Remove the water from the heat, stir in honey and let cool.
Using ripe cranberries, chop, crush, or food process cranberries.
Add diluted honey, chopped cranberries, and the remaining 1/2 gallon of cool water to the primary fermenter bucket.
Once the mixture is less than 90 degrees Fahrenheit, add yeast and nutrient. Add water to the airlock, and secure the lid to the bucket. Allow the mixture to ferment for 4-6 weeks, or until fermentation stops.
After fermentation stops (in 4-6 weeks), rack the wine into a secondary carboy, leaving behind sediment and particles. Secure the airlock again, and allow it to sit for another 30 days.
If wine is clear after 30 days, the wine can be bottled, backsweetened (optional), and aged. If the wine has particles or is cloudy, re-rack the wine into another carboy for another 30 days. Repeat this process until the wine clears.
Once the wine remains clear 30 days after being racked, stabilize and backsweeten (optional), bottle, and age.
If you wish to backsweeten, you must first rack the wine into a new carboy (this will prevent stirring up any possible sediment). Add the potassium sorbate, and let it sit for 24 hours. The next day, prepare honey by diluting it in a glass of your new wine. Siphon 1.25 ounces (37 mL) of wine into a tasting shotglass, and add a few drops of honey (keep track). Stir well and taste. Refill the empty glass and repeat this process until the desired taste. Count up the drops of honey mixture, and multiply by 5. This is how much of your diluted honey mix in mL to add to your gallon of wine. (Example: If your desired taste took 5 drops of the honey mix, you would add 25 mL of the honey mix per gallon of wine, or 50 mL for 2 gallons of wine.) Stir well, and do a final taste test, bottle, and age.
Wait at least 6 months to taste. Cranberry wine tastes best after aged 6 months to 1 year.
Chill cranberry wine before serving.
Keyword Brandy, Mead, Moonshine, Schnapps
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