Use a steam juicer to juice fresh aronia fruit. You'll need about 1 pound of fruit to yield 1 cup of juice, or a bit more if using less efficient methods. You can also use purchased juice. If you juiced the fruit using heat, allow the mixture to come to room temperature before proceeding.

Mix the aronia juice with the other ingredients, except yeast, and stir to dissolve. Then place in a narrow neck carboy.

Dissolve the yeast in a small amount of water and allow it to rehydrate for about 10 minutes. Pour into the carboy.

Fill the carboy with water if necessary to bring it up to the bottom of the narrow neck in the carboy, leaving about 2 inches of headspace under the airlock.

Seal with a rubber stopper and air lock and allow the mixture to ferment in primary for 7 to 14 days.

Use a siphon to rack the mixture into a clean carboy, leaving the sediment behind. Fill with water or apple juice to bring the liquid level up to the carboy neck.

Replace the water lock and ferment for 4 weeks to 4 months for wine (or 4 to 6 months for mead).

Bottle the mixture in wine bottles with corks.

Bottle age for at least 2 weeks, but preferably much longer, before drinking.