The inspiration behind this wine was eating a kiwifruit followed immediately by a gingernut biscuit. The combination of the kiwifruit and the ginger was fantastic and I had the thought that this would make a great wine if both flavours can be maintained through the process. Happily I can say that the two flavours are both expressed in the final wine. The wine ends up with a very full flavour that hits all bases and has a very long finish that I think can be attributed to the ginger. I have made two lots of this with differences between the two batches that have yielded subtly different wines.

Both recipes described make a single 4.5L demijohn’s worth.

Kiwifruit and Ginger Wine No1

• 2 kg of kiwifruit (before being scooped out)
• 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
• Sugar
• 1 teaspoon pectolase
• 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
• Wine yeast SN9 – an all purpose yeast for fruit wines.

Method

• Peel and slice the kiwifruit into a bucket.
• Add the ginger powder.
• Pour in a jug of boiling water to make up to approximately 3.5L of must and add some metabisulphate solution or a campden tablet if you are going to use them.
• Leave to stand for 24 hours for it to cool and allow the metabisulphite to leave the must.
• Add the pectolase and measure the specific gravity.
• The specific gravity I was aiming for was 1.105 which should yield a wine of about 14% alcohol. My measurements of the specific gravity in the must indicated the need to add 1160g of sugar to the must.
• Add the sugar and then add the yeast + yeast nutrient. Add cold water to make it up to 4.5L.
• Leave it to ferment in the bucket for about 3 days.
• Strain into a demijohn and leave to ferment out.
• Rack to clear once fermentation has stopped.
• Bottle once clear.

As this wine has no tannin added and we are seeking to maximise the fruit character this wine is ready to drink pretty much immediately.

The flavour of the end product was excellent with a very balanced flavour that was full, fruity, and had a real lift from the ginger.

Kiwifruit and Ginger Wine No2

• 2 kg of golden (yellow) kiwifruit (before being scooped out)
• 2 tablespoons of ground ginger
• 1160g Sugar
• 1 teaspoon pectolase
• 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
• Wine yeast CL23 – this is a yeast supposedly for “Crisp fresh dry white or blush wines – still or sparkling.

Method

• Peel and slice the kiwifruit into a bucket.
• Add the ginger powder.
• Pour in a jug of boiling water to make up to approximately 3.5L of must and add some metabisulphate solution or a campden tablet if you are going to use them.
• Leave to stand for 24 hours for it to cool and allow the metabisulphite to leave the must.
• Add the pectolase and measure the specific gravity.
• The quantity of sugar used was the same as for the previous edition of the Kiwifruit and Ginger wine.
• Add the sugar and then add the yeast + yeast nutrient. Add cold water to make it up to 4.5L.
• Leave it to ferment in the bucket for about 3 days.
• Strain into a demijohn and leave to ferment out.
• Rack to clear once fermentation has stopped.
• Bottle once clear.

Again the wine has no added tannins or oaking and so is ready to drink pretty much immediately.

The flavour of the end product was fantastic with a very lively flavour given by the greater quantity of ginger. Because the yellow kiwifruit have quite a gentle flavour it is hard to identify the kiwifruitiness, but I feel its absence would definitely be noticed.