Pineapple Wine Recipe – Fast, Easy, Exciting

Pineapple wine is a unique drink with a sweet taste and exciting tropical flavors. It’s perfect for summer getaways or family gatherings and is even used on Easter or Christmas.

Although fresh pineapple thrives in warm environments, pineapple wine is enjoyable throughout the year.

While there are many commercial recipes for white pineapple wine, the easiest way to get it is to make and bottle your own.

From preparation to fermentation, it’s a fairly simple process, though it does take some time to complete.

Let’s go over a step-by-step guide for making this homemade pineapple wine, the tools and recipe ingredients required, and get the most out of your finished wine with the least effort.

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What is Pineapple Wine?

As the name suggests, pineapple wine is one of the fruit wines that doesn’t rely on grapes for its flavor. Through a long fermentation process, it develops alcohol, becoming wine.

While this definition is straightforward, some wine drinkers confuse pineapple wine with pineapple wine punch, a mixture of Moscato and fresh pineapple juice.

In that case, the pineapple wine punch receives its alcohol content from another source separate from the fruit mix.

However, pineapple is an excellent fruit for fermentation, thanks to its natural sugar levels.

This fermentation period can take several weeks or months to occur, but if you’re willing to wait, a bottle of sweet, white pineapple wine that is smooth to drink and tastes almost like Sauvignon Blanc.

This sweet wine will maintain its flavors for longer without being overwhelmingly sour or sweet.

Pineapple wine is popular in India, Japan, Hawaii, Thailand, and other places where the tropical fruit grows.

Should You Use Canned or Fresh Pineapple?

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When making this homemade wine, the first question on your mind will probably be what kind of pineapples will give you the best consistency and taste when added to the pineapple wine mixture.

This recipe works whether you use canned pineapple or fresh ones. This allows it to be a year-round recommendation. You may not even notice the difference when you drink it.

Fresh, ripe pineapples can elevate your wine mixture and keep the preservatives found in canned pineapples from preventing fermentation.

When undergoing pineapple wine making, you will want to pick fresh pineapples whose leaves can be pulled from the top with minimal effort. Avoid over-ripe and under-ripe pineapples.

Tools for Making Pineapple Wine

The entire pineapple wine-making process may take months, but the actual wine mixture is easy to combine.

You will need several tools and materials to make this pineapple wine recipe a reality:

• A large pot
• 2 Clear glass(or plastic) Demijohns (around 1 gallon). Milk cartons can also work when properly sterilized.
• Airlock and Bung for sealing Demijohns.
• Large glass jar or small jars
• Sterilized fermentation bin (brew bin) or basin (food grade) with a 1-gallon capacity
• Large fine straining bag or muslin cloth straining bag
• Siphon or Vinyl Tubing (at least 3 feet long)
• Decanter
• Knife and Cutting Board (When working with fresh pineapples)
• Potato Masher
• Glass Wine Bottle (as many as you need) + Corks or bottle caps
• Large Funnel

These containers and tools will allow for many different pineapple wine recipes. You have what you need to strain, drain, ferment, store, and package your pineapple wine.

Ingredients for Fresh Pineapple Wine

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All pineapple wine recipes rely on the same basic ingredients.

We go through the most important ones and give some measurements depending on whether you want a sampler or a big batch of wines.

• 0.8-1.8 kg Pineapple fruit, depending on how much wine you’re making (Can be fresh, ripe pineapples. If you are using canned pineapple, be sure to use chopped pineapple rings instead of small pieces of pineapple), Pure Pineapple juice
• 4 liters (1 Gallon) of Water
• 2 lbs (800g-900g) Granulated Sugar
• 120g – 450g of golden raisins
• Champagne or White Wine Yeast (Follow packaging instructions)
• Yeast Mixture and Yeast Nutrient (Follow packaging instructions)
• 0.5 oz of citric acid
• Egg white for clarification ( You can use baking soda instead of an egg white to reduce the acidity of the wine)
• 1/2 tsp Pectic Enzyme (clarifies wine and removes the sediment layer during the racking process)
• 1 Campden Tablet
• 1/4th tsp Wine Tannin
• 1/4th tsp Acid Blend
• Wine stabilizers like potassium sorbate
• 2 pods vanilla – Optional

The amount you will use will depend on the recipe you draw from. When it’s your first time making pineapple wine, it is important to use the lowest amount of ingredients listed above.

We will go over how to use any remaining ingredients and the best measurements as we walk through the process.

Step by Step Recipe for Making Pineapple Wine

Here is a guide that goes over how to make pineapple wine, what you’ll need like yeast and siphons, and how to make it as quickly and easily as possible.

1. Collect Your Ingredients

As with any recipe, you will need to start by gathering your materials, tools, containers, and ingredients to make your cooking and fermentation process go by smoothly.

You wouldn’t want to get halfway through cooking only to realize that the taste is off and you can’t fix it. Be sure to prepare everything before you begin.

All the ingredients like yeast and even pineapples are readily available at your local grocery store and supermarket.

That being said, pineapple wine benefits most from whole, fresh pineapples.

Pineapple wine is only produced commercially in Hawaii, Japan and Nigeria, but pineapples have methods of keeping themselves fresh until they reach your kitchen.

2. Prepare Your Chopped Pineapple and Pineapple Juice

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Once you have your wine ingredients, you will want to prepare your pineapples. This process can be skipped if you’re using canned pineapple, provided it doesn’t have preservatives or syrup.

If you’re using fresh pineapple pieces, you will need to cut the top off and the skin from the fruit’s flesh. You will need to cut the fruit into small pieces, no bigger than your thumb.

It is best to remove all overripe pieces to prevent the bitter taste from seeping through.

You should also save any pineapple juice that flows out during the cutting. The skin can also be used in the wine.

Make sure that your pineapple is peeled, cored and chopped up before proceeding. This will give you the best taste and texture for your pineapple wine.

3. Begin the Fermentation Process

You will then place your pineapple pieces into a large fine straining bag, which goes into a sterilized fermentation bin or jar. This will serve as your primary fermenter.

Once inside, you can mix your raisins with your pineapple and pineapple juice.

Raisins add body to your wine recipe, giving it a more pleasant texture. When you make pineapple wine, raisins may not be required, but it does make it taste better.

Make sure that your glass jar or container is around 2 gallons big, as your pineapple wine recipe may be used for a larger batch of wine.

It should accommodate all the ingredients and water used.

The actual preparation time for this pineapple wine recipe is only about 30 minutes. The total fermentation period to turn it into wine is 14 days.

For best results, you may need to wait a few months.

4. Proof the Yeast

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When making pineapple wine, you will need to add yeast to make it alcoholic. To proof your yeast, you will first need to add 1 tbsp of sugar and 50 mL to water and a small vessel.

Stir the combined sugar and water until dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, you can add 1.5 tbsp wine yeast and briskly stir the pot over medium heat.

When the yeast starts boiling, let it rest for 10 minutes.

The combined yeast nutrient will begin bubbling when you let it rest, knowing it’s activated.

You can use this time to prepare the other ingredients for your pineapple wine, leaving the yeast to work its magic.

5. Preparing the Wine Must

The next step in this pineapple wine recipe is to add your water (at least 1 gallon) to a pot and combine it with your remaining sugar.

Allow it to simmer and boil until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Adding sugar will allow the pleasant flavors to come out, as pineapple can naturally get sour, especially when fermented.

You can then allow the sugar solution to rest for about 10 minutes before adding it to your glass jar. If you add your pineapple first into your basin, you can pour your sugar water over it.

If you are using a glass jar for your wine recipe mix, you can add the pineapple mix first before your water. This is the main goal of creating the base of your pineapple-infused liquid.

You can leave the mixture stew in its juices for 12 hours for the best results. This gives the fruits a mushy texture and integrates the pineapple’s natural sugars into the wine mixture.

6. Combine Your Ingredients

Once you have brought your sugar solution to a boil and have combined it with your pineapple, you can then combine all the other ingredients (except yeast), such as your tannin, citric acid blend, stabilizers, vanilla pods, and Campden tablets.

All the other ingredients are added to introduce richness and complexity to your wine.

It allows you to bring sophistication to your wine, elevating it from homemade moonshine to something you could enjoy.

Campden tablets are essential for safety and quality reasons.

These tablets kill off all bacteria potentially found in your wine ingredients, and prevent your added yeast from overpowering your mixture.

They also help save your wine mixture if your bad yeast fails to activate.

7. Add the Yeast and Stir

Once the tablets have completely integrated, you can add your yeast to the mix and combine it well.

Make sure to stir your mixture. This gets rid of excess carbon dioxide, which can interfere with your yeast and encourages oxygen, which helps the process. Stir well.

Your yeast should begin primary fermentation with all the ingredients combined into your juice. Your wine will go on quite the journey within the next one or two days.

8. Now We Wait

This point of the recipe allows the conversion of sugar into alcohol. You will need to keep a close eye on your would-be wine as it goes through this transformation process.

Make sure to stir it twice a day to prevent carbon dioxide build-up.

Keep a loose seal on your container. It should not be airtight and should just have enough cover to ensure the process goes uninterrupted by outside elements.

The situation will develop slowly, then rapidly. Your fruit juice will bubble, foam, swirl and will ferment furiously.

Allow it to undergo this process. Just make sure to stir to let it combine well.

You can expect it to shake, rattle and roll by itself for the next 7 days before it finally settles. It may take 10 days at most for it to ferment completely. You’re making good progress.

9. Strain and Drain

Once it has settled, you can skim off any residue on your container. Make sure that the exit way is nice and clean. With this step done, you can now get rid of your solids.

If you used a straining bag, you can take the entire set out of your primary fermenter, separate your alcohol juice from your solids, and catch your liquids in a separate container.

Take a sample of your wine and give it a sip. It should have sweetness and a nice fruity flavor.

If you get that, then you’re on the right track. If not, you can throw in more added sugar to save your recipe.

Once you back sweeten your drink with more sugar, you can rest assured that the yeast will gobble it up, allowing it to blend with your wine.

Once your liquids have been separated, you can use a funnel to lead them into your sterilized demijohns.

Once it’s in your demijohns, you can add some water to fill it up. This is when you add your bung and airlock, giving it a nice seal. You can then store it in a dark place.

You will leave your liquid to undergo its secondary fermentation. It will gurgle with bubbles heading towards the airlock. It will take a few weeks to a few months before settling down.

10. Siphoning and Clearing Your Pineapple Wine

You can now make it look like wine when your recipe has settled since it comes out cloudy.

This can be solved by racking your liquid or moving it from one demijohn to the next until only the good, quality liquid remains in your final demijohn.

This entails settling your demijohn so that the sediments sink to the bottom of your bottle. You will then slip your siphoning tube 3/4ths into the bottle.

You will then manually suck the liquid up through the tube and quickly insert it into your fresh demijohn, transferring only the liquid and leaving the blurry sediment behind.

You can repeat this process after a few days or weeks if it has not cleared up. If it has, you can move on to the next step, which is waiting.

If racking is not enough, you can add an egg white or baking soda to further clarify your liquid and prevent acidity. Mix well to give it a clearer, translucent appearance.

11. We Wait Again

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Your first rack will be one of many. Unfortunately, you will need to let it rest between each rack.

Depending on your needs, you can wait as little as 14 days before bottling, or you can wait 2 months before racking again, then bottling.

Patience is a virtue that is doubly true when it comes to winemaking. You will need to be patient if you want it to be crisp, clear, and of a quality comparable to commercial wines.

The best way is to rack it every 2 months (over 6 months) before bottling. This will allow you to get the clearest possible pineapple wine with no sediments or cloudiness.

Cover and store before bottling it only after 14 days if you cannot wait. Be sure to wait 7 more days before serving chilled.

12. Bottle and Serve

Once you have found the right color and have a translucent liquid you can see well through; it’s finally time to bottle your wine.

If you are happy with how it tastes, you can transfer it as it is.

If not, you can still back sweeten your wine by adding sugar through a funnel by the tablespoon. Don’t be afraid to sample your wine and make adjustments until satisfied.

Having gone through the entire process of preparing the solid ingredients, stirring, mixing, fermenting, waiting, siphoning, and waiting again, your pineapple wine is now ready to go.

You can wait as little as 1 week to allow your pineapple wine to get conditioned in its new case. However, it would be best to wait 2 months before finally tasting the fruits of your labor.

Simplified Wine Recipe (For Easy Reference)

If you want a quick recap that you can print out and refer to throughout the process, simplified instructions for your pineapple wine.

Ingredients

• 0.8-1.8 kg Pineapple
• 4 liters (1 Gallon) of Water
• 2 lbs (800g-900g) Granulated Sugar
• 120g – 450g raisins
• Champagne or White Wine Yeast
• 0.5 oz of citric acid or 1/4th tsp Acid Blend
• Egg white
• 1/2 tsp Pectic Enzyme
• 1 Campden Tablet
• 1/4th tsp Wine Tannin
• 2 pods vanilla – Optional

Process

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1. