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Apple wine turns fresh-pressed cider or store-bought apple juice into a clear golden-amber country wine with bright apple aromatics and a touch of residual sweetness. Unlike hard cider, this 1-gallon recipe doesn’t depend on specialty cider apples and works with any preservative-free juice, even an organic jug from the grocery store.
The finished apple wine is a light golden color, with a clean apple aroma and a touch of residual sweetness that makes it easy to drink. Depending on your yeast choice and sugar level, it ranges from semi-dry to a sweet dessert-style wine. The recipe is adapted to work with whatever apple juice you can get your hands on, so you don’t need a cider press or a backyard orchard full of specialty cider apples to make a beautiful batch.
Apple wine is a forgiving entry point into homemade winemaking, since the ingredient list is short and the apple juice does most of the flavor heavy-lifting.
If you have apples on hand and want to try other preservation projects too, the 30+ ways to preserve apples roundup covers everything from apple butter and canning applesauce to apple cider vinegar and cyser (apple mead).
Notes from my Kitchen
We have a small home orchard up here in Vermont and a double-barrel cider press that comes out every fall, so by mid-October our kitchen is usually full of carboys in some stage of fermentation. My first batch of apple wine actually came from the local food coop, not our own apples. I’d grabbed a glass jug of organic juice on a whim because I wanted to try winemaking before our orchard came into production, and that gallon of grocery store juice turned into one of my favorite homemade wines.
That’s what I love about apple wine. You don’t need fancy cider apples or a press or any special hookup with an orchard. Any preservative-free apple juice will do, even the cheap stuff at the grocery store, as long as you read the label and avoid anything with sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate (those preservatives kill the yeast). Once you’ve got a jug of juice and a few inexpensive winemaking additives, you’re 90% of the way to a beautiful homemade country wine.
Apple Wine vs. Hard Cider
Hard cider is fermented apple juice and yeast, with no other added ingredients. The flavor depends almost entirely on the apple varieties in the cider, which is why good hard cider is hard to make at home without access to dedicated cider apple varieties. You need a blend of tannic apples (sometimes called “spitters”), tart acidic apples, and sweet sugary apples to get a balanced result. Even with the right blend, hard cider tends to ferment dry and thin, since even the sweetest apples have far less sugar than wine grapes.
Apple wine takes a different approach. The apple juice provides the aromatic base and fragrant apple character, and the rest of the balance (acidity, tannin, and residual sweetness) comes from a few simple winemaking additives. That makes apple wine far more forgiving than hard cider, since you can start with any preservative-free apple juice and end up with a balanced, full-bodied wine instead of a thin dry cider.
If you’re after something even more complex, cyser (apple mead) splits the difference between apple wine and hard cider by adding honey to fresh-pressed cider. The result is fuller-bodied than apple wine and more sophisticated than hard cider, but it takes longer to age and costs more to make.
Ingredients for Apple Wine
The ingredient list is short. Apple juice provides the flavor and most of the aromatic character, sugar bumps up the alcohol content and residual sweetness, and a handful of inexpensive winemaking additives balance the acid, tannin, and yeast nutrition. The amounts below are a good middle-of-the-road starting point for store-bought juice. If you’re working with fresh-pressed cider from your own apples, you can adjust based on the natural character of your juice.
- 1 gallon apple juice or fresh-pressed cider (no preservatives) ~ Provides the apple flavor, color, and most of the natural acidity. Fresh-pressed cider from a local orchard has the brightest aromatics and produces a more complex finished wine. Pasteurized refrigerated cider works fine too, as does shelf-stable apple juice from the grocery store. The one thing to watch for is preservatives. Avoid any juice that lists sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate, since those will inhibit the yeast and stall the fermentation. Pasteurized juice and juice with added ascorbic acid (vitamin C) are safe to ferment.
- 1 lb cane sugar or brown sugar ~ Apple juice is much less sweet than wine grapes, so the sugar bumps up the alcohol potential and leaves enough residual sugar for a balanced wine. Cane sugar gives a clean sweet finish. Brown sugar adds warm caramel notes and reinforces the apple character (the molasses in brown sugar produces apple-pie esters during fermentation). Bump up to 1½ pounds for a higher alcohol or sweeter finished wine.
- 1 packet wine yeast ~ The yeast strain you choose has a big effect on the finished flavor and sweetness. See the yeast section below for specific recommendations.
- 1 tsp yeast nutrient ~ Apple juice is missing some of the micronutrients yeast need to ferment cleanly, and a yeast nutrient prevents stuck fermentations and off-flavors. A handful of golden raisins works as a backup if you don’t have powdered nutrient.
- 1 tsp acid blend ~ Most sweet ciders and store-bought apple juice are heavy on apple sugars and a little light on acid. The acid blend creates a hospitable pH for the yeast and brightens the finished flavor. One tablespoon of lemon juice substitutes for 1 teaspoon of acid blend.
- ¼ tsp wine tannin ~ Adds body and structure to make up for the lack of tannic apples in standard apple juice. Without it, the finished wine tastes one-dimensionally sweet and feels thin in the mouth. A cup of strongly brewed black tea substitutes for the powdered tannin.
- ½ tsp pectic enzyme ~ Apples are high in pectin, and the enzyme breaks it down so the finished wine ferments to a clear amber instead of staying cloudy. Optional, but the difference in clarity is dramatic.
Yeast for Apple Wine
The yeast strain you choose shapes the flavor and sweetness of the finished wine. Some yeasts add fruity and floral notes, others ferment clean. Higher alcohol-tolerance yeasts ferment drier, so adjust your sugar accordingly:
- Lalvin ICV-D47 ~ My first pick for apple wine. Brings out fruity and floral notes that complement the apple character beautifully. Moderate fermenter, may start slowly. Tops out around 15% ABV.
- Lalvin QA23 ~ A clean-fermenting white wine yeast for a crisp, fruit-forward apple wine. Quick fermenter that helps the wine clarify faster. 16% alcohol tolerance.
- Red Star Premier Cuvée or Lalvin EC-1118 ~ Champagne yeasts with neutral flavor and 18% alcohol tolerance. Reliable and forgiving, but they ferment dry, so bump up the sugar to 1½ pounds if you want any residual sweetness.
One packet treats up to 5 gallons. For a 1-gallon batch, you can use about a quarter to half of the packet (the yeast multiplies quickly), but pitching the whole packet is fine too and produces a more vigorous primary fermentation. Never use bread yeast for wine, since it will give the finished wine a strong yeasty off-flavor and stalls out at low alcohol levels.
Equipment for Apple Wine
Apple wine uses the same basic winemaking equipment as any other small-batch country wine:
- One-gallon glass carboy with airlock for primary and secondary fermentation. You’ll want two carboys total so you can rack from one to the other after primary, but you can also reuse the same carboy by sanitizing it between rackings.
- Auto-siphon or racking cane for transferring wine without disturbing the sediment.
- Wine bottles, corks, and a bottle corker for bottling. As a shortcut, flip-top Grolsch bottles skip the corker step entirely and work well for shorter aging.
- No-rinse brewing sanitizer for cleaning all your equipment before you start. Sanitation is the difference between apple wine and apple cider vinegar, so this isn’t a step to skip.
If this is your first batch of homemade wine, the post on small-batch winemaking walks through every piece of equipment in detail and covers what to use as a substitute if you’re trying to keep startup costs down.
How to Make Apple Wine
The process is the same for any small-batch country wine. You combine the juice, sugar, and additives in a fermenter, pitch the yeast, and let primary fermentation run for a week to ten days. Then rack the wine off the sediment, let it ferment in secondary for a few months, and bottle.
Preparing the Juice
If you’re starting with a glass jug of juice, you can ferment right in the jug, which saves money on a separate carboy. Pour off about 1 quart of juice and reserve it for later (you’ll use 2 cups for dissolving the additives and save the other 2 cups to top off the carboy after racking).
If you want to sterilize the juice before pitching yeast, crush a Campden tablet per gallon and stir it in, then wait 24 hours before adding any other ingredients. Personally I skip the Campden tablet step since the wild yeast in fresh juice gets outcompeted by the commercial yeast strain anyway, but it’s a worthwhile safety step if you’re working with raw unpasteurized cider.
Mixing in the Additives
Pour 2 cups of the reserved juice into a small saucepan and warm it gently over low heat. Whisk in the sugar, yeast nutrient, acid blend, wine tannin, and pectic enzyme until everything is fully dissolved. Don’t bring the juice to a boil, since cooking drives off the bright apple aromatics. Once the additives are dissolved, turn off the heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
Pour the cooled additive mixture into the carboy with the rest of the apple juice and swirl gently to combine.
Pitching the Yeast
Rehydrate the wine yeast in about ¼ cup of unchlorinated room-temperature water for about 10 minutes. This step matters because dropping dry yeast directly into a sugary juice can shock the cells before they’ve had time to wake up. Once rehydrated, the yeast should look slightly foamy.
Pour the rehydrated yeast into the carboy and top up with the remaining reserved juice until the level reaches the base of the neck of the carboy, leaving 2 to 3 inches of headspace for active fermentation. Seal the carboy with a water lock filled with water.
Primary Fermentation
You should see active bubbling within 24 to 48 hours. Apple wine ferments steadily but rarely violently, so a standard airlock handles primary without trouble. Keep an eye on it the first few days, and if the bubbling pushes juice up into the airlock, just clean the airlock out, refill it with fresh water, and reattach.
You’ll see chunks of pectin floating in the juice during the first few days. The pectic enzyme breaks down the pectin, which then settles to the bottom of the carboy as the wine ferments and clarifies. Let primary run for 7 to 10 days, until the active bubbling slows noticeably and a layer of sediment settles at the bottom.
Racking to Secondary
Use the auto-siphon to transfer the wine into a clean sanitized carboy, leaving the sediment behind. Stirring up the lees at this stage causes off-flavors in the finished wine, so move slowly and keep the siphon hose above the layer of fines at the bottom.
Top up the secondary vessel with fresh apple juice (or a neutral white wine, or unchlorinated water) until the level reaches the base of the neck. Reseal with the water lock and move the carboy to a cool, dark spot. Let it ferment in secondary for at least 6 weeks, ideally 4 to 6 months. Time in secondary is the difference between a young, harsh wine and a mellow, well-balanced one. Longer secondary produces a noticeably more complex finished wine.
Bottling and Aging
When fermentation has fully stopped (no more bubbling for at least a week or two), siphon the wine into clean wine bottles and cork or cap. If the wine is too dry for your taste at this point, you can backsweeten by stabilizing first with a Campden tablet and ½ teaspoon potassium sorbate, waiting 24 to 48 hours, then stirring in a simple syrup made from equal parts sugar and water. Start with about ½ cup of sugar per gallon and adjust to taste. Let the stabilized wine rest another week before bottling to make sure fermentation doesn’t restart.
Apple wine is drinkable after about a month in the bottle, but it improves significantly with longer aging. Six months produces a noticeably smoother and more complex wine, and a year is even better. Wine bottles with corks are best for long-term aging since they let the wine breathe slightly. Flip-top Grolsch bottles work well for shorter storage of a few months.
Tips for Making Apple Wine
- Read the juice label carefully. The single most common reason apple wine fails to ferment is preservatives in the juice. Avoid anything with sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, or potassium benzoate. Pasteurized juice and juice with added ascorbic acid (vitamin C) are safe to ferment.
- Use brown sugar for warm apple notes. Substituting brown sugar for some or all of the cane sugar gives the finished wine warm caramel undertones and intensifies the apple character. The molasses in brown sugar produces apple-pie esters during fermentation, which is exactly what you want in a country apple wine.
- Add spices for fall character. A cinnamon stick, a vanilla bean, a piece of fresh ginger, or a few cloves added to the secondary turns this into a spiced apple wine for autumn drinking. Warm spices intensify during fermentation and can turn bitter, so start with smaller amounts than you think you need and taste as you go. Add the spices to secondary, not primary, so the flavor doesn’t blow off with the fermentation gases.
- Adjust acid based on your starting juice. Store-bought juice is usually low in acid, so the full teaspoon of acid blend is appropriate. Tart fresh-pressed cider from heritage apples may already have plenty of acidity, in which case you can cut the acid blend in half or skip it entirely. If you have a pH meter, aim for a starting pH of 3.4 to 3.6.
- Skip Campden tablets if you prefer no preservatives. Campden tablets and potassium sorbate make the finished wine more predictable but add sulfites and chemical stabilizers. I personally don’t use either, since I want to keep my homemade goods preservative-free. The tradeoff is slightly less control over the final sweetness and a small chance of bottle re-fermentation if you backsweeten without stabilizing.
- Add other autumn fruits. A handful of cranberries, a few sliced quinces, or some aronia berries in the primary turns plain apple wine into something more complex. Cranberries add tart brightness, quince adds floral perfume, aronia adds deep color and tannin.
- Age longer than you think. Apple wine at 1 month is good, at 6 months it’s better, and at a year it’s beautifully mellow. Bottle a few extra so you can taste the same batch over time and watch how it develops.
- Try other apple ferments. If you enjoy apple wine, the same orchard harvest can become cyser (apple mead), hard cider, pear cider, or apple cider vinegar. Pear wine uses essentially this same recipe with pear juice in place of apple juice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, store-bought apple juice works perfectly for apple wine, as long as it does not contain preservatives. Avoid any juice that lists sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, or potassium benzoate, since those preservatives will inhibit your yeast and prevent fermentation. Pasteurized juice and juice with added ascorbic acid (vitamin C) are safe to ferment. Organic apple juice from the grocery store is usually a safe bet, but always read the label.
Apple wine is fermented apple juice with added sugar, acid blend, tannin, and other winemaking additives that produce a balanced, full-bodied wine. Hard cider is just fermented apple juice with no added ingredients, and it depends entirely on the quality and variety of the apples for its flavor. Apple wine is sweeter and fuller-bodied, while hard cider is drier and lighter. Apple wine is also far more forgiving for beginners, since you can make it from any preservative-free apple juice without needing specialty cider apples.
Lalvin ICV-D47 is a good first pick for apple wine. It enhances the fruity and floral character of the apples, ferments cleanly, and tops out around 15 percent alcohol, which leaves enough residual sweetness for a balanced finish. Lalvin QA23 is a clean-fermenting alternative for a crisper, slightly drier finish. Champagne yeasts like Red Star Premier Cuvee or Lalvin EC-1118 work well too, but they ferment dry, so increase the sugar to 1½ pounds per gallon if you want any residual sweetness.
Yes, this same recipe works beautifully with pear juice. Pears have more natural unfermentable sugar than apples, so the finished wine ends up sweeter than apple wine would, but it is delicious. There is also a separate pear wine recipe on the site that uses fresh pears instead of pear juice, which produces a different but equally good country wine. Other juices that work with this recipe include white grape juice and cranberry-apple blends, as long as they contain no preservatives.
Plan on at least 3 to 4 months from start to first taste. The recipe calls for 7 to 10 days in primary fermentation, at least 6 weeks in secondary (4 to 6 months is better), and at least one month of bottle aging. Apple wine improves with age, so the longer you can hold off, the better. A full year of bottle aging produces a noticeably smoother and more complex wine than the 1-month minimum.
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Apple Wine
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1- gallon apple juice, see note
- 1 lb Sugar, about 2 cups
- 1 tsp yeast nutrient
- 1 tsp acid blend
- 1/2 tsp Pectic Enzyme
- 1/4 tsp tannin powder
- wine yeast, see note
- Optional ~ Campden Tablet and Potassium Sorbate for Stabilizing, I do not use these
Instructions
- Start by removing about 1 quart (4 cups) of juice from the gallon, then pour the remaining 3 quarts into your fermentation vessel.
- Take 2 cups of the juice you removed and place it in a small saucepan, setting aside the other 2 cups for later use. Gently warm the juice in the saucepan over low heat.
- Once warm, add all the other ingredients (except the yeast) to the saucepan and stir until everything dissolves completely. Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
- When the juice mixture has cooled, pour it into the fermentation vessel with the rest of the apple juice.
- In a small container, dissolve the winemaking yeast in about 1/4 cup of unchlorinated water. You’ll only need 1/5 to 1/2 of the yeast packet for this batch, so set aside the rest. Let the yeast sit for about 10 minutes to rehydrate.
- Once the yeast has hydrated, add it to the fermentation vessel with the apple juice mixture.
- Top off the fermentation vessel with the remaining apple juice you set aside earlier, filling it until the juice reaches the base of the neck. Be sure to leave 2-3 inches of headspace to allow for bubbling during fermentation.
- Cap the vessel with a rubber bung and attach a water lock filled with water. Place the fermentation vessel in a cool, dark area and allow it to ferment for 7 to 10 days. You should see active bubbling. If the bubbling pushes juice into the water lock, clean it out and reattach the lock as needed.
- After primary fermentation, use a brewing siphon to transfer the wine into a clean vessel, leaving behind any sediment.
- Re-seal the new vessel with a water lock and let it continue fermenting in a cool, dark place for at least 6 weeks, though it’s better to allow it to ferment for several months, up to 6 months, for a smoother taste.
- Once fermentation has fully finished, carefully bottle the apple wine in clean wine bottles. Store the bottles in a cool, dark place and let them age for at least one month. The wine will improve with age, and if you prefer a sweeter wine, you may need to back-sweeten it at this point (see notes for back-sweetening instructions).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ways to Preserve Apples
Once your carboy is bubbling away, you have a long wait before the first taste. To fill the time, browse more homemade winemaking recipes or try a faster apple preservation project from the 30+ ways to preserve apples roundup. The apple canning recipes on Creative Canning include reader favorites like canning apple cider and apple jam, both of which are ready to enjoy in a fraction of the time apple wine takes to age.
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Particularly love the alternative substitutions like black tea and lemon juice etc. Very grateful for this apple wine recipe, which I want to distill into brandy. Thank you very much.
My Dad used to make grape wine. I’ve tried apple cider wine before w/o a recipe. It was okay just not what I thought it would be. Going to try your recipe. Has to be better then anything I’ve made in the past.
Thanks for the help.
Hi am I able to use pear juice for this one?
Yes, that’d work just fine. Pears have more natural un-fermentable sugar, so it’ll end sweeter than an apple wine would, but it’ll be really delicious. I have a separate recipe for pear wine if you want to try that one too: https://practicalselfreliance.com/pear-wine/
How long after adding the camden tablet and potassium sorbate, can you proceed to back sweeten and then bottle?
I would recommend checking out this thread in the winemaking forum for more information on back sweetening. https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/back-sweetening-apple-wine.43184/ We don’t have a lot of personal experience in this area since we don’t use camden tablets or potassium sorbate.
Just wondering after I siphon off the wine after 10 days into second bottle does it need to be filled up to the neck once again because I don’t believe I would get enough out of the first bottle to fill the other one up to the top, just wondering if it matters if it’s totally filled to the bottom of the neck or not and if it needs to be filled up what should I use?
You can top it off with water or a neutral white wine.