Raspberry gets its name from a mid-15th century word raspise, meaning a sweet rose-color wine so it should come as no surprise that even today raspberry wines are available. My paternal grandmother, Helen S Wright, included four recipes for raspberry wine her he book, Old Time Recipes for Home Made Wines (published in 1909) The second of these starts out with raisins but includes a good amount of raspberries as well as loaf sugar. The use of raisins seems untraditional but would add sweetness as well as some flavor.

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Here is the recipe for raspberry wine with raisins in the words of my paternal grandmother:

Take three pounds of raisins, wash, clean and stone them thoroughly. Boil two gallons of spring water for half an hour; as soon as it is taken off the fire pour it into a deep stone jar, and put in the raisins, with six quarts of raspberries and two pounds of loaf sugar. Stir it well together, and cover them closely and set it in a cool place; stir it twice a day, then pass it through a sieve. Put the liquor into a close vessel, adding one pound more of loaf sugar; let it stand for a day and a night to settle, after which bottle it, adding a little more sugar.

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