Beetroot Wine | Homemade Christmas Special (Step by Step Pics)

I had been planning to make beetroot wine for the past 4-5 years and finally got time to taste only now.I regret to have not tried this for so long which is such a crowd pleaser. Almost matches to grape wine, in fact a little more colourful must say. Tastewise, there are no obvious tastes of beetroot as we cook the beets and only the strained juice is kept for fermentation.Wine flavors are obvious from the 15th day as you decant and wine matures as it ages so waiting till Christmas for the final verdict. I have used bakers instant yeast  and so have reduced the yeast to just 1/4 tsp for this batch of wine. The recipe is adapted from Meena's Elephants and The Coconut Trees & Dhe Ruchi video, with slight modifications.

During Christmas season there are many stalls that come with homemade wines in Kerala which the excise have called off. But homemade wine for our personal use is not banned. There is no added alcohol to this homemade wine and I usually make wine at home in very small batches. I serve this with our homemade plum cake to our families and friends during their visits. I love this season of the year the most and look forward to a happy Christmas. Coming back to beet wine, the best part of this wine is none can identify the secret ingredient used in this wine i.e.beets and the vibrant red colour makes it stand out among all other wine. This wine needs no stirring every day and can be left for fermentation at ease. Read out all notes before you actually go about making your own batch of wine. I know its late to post now for Christmas though I had planned to post much in advance. There were so many things running around that I hardly got time to finish my post. Anyways, if you plan to have friends for New Year eve, then this is the perfect time to brew your own batch of beetroot wine. Go ahead and give this a try.

Preparation time ~ 30 minutes
Cooking time ~ 15 mins
Serves ~ 2 liter plus approx
Author ~ Julie
Ingredients
beetroot 560 gms or 500 gms approx or 3 medium sized
OR grated beetroot  2.5 cups
sugar 600 gms or 3 cups
water 2 liters (boiled & cooled)
whole spices (cinnamon 1" piece, cloves 4, cardamom 2)
yeast 1/8 tsp
lemon juice ( juice of 1 lemon)

Method

• Boil and keep 2 liters of water. Let it cool.
• Select good firm beetroots. Peel the beetroot skin and wash under running water. Don't wash for long, as the colours wash off too. Grate the beets and add in a thick bottomed cooker. Add half cup of boiled cooled water to this and close the cooker. Cook the beets for one whistle  and then switch off flame. Wait for the pressure to release.
• Strain the beets along with juice(don't squeeze out the strained beets), add the sugar to the strained mix. Add in the whole spices if adding now. 
• Mix the boiled cooled water to this and mix the yeast in 2 tbsp of leuk warm water. Then wait till its frothy, add in to the strained beet mix. Add in the strained lemon juice and give a quick mix.

• Finally pour this in clean dry bottles/ bharani( I used two glass bottles). Cover with lid not very tight and leave some space in the bottle so that the fermentation becomes easy. Cover the bottle with a cloth and finally secure with a tie. 
• Leave the bottles in a cool dark place undisturbed for 14 days. Label the top of the lid with date so that its easy to remember. 

• After 14 days, decant the wine in another clean dry bottle without disturbing the sediments (there is hardly any sediments but still that may turn the wine turbid). If you feel the wine hasn't reached the fermentation or if you stay in a cold place then give another 3-4 days before you decant.
• Enjoy the sweet wine from the 15 th day. As wine sits  for another 10 days, it matures more. On the 15 th day, the wine tastes like a sweet carbonated beverage. 

NOTES 
* Use fresh firm dark coloured beets for good results.
* Use brewer's yeast or wine making yeast if you get hold of that yeast. I have used instant dry yeast used for making bread or appams. I feel the more the yeast, the wine gets more stronger so I have reduced the yeast to 1/4 tsp which yields a mild wine that can be served to all without much worries of intoxication. If you wish a stronger version then go ahead and add upto 3/4 tsp yeast for this much quantity of beetroot or a 1/2 tsp yeast for a moderate flavored wine.
OR Divide the made wine in two equal parts before adding wine and add 1/8 tsp wine to one part and 1/2 tsp wine to the remaining part and leave for fermentation in two different bottles, taste check for yourself.
* Wine making needs atmost cleanliness and sterility else the whole process may get ruined. Important points to remember whenever brewing any wine-

1. Use clean sun dried bottles or bharani for brewing wine. Avoid using plastic containers as wine may leach out in plastic during fermentation.
2. Use a wooden spoon(preferably new; not used for making any curries) to stir the contents.
3. Avoid squeezing out the beetroot in the cheese cloth or strainer to get the maximum, just strain and use that liquid.
4. Keep the wine for fermentation under the kitchen counters in a cool dark place, away from direct sunlight.
5. Decant the wine in clean,sun dried bottles so that the wine remains fresh and doesn't get spoiled with fungal growth.
6. Fill the bottles or bharani upto 3/4 th only so that there is enough space and wine doesn't flow out.
7. Don't close the lid very tight and cover the bottle with a cloth, tie with a thread to secure.

* You can add the whole spices to the grated beets in the cooker and strain the spices along with cooked beets. I preferred to add the whole spices in the fermentation bottle so that the flavor of spices seep out well for 15 days.

* If there is any white layer formed on top of wine or black fungus then discard the mixture.

* Use good quality yeast when making wine as the whole process of this wine making is dependent o yeast.

* Ideally the beet to sugar ratio is 1:1 but my beet when measured was 560 gms and so I went about adding 600 gms of sugar. Use 500 gms sugar for 500 gms beets in the ratio 1:1.

* 2 liter water is needed to make wine using 500 gms beets. If you increase the beets then change the water ratio accordingly. For eg if you use 1 kg beets, use 4liters water and 1 kg sugar.

MORE WINE RECIPES
* Grape Wine (Homemade)
* Pineapple Peel Wine
* Homemade Ginger Wine
* Green Grapes Wine