 lemons 
• 7 cups sugar
• pectic enzyme 
• nutrients 
• 1 package wine yeast 
•  water 

1. Wash zucchini. Leave skin on. Chop zucchini and place in primary fermentor.
2. Wash oranges and lemons. Slice thinly and add to zucchini. 
3. Stir in sugar and nutrients. 
4. Pour 16 cups boiling water over mixture. Stir to dissolve sugar. Let cool. 
5. Add pectic enzyme. 
6. The next day, check specific gravity -- it should be between 1.090 and 1.100.
7. Add yeast. 
8. Stir daily for five days, until frothing stops. Strain. Siphon into secondary fermentor and attach airlock. 

 For a dry wine, rack in three weeks, and every three months for one year. Bottle. 


 For a sweet wine, rack at three weeks. Add 1/2 cup corn syrup dissolved in 1 cup wine. Stir gently, and place back into secondary fermentor. Repeat process every six weeks until fermentation does not restart with the addition of syrup. Rack every three months until one year old. Bottle. 


Variations:


1. Instead of granulated sugar, try honey or brown sugar.  
2. For a spiced wine, add 1 ounce fresh ginger root, sliced thin, to the water before boiling it. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes before pouring it over the cucumbers. 


NOTE: This recipe makes 1 gallon of wine. To make a larger batch of wine, just multiply all ingredients by the number of gallons you want except the yeast. One packet of wine yeast is sufficient for up to 5 gallons of wine.


photo by: Jeremy Keith