Ginger Wine (Home made)

December has begun and Christmas is days close by.Though preparations start days ahead of Christmas to mark the birth of Christ,I too started my preparations with wine.This time I tried the Ginger wine unlike the Grape wine last year and has turned out to be a good success.Ginger wine is a mildly spicy and sweet wine.Do give this a try for Christmas & Enjoy with family!!!

Ingredients
ginger 250gm
water 2 lit
yeast 3/4 tsp
sugar 500 -750 gm
cinnamon 5g
cloves 5
cardamom 4
sugar for caramelise 3tbsp
lemon juice from 3 lemons
papaya peels  (optional;refer notes)

Method

-Wash and peel the ginger skin.Chop it small.Keep aside.

-Boil the water in a pan and add sugar,with spices and chopped ginger.Reduce the wine to half the quantity(1 lit)~ takes about 45 mins -1hr.

-Let the mix come to room temperature and add in the yeast and juice.

-Heat another pan,add the sugar for caramelise,wait till it dissolves and add about 3 tbsp of water once it reaches golden brown,Switch off flame,cool and add.(Optional step)

-Pour it in clean,dry glass jars or bharani(clay pot) and cover it tightly.

-After 10 days,strain out the clear liquid discarding the sediments.

-Bottle it,leave aside in a dark place and then strain again into clear bottles after another 20-25 days.

-Ready to serve!!

Servings~ 1 liter

NOTES
* You can either add half of a papaya peels as it contains natural pectin which helps to clear the haze in wine.Or leave aside without shaking the bottles and strain out only clear liquid.I have just used this method.You may add papaya peels if you wish.
* If you love the spicy flavor dominant ,add only 500gms of sugar otherwise you may increase sugar slightly.
* Caramelizing sugar gives a nice color to the wine.I have added that step but that is strictly optional.

Sending this to Priya & Divya's 60 days of Christmas ,Favorite Christmas Recipes @ Zesty South Indian Kitchen