Vintners Harvest Fruit Wine Base is 96 oz solid pack fruit in their natural juices with nothing else added - no sugars and no sulfites. Blackberry, Cherry, Raspberry, Apple and Pear, Strawberry, Boysenberry, Gooseberry, Blueberry, Apricot, Elderberry, Loganberry, Plum and Blackcurrant are available.

Vintners Harvest Fruit Wine Base is solid pack fruit in their natural juices with nothing else added - no sugars and no sulfites. Making wine with them is much like processing fresh fruit. Packed in 96 oz tins. Supplied with three gallon (full body) and five gallon (medium body) recipes. Vintners Harvest offers the home winemaker premium quality fruit with the year-round variety every winemaker needs. There is no finer product on the market for crafting your own fruit wines. With easy to follow instructions and recipes for varied volumes, you will soon discover the joys of making high quality fruit wines such as blackberry, cherry, raspberry, blueberry, gooseberry, elderberry, blackcurrant, apple, peach and plum in the comfort of your home. With a wide selection of delicious fruits to choose from, the Vintners Harvest line of fruit wine bases is sure to please the most discriminating home winemaker. Because of the delicate nature of apple, Apple Fruit Wine Base is unique. It contains no fruit pieces which would brown and soften in the can. Instead, a delicious blend of apples are selected, pressed and de-acidified prior to the concentration process. Once concentrated, a blend of acids is reintroduced specifically for the end purpose of fermentation. Apple Fruit Wine Base is therefore more than your average apple concentrate. Because the winemaker can choose to make different volumes of apple wine, it is still necessary to add acids by following the recipe directions on the can. Like the apple concentrate, Elderberry Wine Base is made from an adjusted concentrate to insure a quality product. Whether you are a novice or a seasoned winemaker, we know you will enjoy your wine made with delicious Vintners Harvest Fruit Wine Bases.

Vintner's Harvest Winemaking
Winemakers Guide & Recipes


Wine Making Process

1. Sanitize all equipment and utensils with a general purpose sanitizer such as One Step.

2. Put straining bag in fermenter, add fruit and tie off bag.

3. Add all ingredients as directed on can label, excluding those with an * which will be added later. Add solution of Potassium Metabisulphite (not powder form) and stir well to make sure sugar is dissolved.

4. Cover with a damp cloth or fine mesh fabric and let sit over night to allow S02 to be released.

5. Sprinkle yeast on top of "must” (unfinished wine). Temperature should be between 70 - 80° F.

6. Next day, gently stir top half of must, mindful not to stir sediment at bottom. Repeat daily until specific gravity lowers to 1.040 (4 or 5 days).

7. When gravity reads 1.040, remove bag of fruit. Press and strain juice from pulp and discard pulp Transfer must to secondary vessel, leaving behind as much of the settled solids as possible and top up with water to minimize air space. Attach fermentation lock.

8. Rack wine again (3 to 4 weeks) when gravity reads 1.010 to 1.000. Add 1 crushed Campden tablet per gallon of must.

9. After wine is clear (2 or 3 months) stabilize with potassium sorbate to prevent renewed fermentation, sweeten to taste if too dry. Enhance flavor and aroma with natural fruit flavour if too dry. Enhance flavor and aroma with natural fruit flavor at this time if desired. Bottle.

10. Wine can be consumed at this point but will benefit with aging of 6 months to one year.

Directions for making a solution of bisulfite: dissolve 5 tsp. of sodium or potassium bisulphite in 1 cup (8oz) water. You may substitute 1 tsp. of this liquid solution whenever the recipe calls for 1 crushed campden tablet.



Equipment and Supplies
• Coarse mesh nylon bag for fruit
• Primary fermenter, with a minimum of 2 gallons larger than batch size
• Secondary fermenter, 3 or 5 gallon carboy, depending on batch size
• Fermentation locks and stopper if needed
• Very fine mesh cloth for fermenter cover
• Syphon/racking equipment
• Hydrometer and testing Jar
• Bottles, corks and corking device
• Other useful items include cleaning brushes, funnels, plastic spoon or paddle and thermometer


Standard Recipe directions:
Recipe and process recommendations will vary from variety to variety somewhat; please refer to the directions printed on individual fruit labels.

5 Gallon Recipe:
One 96 oz. can Vintner’s Harvest Fruit Wine Base
6 cans warm water (4.5 gallons)
12 lbs. white table sugar
4 tsp. Yeast nutrient
2 1/2 tsp. Pectic enzyme
½ tsp. wine tannin
5 Campden tablets, crushed or 5 liquid tsp. Solution of Bisulfite (see directions in "winemaking process" section)
* 1 packet Vintner’s Harvest wine yeast
* 2 1/2 tsp. Potassium Sorbate to stabilize
* Follow winemaking process directions to know when to add these products


3 Gallon Recipe (fuller fruit flavour and body than the 5gallon recipe)
One 96 oz. can Vintner’s Harvest Fruit Wine Base
3 1/2 cans warm water (2.6 gallons)
7 lbs. white table sugar
1 tsp. Yeast nutrient
1 tsp. Pectic enzyme
3 Campden tablets, crushed or 3 liquid tsp. Solution of Bisulfite (see directions in "winemaking process" section)
* 1 package of Vintner’s Harvest wine yeast
* 1 1/2 tsp. Potassium Sorbate to stabilize
* Follow winemaking process directions to know when to add these products


Sweet wine - If sweeter wine is desired, use Vintners Harvest CW17 wine yeast. Alter stabilizing with potassium sorbate, sweeten to taste with a wine conditioner or simple sugar syrup (2 parts sugar to 1 part water, boiled and cooled).

Optional additives - Some wines may benefit from the addition of a natural fruit flavor which enhances both flavor and bouquet which can be diminished during fermentation, or by use of acid blend to increase crispness and offset residual sweetness. Check with your local beer and Winemaking supply store for these products.

*Courtesy of Vintners Harvest