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    Home » Recipes » Wine & Beer Brewing

    Watermelon Wine

    Published: Aug 3, 2011

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    Homemade Watermelon wine is tasty, easy to make and a unique choice for summer imbibing. Making it requires only fairly basic ingredients.

    Originally published August 3, 2011, Updated on 11/4/20

    A glass of pale pink wine, next to a white plate with watermelon slices on it.

    “Homemade watermelon wine is not only tasty, it's easy to make and a unique choice for summer imbibing. Also, we're a little overdue on putting on this summer's batch.

    What can I say, the tornado screwed with our summer brewing schedule when it turned our lives upside down!”

    Updating this post over 9 years after it was first written, it’s a bit of a wild ride to remember putting on a batch of this wine just a few months after the tornado.

    Blogs sure can be a weird look back on one’s own past!

    Anyway, since posting this recipe, this post has gone on to be one of the most popular on our blog! Being so old, though, there’s definitely room for updating it and adding more info.

    So, here we go!

    A glass of pale pink wine, next to a white plate with watermelon slices on it.

    Watermelon Wine

    This wine is easy to make, requiring very little in the way of ingredients... but does require some time.

    Once you wait it out, you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful, fruity wine that tastes like *summer*. It can vary in colour from a pale straw colour, to a pretty, pale pink... it just depends on the variety of watermelon.

    A line of tall, thin bottles of pale yellow wine.

    Wine made from yellow watermelons, after bottling. Wine made from Red watermelon loses a lot of the colour, but will end up slightly more pink than this

    It’s kind of fun in that you never really know what you’re going to end up with, for colour - some start out red and lose all colour - going almost yellow - and some start out pink and stay basically the same colour til the end!

    It's lovely when served chilled on a hot summer day... just be careful, it will knock you on your butt if you're not careful. The sweetness hides its potency!

    Wine Making Basics

    If you haven't attempted making wine before, don't be intimidated! Check out our primer to home brewing:

    - Wine Making At Home, Part 1: Why?

    - Wine Making at Home, Part 2: Equipment to Get Started

    - Wine Making at Home, Part 3: The Brewing Process.

    - Wine Making at Home, Part 4: How to Stabilize and Back Sweeten Wine

    Just a small handful of entries, and you'll be good to go!

    A glass of pale pink wine, next to a white plate with watermelon slices on it.

    Watermelon Wine Ingredients

    This recipe uses few ingredients, but it's important to make them the right ones. Most importantly:

    Watermelon

    First things first: You want to use fresh, ripe, juicy watermelon.

    We used to recommend using only watermelons WITH seeds, but seedless watermelons have been as good - and sometimes better - in flavour than seeded watermelons lately, so we’re relaxing that stance.

    I’d recommend tasting your watermelon as you cut it. If it is “meh” on flavour now, it’ll likely be kind of “meh” on flavour once fermented.

    It’s always easiest to start out with flavour, rather than try to add it after the fact. Find watermelons that have a great, robust flavour, and you’ll be glad you did!

    Several watermelons being cut open on a table.

    Sugar

    While we tend to play fast and loose with the sugar choices at times, watermelon wine has a much more narrow range of sugars that work with it:

    Granulated Sugar

    Plain white granulated sugar is your best bet for Homemade Watermelon Wine, and it’s what we use every time, now.

    It provides the most neutral flavour of all the sweeteners, which is important when the fruit being used - like watermelon - is a more subtle and easily overpowered flavour.

    Watermelon Wine

    Honey

    While we recommend exclusively using white sugar for the best results, you CAN substitute honey for all or part of the sugar.

    Note: If you substitute honey for all of the sugar, you’re making a mead. More specifically, a “Melomel” - a mead made with fruit. File that one away for future trivia contests!

    If you do decide to use honey with this one, use one that is lightly coloured and flavoured. Any of the darker honey varieties - such as buckwheat - or heavily flavoured ones (like wildflower) will overpower the watermelon flavour.

    You may end up with something tasty, but it won’t be watermelon flavoured!

    Yeast

    We like to use Red Star’s “Champagne” Yeast for this one. It has a high tolerance for alcohol, which allows for a high final ABV.

