Making Hawthorn Berry Wine: Velvet Smooth Treasure

I discovered Hawthorn Berry wine by accident. My Aunt gave me an old wine making book and while reading various recipes I was drawn to Hawthorn Wine. I have Hawthorns growing near me, so finding fruit was easy. The wine is very simple to make, however the tough part was having enough patience before trying the results.

When I finally got to taste my homemade Hawthorn Berry wine, I discovered a flavor like sipping summer in a glass. The flavor reminiscent of tart apples, dances on your tongue. It’s perfect for long hot summer evenings shared with good friends.

This humble fruit creates something worthy of enjoying and sharing. Read on to get started making a truly delicious Hawthorn Berry wine.

Start Making Homemade Hawthorn Berry Wine: Our Secret

Our recipes are easy to follow. We’ve structured the winemaking process into distinct “Days”, each marking a critical phase in your Loganberry Wine’s lifecycle. Notice how the early stages need regular actions, followed by extended periods of patience as nature works its magic. We recommend you bookmark this page so it’s simple to come back and refer to our guide.

Together, we’ll transform this humble Hawthorn Berry into a homemade treasure.

Fermentistry.com

Ingredients For Making Homemade Hawthorn Berry Wine: Flavor Perfection

The list of ingredients for making Homemade Hawthorn Berry wine is short and sweet:

• 1 kg (2.2 lb) Ripe Hawthorn Berries (frozen berries are best)
• 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) Sugar (Demerara is best, White sugar is fine)
• Water 4.5 Liters (1.2 US Gallons) (1 Imp Gallon)
• Wine Yeast (we recommend a premium red wine yeast: RC 212 works well with the fruit flavor)
• Wine Nutrient Salts
• Pectinase 5 gm (1 teaspoon)
• Citric Acid 5 gm (1 teaspoons)
• Campden Tablets or 10% Sodium Metabisulfite solution

Equipment For Making Homemade Hawthorn Berry Wine: Makes It Easy

At first glance, the equipment list for making Hawthorn Berry Wine might seem intimidating, but don’t let it worry you. Most of these items are likely already tucked away in your kitchen. And here’s the best part, you won’t need everything at once!

The process unfolds in stages “Days”, meaning you can even gather equipment as you go. Bookmark this page so you can come back. The list below is the complete list of every piece of equipment you’ll need over the coming days and weeks.

If you’re a beginner, you’ll find a Fermentistry Approved list on this page Basic Wine Making Equipment: Essential For Professional Results. We even have a package to get you started fast!

• Primary Fermenter. Where your first Fermentation takes place
• Secondary Fermenter. Same as Primary Fermenter, used for Racking
• Fermenter Airlock. To let Carbon Dioxide escape and keep air out
• Food grade plastic bucket and lid 10 Liter (2.6 US Gallons) (2.2 Imp Gallons). Used for Juice Extraction
• Alcohol Hydrometer
• Measuring Cylinder 100 ml or tall glass (needs room for your Hydrometer to float freely)
• Brewing Siphon
• Note book and pen

Equipment For Making Homemade Hawthorn Berry Wine: Found In Your Kitchen

The following is a list of equipment you’ll probably already have stored in your kitchen. Just read the list and take a note of what you’ll need.

• Large Funnel with narrow neck
• Glass Jar and Lid
• Simple Kitchen Thermometer
• Kitchen Measuring Spoons
• Kitchen Long Handle Spoon
• Kitchen Measuring Jug
• Kitchen Scales
• Kitchen Sieve (Large)
• Kitchen Bowl
• Kitchen Stock Pot (larger than 5 Liters (1.3 US Gallons) (1.1 Imp Gallons)
• Kitchen Potato Masher
• Water Filter Jug. Used to remove Chlorine from tap water (you may not need this)

Homemade Hawthorn Berry Wine: Flavor Profile

Following our recipe you’ll make a Hawthorn Berry Wine with the following flavor profile. As your wine ages, this flavor will subtly change. Hawthorn Berry Wine has a fruit aroma with the flavors of Apple, Currant and a little Citrus.

