Courgette and Sultana Wine UPDATE

Here we go, seven bottles of Courgette and Sultana Wine. This will need to lay in the wine rack for at least 3 months before trying it.

Let's hope it tastes ok...

Courgette and Sultana Wine

My brother bought me a book, Booze for Free, years ago and I came across this recipe whilst flicking through. We Still had a fair amount of courgettes to use up so why not hey? Let's try something different.

Courgette and Sultana Wine Recipe

Ingredients:
3kg fresh courgettes
1kg sugar
2 overripe bananas
500 g sultana
4 litres/7 pints water
1 tsp citric acid
a thumb sized piece of bruised ginger (that just means gentry squashed, but not broken. Use the side of the blade of a knife)
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 Campden tablet (optional)
Champagne yeast

Equipment:
Small saucepan
Fermentation bin
4.5 litre /1 gallon demijohn
Airlock and bung
Mincer (or sharp knife)
Siphoning tube

How to make it:
Chop the courgettes into 3cm pieces and put in the freezer overnight.
Allow to thaw (the courgette will be softened).
Bring 500ml/1 pint of water to the boil and stir in the sugar.
Mince the sultanas (or chop finely) and add these to the water too. Leave to one side.
Mash the bananas and mix it with all the other ingredients (except the yeast) in the fermentation bin.
Cover and allow to cool to hand-hot. If using a Campden tablet, add it now. Leave overnight.

Add the yeast and leave for four days loosely covered before straining the liquid into a demijohn and attaching an airlock and bung.
Rack* after a month and then again if needed. Allow to ferment out (the airlock will stop bubbling) then bottle.

This wine will benefit from at least three month's ageing.

*Rack(ing): siphoning the partially fermented wort into another vessel so it isn't fermenting on yeast sediment. Be careful to not disturb the layer of sediment at the bottom, stop siphoning before you reach it.

Original recipe from Andy Hamilton's,  'Booze for Free'