    You can use whatever wine making yeast you like, just know how it’ll impact your final product.

    The main way that your yeast choice will impact the final product is in ABV. The higher a yeast strain’s tolerance for alcohol is, the longer they’ll live as they’re fermenting your watermelon juice - and the higher the ABV you’ll end up with.

    The more sugar the yeast processes into alcohol, the dryer the wine gets, as well.

    A glass of pale pink wine, next to a white plate with watermelon slices on it.

    If you choose a yeast that has a lower tolerance for alcohol, it will die off before the ABV gets very high - or the wine gets very dry.

    Yeast brands and strains can vary wildly depending on your store and where you live, so I definitely recommend talking to your local homebrew supply store. Let them know what you’re aiming for in terms of sweetness and/or ABV, and ask which of their yeasts they’d recommend.

    Just don’t use bread or all purpose yeast for brewing, though. Stick to wine yeast!

    Back Sweetening Your Watermelon Wine

    Watermelon wine is a wine that is best made sweet. Dry watermelon wine... doesn’t really taste like much of anything. Like most fruit wines - especially the lighter coloured ones - you’ll definitely want to make this one at LEAST semi sweet.

    Sometimes, you’ll find that the yeast went a bit too far with their smorgasbord, and you end up with a wine that’s not as sweet as you’d like it.

    ... and that’s when you back sweeten it! You can read my How to Stabilize and Back Sweeten Wine post for information on how to back sweeten it.

    A glass of pale pink watermelon wine, next to a white plate with watermelon slices on it.

    Watermelon Wine Specifics

    While the earlier mentioned “Wine Making Basics” posts have a ton of great information, there are a few things specific to Homemade Watermelon Wine that aren’t addressed:

    Preparing your Watermelon

    Chopping the watermelon is messy business. I recommend putting a cutting board in a baking sheet (the kind with rim/short walls), and cutting it up in there. Periodically dump the accumulated juice into the pot.

    Seasonality

    This is very much a seasonal wine, and it will NOT turn out anywhere near as good if you make it with winter produce.

    Additionally - unlike most of our wine recipes - there really isn’t a frozen version of fresh watermelon!

    With those bits of info in mind, be more wine than you think you’ll need, because you’re not going to want to start another batch in 6 months or whatever!

    We made the mistake of only putting on 1 gallon the first time, and 5 next time. This year, we'll likely make 10 gallons - plan accordingly!

    Watermelon wine makes a great gift... especially after a tornado, LOL. We had a TON of people to thank!

    A glass of pale pink wine, next to a white plate with watermelon slices on it.

    Water

    One question that we’re asked often is “But how much water do we add?”

    It’s no mistake that we don’t call for water in the recipe - we don’t USE water for this. Unlike most fruit, watermelon breaks down almost completely when heated.

    You start out with chunks of watermelon - and the juice that comes out as you cut it - but it quickly breaks down to a liquid.

    Because the watermelon flavour is relatively subtle compared to most fruits, we don’t add any water at all, and just ferment straight watermelon flesh / juice.

    More Home Brewing Recipes!

    While you've got your current homebrew fermenting away, why not consider putting a batch of something else on, to occupy your wait time? Here are a few of my other wine, cider, and mead recipes:

    Wine Recipes

    Banana Wine Recipe
    Blackberry Wine Recipe
    Blackcurrant Wine Recipe
    Blueberry Wine Recipe
    Cherry Wine Recipe
    Cranberry Clementine Christmas Wine Recipe
    Cranberry Wine Recipe
    Faux Lingonberry Wine
    Lychee Wine Recipe
    Mango Strawberry Wine Recipe
    Mango Wine Recipe
    Mint Wine Recipe
    Lychee Wine Recipe
    Partridgeberry Wine Recipe
    Passionfruit Wine Recipe
    Peach Wine Recipe
    Stone Fruit Wine Recipe
    Strawberry Wine Recipe
    Ube Wine Recipe

    Mead Recipes

    Black Cherry Mead Recipe
    Blueberry-Clementine Mead Recipe
    Blueberry Mead Recipe
    Clementine Mead Recipe
    Pumpkin Mead Recipe
    Wildflower Mead Recipe

    Cider & Miscellaneous Homebrew Recipes

    Hard Apple Cider Recipe
    Home Brew Hard Iced Tea Recipe
    Maple Hard Apple Cider Recipe

    A glass of pale pink watermelon wine, next to a white plate with watermelon slices on it.