• Sweetness: medium-sweet
• Acidity: medium
• Tannin: medium
• Alcohol: medium
• Body: medium
• Flavor intensity: medium
• Finish: medium

Balance Acidity Of Homemade Hawthorn Berry Wine: Make It Delicious

Let’s talk about the acidity of your Hawthorn Berry Wine and why it’s so important to get it right. Too little acidity, and your wine tastes flat. Too much acidity and it tastes like an unripe lemon. Our recipe aims for that sweet-spot in the middle where your palate will sing with joy!

There is another good reason to ensure your juice has a high acidity (low pH). Juice low in acid is also susceptible to bacterial infection. By maintaining acidity below pH 4, you significantly reduce the chances of an infection occurring.

For the home wine maker there is an acidity sweet-spot, between a pH of 3.0 and pH 4.0. By following our recipe, you’ll create a juice with an approximate pH 3.8. This is a safe place for you to ferment a wine.

Here’s the fun part, you can tweak the pH like a flavor dial depending on the flavor profile you are designing. Those of you with access to a pH Meter (it’s worth investing in a pH Meter it makes testing acidity so easy), you can tweak this setting by adding Citric Acid to create your own flavor profile. Always take the time to taste your juice(Must) after making an adjustment and make additions of Citric Acid a quarter teaspoon at a time until you reach the desired level.

How To Make Homemade Hawthorn Berry Wine: Steps To Success

Before diving in, we recommend reading through the entire guide so you understand the timeline. This makes it easy to know when to act and when to wait, maximizing the fun you’ll have crafting your exceptional Hawthorn Berry Wine.

Step 1: Prepare The Hawthorn Berries

Strip the Berries from the stalks. A kitchen fork makes this a much easier task. Over a kitchen bowl, drag the fork down the stems of the fruit and the berries will fall easily into the bowl. Your goal is to remove all leaves and most of the stalks. Some stalks will find their way into the bowl and that’s ok. Once you’ve stripped all the fruit from the stalks, fill the bowl with cool tap water to wash the berries. Any leaves and insects that found their way into the bowl, will float to the top making them easy to remove by hand. Leave the berries to soak for 5 minutes before emptying the water out through a kitchen sieve. We now have cleaned Hawthorn berries.

Step 2: Hawthorn Berries Need Clean Equipment

In the intricate art of home winemaking, the cornerstone of success lies in the meticulous cleanliness and sanitization of your equipment. The first step is to ensure all equipment is thoroughly cleaned using standard detergent or better PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash). Persistent stains can be effectively removed with a quality bottle brush or a soft cloth. Any glass or plastic equipment that is cracked or chipped must be discarded as these defects can become a breeding ground for bacteria.

Once the equipment is impeccably cleaned, it’s time for Sanitization. We highly recommend chemical sanitization due to its residual effect, which continues to protect your equipment for a period after the initial treatment. We recommend using Sodium Metabisulfite. Check out our article How to Clean and Sanitize Winemaking Equipment for a detailed guide.

On Day 1, you need to clean and Sanitize the following items:

• Food grade plastic bucket and lid 10 Liter (2 gallons). Used for Juice Extraction
• Kitchen Measuring Spoons
• Kitchen Measuring Jug
• Kitchen Bowl

Step 3: How To Extract The Flavor From Hawthorn Berries

Using your cleaned and sanitized Food Grade Plastic Bucket, add all your washed Hawthorn Berries. Bring 4.5 Liters (1 Gallon) of Water to the boil then carefully add the boiling water to the Bucket. Leave this to sit for 5 minutes with the lid off so the fruit can soften. Using your Potato Masher, press down on the berries for a few minutes to release the fruit pulp and color. The liquid will become a milky orange/red. You don’t need to mash the fruit completely, press the enough to break them up a little.

Put the lid on the Bucket and press down firmly, leaving one side of the lid open a little, we want gas to escape. Place your bucket in a warm safe place away from light. It needs to sit for 7 days. Every day you’ll stir the contents by lifting the bucket and gently swirling the contents around. Don’t remove the lid and stir as this could introduce contamination.

Step 4: Add Pectinase To Hawthorn Berries

Once the bucket is cool, after 1 day (24 hours), add 1 teaspoon of Pectinase to the Bucket of fruit and liquid. This is the help extract the juice form the Hawthorn Berries.

On Day 4, you need to clean and sanitize the following equipment:

• Glass jar and lid
• Kitchen Measuring Spoons
• Kitchen Measuring Jug

Step 5: Make A Yeast Starter For Hawthorn Juice

The fact is, it’s just better to make a Yeast Starter. A Yeast Starter is created by adding your Yeast to a sanitized Glass Jar with water and sugar. The primary purpose is to check your Yeast is active before you add it to your precious fruit juice. There are other advantages as well. Learn all about creating your own Yeast Starter from our article How To Make A Yeast Starter. Make your Yeast Starter on Day 4.

On Day 7, you need the following supplies:

• Hawthorn Berry Juice
• 2 Oranges
• 1 Lemon
• 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) Sugar (Demerara is best, White sugar is fine)
• 1 Teaspoon 10% Sodium Metabisulfite solution or 1 crushed Campden Tablet

On Day 7, you need to clean and sanitize the following equipment:

• A large kitchen stock pot
• Kitchen Sieve
• Kitchen Potato Masher
• Long handle spoon
• Note book and pen
• Alcohol Hydrometer
• Measuring Cylinder 100 ml or tall glass. Needs room for your Hydrometer to float freely

Step 6: Get Your Hawthorn Berry Juice Ready For The Fermenter

We need a large Stock Pot. Using your Kitchen Sieve to catch the berry pulp from your bucket, poor the Hawthorn juice into a Large Stock pot. You can press the berry pulp in your sieve with the Potato Masher to squeeze out more juice while holding it over your Stock Pot. Juice and zest both Oranges and the Lemon and add this to the Stock Pot. Now add the sugar to the Stock Pot.

Step 7: Dissolve Sugar Into The Hawthorn Juice

Put the Stock Pot on the stove and heat while stirring continuously with a long handle spoon. We want the sugar to dissolve completely, being careful not to let it burn. There is no need to boil the liquid. Once the sugar is dissolved, leave the Stock Pot and liquid to cool until it reaches 20 Celsius (70 Fahrenheit).

Step 8: Sanitize The Primary Fermenter

The Hawthorn Berry juice is now ready for the Primary Fermenter. Before transferring the juice, you must clean and sanitize your Primary Fermenter and its Lid, and the Airlock. This is essential, so take your time and make sure each piece of equipment is carefully prepared.

Step 9: Note The Specific Gravity Of Your Hawthorn Must

Pour out 100 ml of your Hawthorn Berry juice (Must) into your Measuring Cylinder and place this on your kitchen bench top. Place your Alcohol Hydrometer into the liquid and spin with your fingers. Spinning the Hydrometer causes it to clear any bubbles and to settle more quickly.

Step 10: Add Hawthorn Juice To The Primary Fermenter

Using your freshly sanitized Primary Fermenter and Kitchen Measuring Spoons, add the following ingredients to the Fermenter:

• All the juice in your Stock Pot
• 1 Teaspoon 10% Sodium Metabisulfite solution or 1 crushed Campden Tablet

Put the lid on your Fermenter, insert the Airlock (filled with Sanitizer). Gently swirl the mixture around in your Fermenter. Do this for 30 seconds.

I’ll explain what we just did. We added the (Sodium Metabisulfite) to kill any Wild Yeast that might get into our juice known as “Must“. Swirling our Must achieves 2 goals, mixing the Sodium Metabisulfite through then solution and mixing Oxygen into the solution. Oxygen is needed by the Yeast during Primary Fermentation. We’re getting the Must ready for the Yeast that you’ve got growing in your Yeast Starter.

On Day 8, you need the following supplies:

• Yeast Starter
• Boiled and cooled water

Step 11: Add Yeast To Make Hawthorn Wine

It’s time to add your Yeast Starter to the Hawthorn Berry Must and start the fermentation process. A successful Yeast Starter is creamy and bubbly and this tells us it’s ready for use. Tighten the lid on your Yeast Starter jar, shake the jar for a few seconds and pour half of the contents into your Must. Top up the volume with boiled and cooled water to 2.5 cm (1 inch) from the top of the lid, replace the Primary Fermenter Lid and Airlock.

Carefully move your Primary Fermenter to a warm dark place. Keep it at approximately 20 Celsius (70 Fahrenheit). This is where your Yeast Starter will come to life and convert your Hawthorn Berry Must into wine.

Step 12: Let Your Hawthorn Berries Ferment

From Day 8 to Day 22 you will have seen vigorous Fermentation where there are bubbles on the surface of your Must and gas bubbling through your Airlock. By Day 22, Fermentation will start to slow. This is normal, there is nothing to worry about. Leave your Fermenter and let the Yeast work for you.

