Old Time Recipes for Home Made Wines: Red Gooseberry Wine

In her book, Old Time Recipes for Home Made Wines (published in 1909), my paternal grandmother, Helen S. Wright, included 8 recipes for gooseberry wine. Although Grandmother did not specify the kind of gooseberry, 7 of the recipes probably used American gooseberry (Ribes hirtellum) but 1 recipe calls for red gooseberry and could possibly be European gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa). The European gooseberry plant is larger than the American gooseberry plant but is more susceptible to mildew. In addition, the former has larger more flavorful berries that are usually red. Some American gooseberry cultivars, however, may also have red berries. Photo Credit Darkone Wikipedia

Here is the recipes for red gooseberry wine in the words of Grandmother:

“Take five gallons cold soft water, five and one-half gallons red gooseberries, and ferment. Now mix eight pounds raw sugar, one pound beet root sliced, and-half ounce red tartar in fine powder. Afterward put in one-half pound sassafras chips, one half gallon brandy or less. This will make nine gallons.

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