    Share the Love!

    As you’re brewing - or serving! - your homemade wine, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!

    Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense.

    Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

    Anyway, on to my Homemade Watermelon Wine Recipe!

    A glass of pale pink wine, next to a white plate with watermelon slices on it.

    Watermelon Wine
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    4.48 from 23 votes

    How to Make Watermelon Wine

    Watermelon wine is not only tasty, it’s easy to make and a unique choice for summer imbibing. Making it requires fairly basic ingredients, and is a fun way to learn basic wine making!
    Prep Time1 hour hr
    Cook Time20 minutes mins
    Brewing Time180 days d
    Course: Drinks
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 1 Gallon
    Calories: 6616kcal
    Author: Marie Porter

    Equipment

    2 gallon fermenter bucket and lid
    1 - 2 1 gallon glass carboys & stoppers
    Siphon, siphon tubing.
    1 air lock and stopper

    Ingredients

    • 1 Large, Ripe Watermelon
    • 3 lbs Granulated Sugar
    • 1 teaspoon Acid Blend
    • 1 teaspoon Yeast Nutrient
    • 1 packet Red Star “Champagne” Brewing/Wine Yeast

    Instructions

    • Slice up watermelon, discarding rind. Chop watermelon flesh into 1″ cubes, placing into a large pot. Once all watermelon flesh and juice is collected in the pot, heat over medium, stirring and mashing frequently, until watermelon flesh has broken down into liquid. Remove from heat.
    • Measure about 3.5 L / 14-15 cups / 120 oz of juice, reserve any remaining – you can drink it straight, or make cocktails from it! In large pot, combine measured watermelon juice (straining the seeds out as you measure!) with the sugar. Heat to almost boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, cover with sanitized pot lid.
    • Once mixture has cooled to room temperature, add acid blend and yeast nutrient.
    • Using a sanitized funnel, transfer cooled mixture to a sanitized 2 gallon fermenting bucket.
    • Using sanitized equipment, take a gravity reading. It should be in around the 1.16 area. Keep track of the number! (This is an optional step, but will allow you to calculate your final ABV %)
    • Sprinkle yeast into bucket, cover with sanitized air lock. Let sit, undisturbed, overnight.
    • Within 24 hours, you should notice fermentation activity – bubbles in the airlock, carbonation and /or swirling in the wine must. This means you’re good to go! Put the bucket somewhere cool (not cold!), and leave it alone for a month.
    • Using sanitized equipment, rack the clarified wine off the sediment, into a clean, freshly sanitized 1 gallon carboy. Cap with sanitized airlock, leave it alone for another 2-3 months. r
    • Repeat racking process. Leave wine alone for a month or two. By 6 months in, your wine should be very clear, and VERY tasty!
    • When your wine has been racked a few times and shows NO more fermenting activity for a month or so (no bubbles in the airlock, no more sediment being produced, you can move on to bottling:
    • Using sanitized equipment, take a gravity reading*, then rack the wine into clean, sanitized bottles. Cork.
    • Enjoy.. and start planning for next year’s batch(es)!

    Notes

    * Our final gravity reading on this comes out to about 1.012
    IMPORTANT:
    Software generates nutritional information based on the ingredients as they start, and is unable to account for the sugars consumed in the fermentation process. As such, the calories, sugars, and carbs are shown WAY higher than reality.
    Additionally, the listed value is for the entire recipe, NOT per serving.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 6616kcal | Carbohydrates: 1700g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 59mg | Potassium: 5040mg | Fiber: 18g | Sugar: 1637g | Vitamin A: 25605IU | Vitamin C: 365mg | Calcium: 329mg | Iron: 11mg

    Related posts:

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    • A wine glass of a medium purple blueberry clementine mead, with a dish of blueberries and a halved clementine next to it.
      Blueberry Clementine Mead

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. DA Bessire

      July 19, 2013 at 8:51 am

      When you make a 6 gallon batch do you multiply even the yeast and acid blend by 6 ? Let me know.

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        July 19, 2013 at 9:55 am

        Multiply the acid blend, but you don't need to multiply the yeast. You can toss a second packet in for good measure, but I wouldn't bother with any more beyond that.

        Reply
        • Chemusto Tom

          May 06, 2020 at 7:57 pm

          How much water is added to the watermelon juice e.g 3.5 letres of juice

          Reply
          • Marie Porter

            May 07, 2020 at 4:56 pm

            None - per the recipe 🙂

            Reply
        • Julie

          July 30, 2021 at 10:23 am

          My wine stoper bubbling after a week. What should I do?:(
          Julie

          Reply
          • Marie Porter

            August 30, 2021 at 2:25 pm

            Just leave it until you rack it over. If you had bubbling for a week, your yeast was fine!

            Reply
      • kemp larson

        July 20, 2020 at 6:19 pm

        How much water do you add? I fo not see it.

        Reply
        • Michael Porter

          July 21, 2020 at 8:40 am

          None, you break the watermelon down into juice by heating it.

          Reply
        • Kellie Delong

          November 08, 2021 at 1:46 pm

          5 stars
          I love making different kinds of wine and watching the look on somebody's face when they drink it

          Reply
    2. DA Bessire

      July 23, 2013 at 6:03 pm

      5 stars
      Ok great I'm all in for a six gallon batch. Do you use anything to kill the Yeast? Any other Chemical additives? Thanks for taking the time to write this guide and answer our questions..

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        July 23, 2013 at 6:12 pm

        Nope, we tend to figure that by the time the watermelon has broken down, it's been heated enough to kill any remaining yeast.

        Reply
        • DA Bessire

          July 26, 2013 at 11:35 pm

          When I heated the melon it never turned into a liguid completely. I could strain but along with the seeds I am getting a lot of flesh containing lots of sweet. Could I leave the seeds and all? Do you think I am doing something wrong, maybe not stewing it long enough?

          Reply
          • WES UNWIN

            July 11, 2021 at 4:37 pm

            5 stars
            Last week was 3 months bottling.
            Wine is pale and very tasty. Finished at 12%AVB.
            Thank you for the receipt
            Now watching for 6 months adversary. Don't think it will last for 1 year.

            Reply
    3. nickie

      September 23, 2013 at 7:43 pm

      do you have issues with the yeast bubbling out of our airlock when it is just put on top? I did exactly as your recipe states and I kept having the yeast foam out the airlock so I had to stir it in. Thanks for your reply!

      Reply
    4. giles blkackwell

      July 17, 2014 at 1:05 am

      what if you use rind and melon flesh would the wine taste awful ?

      Reply
      • Kat

        August 03, 2020 at 1:07 pm

        Peel the green skin from the flesh and make watermelon rind pickle! Everyone loves it !!!

        Reply
    5. Ron Heilmann

      July 22, 2014 at 2:08 pm

      Can I use a 5 gal plastic water jug as a carboy or does it have to be glass?

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        July 24, 2014 at 7:27 am

        Ideally glass - plastic can impart weird flavours on your wine, if you keep it on plastic too long.

        Reply
        • Jimi

          September 13, 2020 at 12:14 am

          It says add yeast nutrient in step 3 and then add yeast in step 6 is there two things of yeast I need?

          Reply
          • Marie Porter

            September 13, 2020 at 7:03 am

            Yeast nutrient isn't yeast. It's yeast nutrient!

            Reply
            • Laverne

              January 16, 2021 at 1:18 pm

              Hello, I made a batch, it’s been racked once now. Tasted kinda like a bland couph syrup at this point. What else can I add to perk up the flavor a bit? Mint? Kiwi?

            • Marie Porter

              January 20, 2021 at 6:00 am

              Might want to add a little acid blend to perk it up, but honestly I'd just wait. What wine tastes like once it's finished is nothing like what it tastes like at the first racking, IMHO.

