Recipe for Sunflower/Pumpkin Seed Wine

[raguido]

Anyone out there made a wine using sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds?

 

[Rodnboro]

I've never heard of wine made from these seeds. Apparently, no one else has either. Have you tried wine made from these, or is this just an idea?

 

[raguido]

It's just an idea. Should be similar to some of the nut wines. I'm going to give it a shot and see what results. I'll post results afterwards.

 

[Mismost]

I bet I could get pasta to ferment....but, that doesn't mean it's a good idea. Just saying.

 

[BernardSmith]

You might try steeping a cup or so of the seeds in a pint of vodka for a couple of weeks then add some sugar and see if the vodka extracts any flavors you think are pleasant. My guess is that this will be a very successful experiment I think that that might provide you with the evidence you need to determine whether you want to make wine from these seeds or not.. (almonds, pecans, chestnuts all make quite pleasant extracts and liqueurs... I am a wee bit skeptical that those seeds will come near the top of this list).

 

[pip]

I'm a bit of a novice but seeds dont have a high sugar content and zero juice obviously, or near zero. Bernard's idea of steeping in liquor for flavor seems reasonable but unless you're going to make, what we call here, moon goon*, what's the point?

*Moon goon is sugar, water and yeast, does it have another name elsewhere? Anyhow...

 

[BernardSmith]

I'm a bit of a novice but seeds dont have a high sugar content and zero juice obviously, or near zero. Bernard's idea of steeping in liquor for flavor seems reasonable but unless you're going to make, what we call here, moon goon*, what's the point?

*Moon goon is sugar, water and yeast, does it have another name elsewhere? Anyhow...

I was not being ironic. In the same way that I can make wines from hibiscus flowers or elderflowers or lilac - using the flavors of the flowers although fermenting either honey or another sugar to create the alcohol, so it will not be a problem to use the flavors of those seeds to create a wine - although again, using added sugars as the source of the alcohol. But the point is that those seeds will need to impart pleasant enough (and rich enough) flavors... and that is something I suspect they may not in fact possess. However, steeping the seeds for a couple of weeks - not months - in vodka and adding sugar to the "extract" will give you an idea of how much extractable flavor is in the seeds... and how interesting and pleasant the flavors might be...

 

[raguido]

I've seen recipes for wine made with barley and rice, neither of which themselves has much flavor, but when fermented with the appropriate amount of sugar and the right yeast, they make decent wines. So, I'm expected similar results with sunflower and pumpkin seeds. I've made pumpkin wine so there's a good chance that the seeds will result in a similar wine. Worth a try and won't take much time to find out.

 

[Scooter68]

There are a variety of common "Wines" out there but some have so little flavor I have to think the creation of them was simply to produce an alcoholic beverage - Rice wine comes to mind. Of course individual preferences are what matters most. I imagine a person could make just about anything edible into a wine but as mismost states - what's the point. Personally a wine that tastes like artichoke would have more appeal to me than sunflower or pumpkin seeds - again personal tastes.

 

[BernardSmith]

Just came across this video from Basic Brewing - about a beer made with malted sunflower seeds (malting allows you to ferment the sugars in the seeds). To malt grains or seeds you allow the seeds to germinate and after a few days you roast the germinated seeds to stop further germination (and so prevent the activated growth from using all the complex sugars in the seed) . Roasting also , I think, denatures certain enzymes that would otherwise be present. I don't know whether sunflower or pumpkin seeds have the enzymes you need to allow the yeast access to the sugars that they contain (the video discusses how the seeds comprised a very small proportion of the total "grain bill", but I would assume if you add amylase then you could in fact ferment the sugars inside the seeds (and not simply use the seeds to flavor the wine... which these brewers seem to suggest is quite insignificant in the context of beer..
http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/e/2/8/e28a0063d940c8ce/bbv05-21-13sunflower.mp4?c_id=5703921&expiration=1489512382&hwt=c856a224bd0b66769a84bf2faae7ed72