Ingredients
Must
- 12 kgripe pomegranates, yielding about 5 litres of juice
- 600 gto 900 g granulated sugar, enough to bring the must to 22 Brix
- 5 gpotassium metabisulphite solution for sanitising equipment
- 1 tspyeast nutrient
Ferment
- 5 gLalvin 71B or EC-1118 wine yeast, or the wild yeast on the fruit in the village method
- 1campden tablet per 4.5 litres at bottling (optional)
Equipment
- 1food-grade fermenting bucket, 10 litres
- 1glass demijohn with airlock
- hydrometer, siphon tube, six 750 ml bottles and corks
To serve
- chilled to 10 to 12°C (55°F) in a white wine glass
- grilled vegetables, pilaf or walnut pastries alongside
Directions
- Score and break the pomegranates under water, separating the arils and floating off every scrap of the yellow pith, which is intensely bitter and will ruin the wine if it goes into the must.
- Press the arils gently, by hand or through a fine mesh bag, taking the free-run juice only; never blend or crush the seeds, whose tannin turns the wine astringent. Pomegranate juice usually sits around 14 to 16 Brix, so stir in sugar until you reach 22 Brix, which will ferment out to roughly 12 per cent alcohol.
- Add the yeast nutrient, cover the bucket and leave for 12 hours, then pitch the rehydrated yeast at 20°C (70°F) and stir it in. Ferment at 18 to 22°C (70°F) for 7 to 10 days, stirring daily; keep it under 24°C (75°F), because heat blows off the fresh red-fruit aroma that is the whole reason for making pomegranate wine.
- Serve cool at 10 to 12°C (55°F), dry alongside grilled vegetables and pilaf, or back-sweetened to semi-dry with dessert.
Technique
- Armenia makes serious pomegranate wine in Ararat and Armavir, and much of what tourists buy is grape wine flavoured with pomegranate; the real thing is 100 per cent pomegranate juice and tastes tart and thin-bodied, not syrupy.
- Pomegranate must is low in nitrogen, so the nutrient addition genuinely matters. Without it the ferment stalls or throws sulphur smells.
- To back-sweeten safely you must stabilise first with potassium sorbate and sulphite, otherwise residual sugar restarts the ferment in the bottle and pops the corks.
Substitutions
- Good-quality unsweetened bottled pomegranate juice works if it is not from concentrate and contains no preservative; check for potassium sorbate, which will stop the yeast dead.
- Cornelian cherry or sour cherry can replace up to a third of the juice for a deeper colour and more body.
Variations
- Semi-sweet Ararat-style, stabilised and back-sweetened to about 40 g/l residual sugar, is the style most Armenian producers bottle.
- A blended version with Areni Noir grape juice gives the tannin and structure that pomegranate lacks.
History
Made commercially in the Ararat valley and heavily associated with Armenia in tourist markets, alongside the country’s older grape wine tradition.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pomegranate wine?
Pomegranate wine is a wine & spirit from Armenia: sweet or semi-dry wine fermented from pomegranate juice rather than grapes. Made commercially in the Ararat valley and heavily associated with Armenia in tourist markets, alongside the country’s older grape wine tradition.
How long does Pomegranate wine take to make?
Pomegranate wine takes 2 hr to juice and set the must of preparation and 2 weeks fermenting plus 3 to 6 months ageing of cooking. The recipe makes about 4.5 litres (six 750 ml bottles). It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Pomegranate wine?
Yes, within limits. Good-quality unsweetened bottled pomegranate juice works if it is not from concentrate and contains no preservative; check for potassium sorbate, which will stop the yeast dead. Cornelian cherry or sour cherry can replace up to a third of the juice for a deeper colour and more body.
What is the most important thing to get right in Pomegranate wine?
Score and break the pomegranates under water, separating the arils and floating off every scrap of the yellow pith, which is intensely bitter and will ruin the wine if it goes into the must.