          • Kyle Prunty

            June 09, 2023 at 5:48 pm

            Yeast and Yeast Nutrient are two different things. Yeast is alive and feeds on sugars, creating alcohol in the process. Yeast nutrient is meant to keep the yeast healthy. Think of yeast as a person, sugar as a steak, and yeast nutrients as the vegetables. The "vegetables" help the yeast live longer and produce higher ABV.

            Reply
    6. jonny

      September 29, 2014 at 3:57 pm

      how big of a difference will it make if you don't use that yeast and what is an acid blend (vinegar)

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        September 30, 2014 at 7:14 am

        Using any of the winemaking yeasts will work, it'll just affect the final alcohol content, more than anything. Some yeasts have a higher tolerance, will take the wine much drier. If that's the case, you'll want to add more sugar after fermenting - watermelon wine really does need to be a sweet wine.

        Acid blend is a common additive, found at homebrewing supply stores. Don't use vinegar!

        Reply
        • Julie Pelton

          August 13, 2021 at 8:13 pm

          Is the yeast used in here the red star premier blanc champagne yeast? I Want to make sure I get the right one. And also wondering how sweet this wine ends up. I like mine pretty sweet. Thanks!

          Reply
          • Marie Porter

            July 21, 2022 at 1:48 pm

            We tend to vary which yeast we use across different batches, Premier blanc works though.

            How sweet it turns out is up to you - you definitely want to backsweeten this one, though. Without some residual sugar, it doesn't taste at all like watermelon.

            Reply
    7. Maureen

      January 22, 2015 at 6:46 pm

      5 stars
      Marie, my husband and I bottled our first gallon of watermelon wine yesterday, using your recipe, and it is beautiful and very good! You are correct about the high alcohol content...I think ours ended up being between 16 and 17 percent!! We look forward to Summer and growing more watermelons and making more wine. Thank you so much for your delicious recipe!

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        January 26, 2015 at 8:52 am

        Thank you for your kind words!

        How amazing that you can make it with your own home grown watermelons! Consider me jealous.

        Reply
      • Sharon Ramon

        July 13, 2021 at 12:45 am

        What can I use for a fermenting container if I dont have a locking lid. Could I use an instantpot container. Completely new to this...obviously.

        Reply
        • Marie Porter

          July 15, 2021 at 7:59 am

          You're really going to want a proper fermenting container that can take an airlock. They're really cheap though - a good investment!

          Reply
    8. prit

      March 01, 2015 at 4:12 am

      Hello Marie,

      Me from India and it is the water melon season. And I intend to make water melon wine from your recipe.

      However, some difficulties and some questions.

      1) We don't get acid blend here. So, I intend to mix lime juice and tamarind juice (citric and tartaric acid). Because a blend is also citric and tartaric acid. Do you think it should work well?

      2) Can I turn the water melon into a fine juice using a juicer instead of crushing?

      3) Also, in your recipe you have asked to strain out the seeds. But I wonder how is that possible. Once you strain, are you also not going to strain out the reminder of the flesh which hasn't been converted into juice?

      4) No need to add any water to this, right?

      5) Should I boil? Instead can't I use potassium metabisulphite (we don't get campden tablets here in India) and leave it for 24 hours before adding the yeast.

      And last question:

      6) when I add yeast, will it get dissolved automatically or is there a need to stir it?

      I appreciate your patient replies Marie.

      Thank you.

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        March 11, 2015 at 12:08 pm

        Hi Prit!

        1. OK... do you have a brewing supply store near you? Personally, I'd ask them what's used for acid in brewing over there, if you can't get actual acid blend. I have no idea if tamarind and lime are acid enough to be a stand in, or what the ratio would be.

        2. You can, but that's definitely more work / mess.

        3. You'll get a bit of flesh with it, but most will have liquified.

        4. Nope. No water.

        5. You can use that, but I prefer to boil.

        6. Just add it, it doesn't need to be stirred

        Reply
        • Willie Gutierrez

          August 18, 2020 at 1:31 am

          Leaving it on the sediment before the first racking for a month or two doesn't cause off flavors? Ill fallow the recipe exactly but thought ide ask the question. I usually tack for the first time after two weeks, just because thats how i learned. Ive never made watermelon wine before.
          Thanks.

