Staghorn Sumac wine

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gunwolf

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although I have not completed this batch yet...here you go...

Staghorn Sumac wine(3 gal)
15lbs. of fresh picked sumac "berries" or approx. 50 to 60 staghorn berry clusters
9lbs of sugar
3 1/2 gallons of water (I use spring water)
2 teaspoons of yeast nutrient(fermaid)
1/8th teaspoon of K-meta
1 1/2 tablespoons of pectic enzyme.
3 over ripe bananas
1 packet of lalvin rc212 yeast.


I start by collecting berry clusters in late July or early August.
I do not wash the berry clusters!!! this will take away most of the sugars which collect on tiny hairs on the outside of the berry. I carefully slide my hand down each "stalk" to remove the clusters of berries. it's OK to leave a few stems.
I then look through the pile and discard any immature berries. Make sure also there are no insects in your berries. I place these in a nylon straining bag and set them aside.

I then add two gallons of water to my primary bucket, along with the sugar,K-meta,Nutrient,and pectic enzyme. stir until sugar is almost dissolved.
cut up the bananas in large chunks and add to saucepan...add just enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 min. then strain and add the banana water to the must.

I then add the bag of berries and the rest of the water. I squeeze the bag several times while getting it wet to release some of the juice. cover the bucket and let it sit for 24 hours.then I check the SG and adjust with sugar/water to get desired SG I started at 1.095

stir everything up again and pitch yeast. cover with top that has a airlock and let ferment for two weeks. I then rack into a 3gal carboy ...then the waiting begins.
 
Which Sumac? Smooth, Fragrant, Poison, or some other variety?
 
Staghorn Sumac has a lemonade (tart) flavor...*I have read that the tartness comes from the amount of tannin

Staghorn sumac is a variety like smooth. it grows in cone shaped berry clusters. but the tiny hairs on the stems and berries give it it's name.
 
I'm going to try this. Lots of sumac around here. Should be easy enough to get some.
 
Can we get an update on this one? I have tons of sumac around here and love the flaver, never thought of making wine with it though. I'd love to know how this is turning out!
 
sounds great,i will most certainly give this a try..thanks for sharing..john
 
Getting ready to make this soon. I have had a large brown grocery sackful of staghorn sumac clusters stashed in the freezer and today I sat down with a fork and started to "fork" the berries off of the stem(s). Fork works wonders. I had cleaned 35 clusters with a yield of one very packed one gallon bag and I have at least 20 more clusters to "fork". Looking forward to getting this one going.
 
Wondering if anyone has made sumac wine the ol' country fruit style by using just sumac berries, (or the juice), sugar, water and yeast.
 
although I have not completed this batch yet...here you go...

Staghorn Sumac wine(3 gal)
15lbs. of fresh picked sumac "berries" or approx. 50 to 60 staghorn berry clusters
9lbs of sugar
3 1/2 gallons of water (I use spring water)
2 teaspoons of yeast nutrient(fermaid)
1/8th teaspoon of K-meta
1 1/2 tablespoons of pectic enzyme.
3 over ripe bananas
1 packet of lalvin rc212 yeast.


I start by collecting berry clusters in late July or early August.
I do not wash the berry clusters!!! this will take away most of the sugars which collect on tiny hairs on the outside of the berry. I carefully slide my hand down each "stalk" to remove the clusters of berries. it's OK to leave a few stems.
I then look through the pile and discard any immature berries. Make sure also there are no insects in your berries. I place these in a nylon straining bag and set them aside.

I then add two gallons of water to my primary bucket, along with the sugar,K-meta,Nutrient,and pectic enzyme. stir until sugar is almost dissolved.
cut up the bananas in large chunks and add to saucepan...add just enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 min. then strain and add the banana water to the must.

I then add the bag of berries and the rest of the water. I squeeze the bag several times while getting it wet to release some of the juice. cover the bucket and let it sit for 24 hours.then I check the SG and adjust with sugar/water to get desired SG I started at 1.095

stir everything up again and pitch yeast. cover with top that has a airlock and let ferment for two weeks. I then rack into a 3gal carboy ...then the waiting begins.
Why use banana?
I have some in the garage waiting. Kinda stopped when I tried to pull the berries off and said this is like work. , , With the berries I pulled I did a 50% tea: pH 2.7 / gravity 1.00 / acidic otherwise bland / lots of hairs.
:s Really don’t want to have to pull all the berries.:? but then the wife :ftwould like it to go away.
 
Getting ready to make this soon. I have had a large brown grocery sackful of staghorn sumac clusters stashed in the freezer and today I sat down with a fork and started to "fork" the berries off of the stem(s). Fork works wonders. I had cleaned 35 clusters with a yield of one very packed one gallon bag and I have at least 20 more clusters to "fork". Looking forward to getting this one going.
How much did you make ? , , , all I collected was 1.5 grocery bags of clusters.
 
Well folks, I would have loved to have seen any updates on any of this. I have a bunch of fragrant sumac (rhus aromatica) bushes with tons of berries on them. I really like the way they taste--definitely sour, but also another flavor that I can't quite identify, and I am definitely going to make wine from it. I guess I'll plan on making one gallon of wine from however much I collect later today.

Do folks recommend freezing the berries first, to make them easier to de-stem?
 
Do folks recommend freezing the berries first, to make them easier to de-stem?
The dry seed head of stag horn sumacs has no detectable pulp. ,,, Freezing will not matter. I tried two methods 1) taking a fork and pushing the seeds off and 2) rubbing them off by hand. The process isn’t too hard by hand.

I really like the pink color I got. ,,, The berries are supposed to be ground and then used as a seasoning on the Middle East.
 
The dry seed head of stag horn sumacs has no detectable pulp. ,,, Freezing will not matter. I tried two methods 1) taking a fork and pushing the seeds off and 2) rubbing them off by hand. The process isn’t too hard by hand.

I really like the pink color I got. ,,, The berries are supposed to be ground and then used as a seasoning on the Middle East.
My berries are still definitely juicy--not like the smooth sumac berries later in the summer.
 

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