Step 13: Rack Your Hawthorn Berry Wine

On Day 36, you need the following supplies:

• 1 Teaspoon 10% Sodium Metabisulfite solution or 1 crushed Campden Tablet

On Day 36, you need to clean and sanitize the following equipment:

• Secondary Fermenter. Same as Primary Fermenter, used for Racking
• Fermenter Airlock. To let Carbon Dioxide escape and keep air out
• Alcohol Hydrometer
• Measuring Cylinder 100 ml or tall glass. Needs room for your Hydrometer to float freely
• Brewing Siphon

It’s time to set our Hawthorn Wine up for aging. To do this we need to transfer if from the Primary Fermenter to the Secondary Fermenter, leaving behind the Sediment. The Sediment, known as the Lees, gradually settles during Fermentation leading to the natural clarification of the wine. The technique employed to remove wine from the Sediment is referred to as Racking. Read our article Racking Wine The Expert Guide for a detailed explanation of the process.

Step 14: Aging Your Hawthorn Berry Wine

You’ve transferred your Wine into your freshly sanitized Secondary Fermenter using the Brewing Siphon. Put the lid on your Fermenter and insert the Airlock (filled with Sanitizer). Move your Fermenter to a dark cool place where it can rest for 5 months. At the moment you have Fermented juice which is technically Wine, however leaving it to Age is the secret to transforming from just Fermented juice into a good Wine. Aging is the secret.

Step 15: Bottling Your Hawthorn Berry Wine

On Day 180, you need the following supplies:

• Sodium Metabisulfite solution

On Day 180, you need to clean and sanitize the following equipment:

• Alcohol Hydrometer
• Measuring Cylinder 100 ml or tall glass. Needs room for your Hydrometer to float freely
• Brewing Siphon
• 4 Flip-top or Swing-top Wine Bottles 1 Liter (33 fluid ounces) Brown or Green Glass

Before transferring the wine from your Fermenter, you must clean and sanitize each Flip-top bottle and Lid, your Measuring Cylinder, Alcohol Hydrometer, and Brewing Siphon. This is essential, so take your time and make sure each piece of equipment is carefully prepared.

Step 16: Note The Specific Gravity Of Your Hawthorn Wine

Pour out 100 ml of your Hawthorn Berry Wine into your Measuring Cylinder and place this on your kitchen bench top. Place your Alcohol Hydrometer into the liquid and spin with your fingers. Spinning the Hydrometer causes it to clear any bubbles and to settle more quickly. Take a note of the reading. Expect to see a reading between 1.005 and 0.990.

Step 17: Bottle Your Hawthorn Wine

Carefully place your Fermenter on a benchtop without stirring your wine. Remove the lid of the Fermenter and insert your Siphon. As with Siphoning between Fermenters, place your bottles below the level of your Fermenter, on the floor. Prime your Siphon and transfer your wine into each Bottle filling to 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) from the lid. Replace the cap and push the clamp down.

A Label Makes Your Wine Memorable

Labelling each of your precious bottles is important. A professionally labeled wine bottle elevates your wine from “homemade” to “artisanal.” An attractive label enhances perceived quality, making your wine more appealing for gifting, competitions, or personal pride. Our labels are designed to reflect the care you put into your craft, ensuring your Hawthorn Berry Wine looks as incredible as it tastes.

Join hundreds of home winemakers who trust our expertise. Browse our collection today and give your wine the presentation it deserves.

Final Words: Making Delicious Homemade Hawthorn Berry Wine

From the initial gathering of the Hawthorn Berries to the final sip of the matured wine, each step is a testament to the beauty of transformation. The tart, vibrant Hawthorn Berries, often overlooked in their natural habitat, are given a new life and purpose in the form of a rich, aromatic wine.

Making Hawthorn Berry wine is not just about the end product, but also about enjoying the process. It’s about taking the time to understand the science behind fermentation, and to create something truly unique from simple, humble, natural ingredients.

Whether you’re a seasoned winemaker or a curious beginner, I encourage you to embark on this rewarding journey. Not only will you end up with a bottle of delicious, homemade Hawthorn Berry wine, but you’ll gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the science and art of winemaking.