          Reply
          • Marie Porter

            August 18, 2020 at 4:01 am

            We've never had any off flavours from it

            Reply
    9. Joe

      March 02, 2015 at 6:23 pm

      5 stars
      Marie, this looks like a great recipe! One that I am looking forward to trying once watermelons are in season. I have a question though, after you mash the watermelon and measure out the liquid; do you strain it or include the watermelon flesh as well?

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        March 11, 2015 at 12:05 pm

        The watermelon flesh basically liquifies as you cook it, so I leave it all in.

        Reply
    10. John Snider

      September 21, 2015 at 8:58 pm

      I didn't find your recipe until a month after I started my 5 gallon batch. My local home brew store was out of the champagne yeast so my wife picked up some turbo yeast. The turbo yeast was intended for using 13 lbs sugar and 5 gallons of water to make a 26% alc mash. I assume to further distill. The mixture started working within 2 minutes of placing the airlock on. I will let you know how it comes out when it's finished. I will be using you're recipe next year. Thank You.

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        September 23, 2015 at 9:22 am

        No problem!

        I've never used turbo yeast, so I'm curious to hear about how it turns out!

        Reply
    11. Brad

      January 09, 2016 at 10:04 pm

      Hello ma'am,

      I live and work on a fully operational farm in south GA. I've made watermelon wine a few different times using a very similar recipe. I've always only made 5 gallons at a time, just for personal consumption. The owner of the farm I work on found out about my wine through word of mouth. Needless to say, he was a fan and wants me to make 100 gallons this year and will fully fund the operation. My question is, in your professional opinion, how much yeast should I use total? I have asked my elders that was generous enough to teach me to make it originally, yet that was almost a year ago and no one seems to have a straight answer for me. I sure would greatly appreciate any and all advice and insight you May have on this.

      Thank you for your time,
      Brad

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        October 04, 2016 at 11:22 am

        Well, I have NO experience at all with commercial, large batch wines, so I'm really not the person to ask. If I were to guess, it'd be a packet per 5 gallons... but for all I know, commercial wineries use yeast in larger packets.

        Reply
    12. Paul

      June 07, 2016 at 8:35 am

      How did John snyders wine come out? I think the turbo yeast will give it some off flavoring because it's mostly used for higher alcohol content mash for distilling.

      Reply
      • John Rhoe

        January 15, 2023 at 7:23 pm

        5 stars
        Some commenters have no brewer’s sense. But, I worked in wine research. I have a leg up.

        Reply
    13. jean

      July 10, 2016 at 1:23 am

      is lalvin all purpose wine yeast ok to use instead of the red star... i am very new to this wine making... and after reading this watermelon recipe i have to try it... so any extra tips would be great... going to try for making a 5- 6 gal batch. thanks

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        July 25, 2016 at 11:22 am

        Should be fine!

        Reply
      • Chris

        April 08, 2020 at 8:29 am

        I want to make 5 gallons for a party im having I was wondering would i multiply the ingrediently for 1 gallon by 5 or is that to much sugar and yeast just w/o dering new to wine making ive made small batchs never this big

        Reply
        • Marie Porter

          April 11, 2020 at 6:59 am

          You can just multiply by 5 for everything but yeast. You CAN multiply yeast by 5, but you really don't need to. I'll usually just double the yeast for a big batch.

          Reply
    14. chris

      July 29, 2016 at 6:28 pm

      quick question. making a 5 gallon batch in fermentation buckets, do I multiply everything except the yeast by 5?

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        August 02, 2016 at 8:50 am

        More or less, yes!

        Reply
    15. Donna

      August 22, 2016 at 8:54 am

      If using champagne yeast does this have to be bottled like champagne?

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        October 04, 2016 at 11:06 am

        Nope

        Reply
    16. Fred

      August 29, 2016 at 4:30 pm

      how long can I store the wine.

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        October 04, 2016 at 11:06 am

        We've stored it for a couple years. Not sure beyond that, it's always gone before it can get too old.

        Reply
    17. Bull

      January 08, 2017 at 9:36 am

      Would a steamer juicer work? I have had good luck with strawberry and blueberry just curious

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        February 06, 2017 at 6:33 am

        I'm not even sure what that is, so can't really give any advice there.. sorry about that!

        Reply
    18. Timothy Nichols

      July 23, 2017 at 10:58 am

      To give you an idea of how much liquid you will end up with. I would say that I extracted at least 95% of the watermelons juice. I had six watermelons that I recently worked up to make wine and when it was all said and done I had maybe 3 to 4 cups of watermelon pulp left over. Watermelons are something like 95% to 99% water. The hard part is extracting the water. I used everything in the kitchen with holes in it trying to find something the worked well. I found that a "new or at least clean" sock was best way to go.

      Reply
    19. Nathan Bowers

      August 11, 2017 at 1:51 pm

      If you allow the yeast to fully ferment the mash where does the sweetness come from??

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        August 22, 2017 at 9:02 am

        There's more sugar than the yeast can ferment.

        Reply
    20. Robyn Witt

      August 05, 2020 at 5:23 pm

      Just a tip from an old lady: Buy a package of knee high nylons. 6 pairs-12 disposable drip strainers!

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        August 06, 2020 at 6:47 am

        Love it!

        Reply
    21. David

      August 31, 2020 at 8:09 am

      Easy enough recipe to follow I’m on the second day of fermentation first time making wine so I wanted to check something . Yeast is very active looks to be a fifth or sixth way down the bottle just making sure that’s normal basically where the neck almost reaches full bottle diameter. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        August 31, 2020 at 9:29 am

        If the yeast is active, you're all good! It'll go where it goes, as it digests the available sugars

        Reply
        • David

          September 01, 2020 at 6:55 am

          Follow up! Third day woke up to bubbled over airlock. I’m assuming very active 3-7 days? Also assuming this happens and I’m being an over protective parent but details below...

          Anyway, I cleaned up, sanitized outer jar and the rim. Put in other sanitized airlocks. My question, any concerns about proceeding? I’d rather start over now then have something bad in 4-6 months. Temp 75f or less, smell off lock gives hint of wine or wine slushy I’ve had at weddings with hint of yeast. Thanks!

          Reply
    22. Marita

      September 09, 2020 at 9:21 am

      Really excited to try this! Do you think it would be OK to freeze the watermelon in chunks first or best to make it fresh? I like to do all my wine-making in the fall with frozen fruit once I've put the garden to bed...
      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        September 10, 2020 at 7:15 pm

        Frozen will be just fine, as long as you're careful to not let it get freezerburnt!

        Reply
    23. Brewman551

      September 15, 2020 at 2:24 pm

      Hi Marie,
      Our watermelon harvest was great this year, and we have about 10 good melons left after we've eaten what we could and blessed others with some. I want to make 2-3 gallons and can multiply your recipe accordingly. This is my first time with watermelon, but with other wines, I don't boil, but use Campden tablets instead. Would I just replace your boil step with those?

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        October 19, 2020 at 6:15 am

        We've always boiled instead of using Campden tablets, so I'd say if you're going that way, just follow whatever directions the Campden tablets come with.

        Reply
    24. Tim

      September 19, 2020 at 12:33 pm

      How is the clarity on your final product? And what were your fermentation temperatures? I think light carbonation would add a nice dimension to something like this. What do you think?

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        September 19, 2020 at 12:37 pm

        The wine ferments out very clear. We've never measured temperature, we just brew everything in our basement (across 3 different houses over the years).

        Carbonation could be fun with this, for sure!

        Reply
    25. David

      September 22, 2020 at 10:32 am

      Is it normal to be boozy tasting after primary? I assume it needs time to mellow during secondary? First time wine maker

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        September 22, 2020 at 12:51 pm

        Definitely normal!

        Most wine needs to are a bit before it's really potable.

