Ginger Country Wine
Ginger wine has a long English country-wine tradition; Stone's Original Green Ginger is the commercial benchmark. Home-fermented versions show bright, peppery ginger heat balanced by citrus. Most recipes call for back-sweetening to roughly 1.5-2% residual sugar to soften the ginger bite. Drink within a year.
ABV10-12%
Ferment28d
Age60d
Total88d
Ingredients
| 0.5 lb | Fresh ginger root (peeled, sliced) |
| 2.5 lb | Cane sugar |
| 1 gal | Water |
| 3 lemons | Lemon juice |
| 1 tsp | Yeast nutrient |
| 5 g | Wine yeast (71B) |
| 1 tab | Campden tablet |
Equipment
- 2-gallon primary
- 1-gallon glass carboy
- Airlock
- Straining cloth
Steps
- Day 0
Boil ginger + sugar
Simmer sliced ginger with sugar-water 30 min. Don't boil hard — preserves the heat.
- Day 0
Cool + add citrus
Cool to 70°F. Add lemon juice and Campden.
- Day 1
Pitch yeast
After 24h, add nutrient and yeast.
- Day 1-8
Primary
Ferment 5-7 days at 65-70°F.
- Day 8
Strain + rack
Strain ginger out; rack to glass carboy.
- Day 8-28
Secondary
Ferment to dryness.
- Day 60
Stabilize + bottle
K-meta, optional back-sweeten. Bottle and rest 30+ days.