        Reply
    26. Danielle

      September 25, 2020 at 3:59 pm

      I'm hearing/reading that the carboys should be topped off after racking with a store bought wine or cooled/boiled water. Not to leave air space at the top, from the sediment left behind. Advice, please? Will be racking the first time tomorrow.

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        October 19, 2020 at 6:03 am

        Honestly, we don't really worry about it. Carbon dioxide (the gas coming from the yeast) is heavier than air, creating a kind of constantly-outgassing "cushion" over the wine.

        We've never topped up, and have even had bottles only half filled - no problems.

        Of course, you can top up if you'd like, we just prefer to keep the flavour and density of the wine as-is.

        It's all good!

        Reply
    27. Teddi

      October 17, 2020 at 5:48 pm

      I am making 6 gallons. After breaking down the watermelon and adding sugar and bringing to room temp, it is thick and a specific gravity of 1.150. I went ahead with primary fermentation and when I racked after a month smells amazing, but still quite thick. Any suggestions, or do I just keep on keepin' on with it?

      Reply
      • Teddi

        October 17, 2020 at 6:26 pm

        I did end up adding 3/4 of a gallon of water to reduce airspace in carboy. that seems to thin it a bit.

        Reply
      • Marie Porter

        October 19, 2020 at 5:42 am

        Depends on what you like in a wine! You can thin it out with (sterile!) water if you'd like, or leave it as-is for more of a dessert wine.

        Reply
    28. MELINDA

      November 17, 2021 at 3:40 pm

      You say to set it in a cool but not cold area.. about temp are we talking about?

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        July 21, 2022 at 1:46 pm

        Like a a basement temp, rather than a "garage in winter" temp.

        Reply
    29. MELINDA

      November 17, 2021 at 3:44 pm

      I have extra fine sugar, can I use that do you think ?

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        November 22, 2021 at 10:52 am

        Sure, as long as it's not *powdered* sugar!

        Reply
    30. Ian

      June 22, 2022 at 8:28 pm

      I make a lot of Fruit Wine with an alohol content of around 6 to 8%. I am not allowed to call them Cider, and if I do, I always get screamed down.
      I ferment at a controlled 22 deg C with a starting SG of 1.1
      I have found that bread yeast (Lowan Yeast Dried Instant) will go to around 10% and ferment quickly. Champagne yeast (I use EC-1118) will give a cleaner flavour but ferments more slowly. I tend to clarify and rack off after only a fortnight, and then cut back with 50% juice and some sugar if needed. It is then left to mature for a few months in a refridgerator, if I can wait that long.
      I normally clarify with gelatin. With watermelon, I found that the watermelon taste doesn't really shine through, but I can add taste and color by clarifying with watermelon flavoured jelly crystals. The gelatin clarifies the wine and drops out, leaving the flavour and colour. Totally fake, I know but it works, and you end up with a refreshing drink which looks and tastes ike watermelon.

      Reply
    31. Hunter

      July 20, 2022 at 12:39 am

      What is the watermelon wine supposed to smell like after racking the first time?

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        July 21, 2022 at 7:03 am

        Basically just like.. yeast and alcohol.

        Reply
    32. Aman Sharma

      August 05, 2022 at 1:37 am

      This is a great recipe! I'm going to have to try it!

      Reply
    33. kent ng

      July 19, 2023 at 3:52 pm

      Hello, a bit late to the party but i made this watermelon wine after a few successful attempts at mead. It came out a light straw color with the red bits settled on the bottom and stuck to the side of my glass carboy. I left it in the carboy, without racking, for about a year as I just had twins. I just bottled it and it smells very skunky and stinky. I'm wondering if this is bad?

      Reply
      • Marie Porter

        July 21, 2023 at 7:14 am

        That can be "skunked wine" - sulfur compounds formed due to exposure to air and/or light. Did your airlock dry out over that year?

        I haven't had it happen, but I've heard that dropping a really old (all copper) penny into it can neutralize the sulfur.

        Personally, I'd chuck it and start over - it could also smell bad from bacterial contamination, and I'm not one to take the risk on consuming spoiled wine.

        Reply

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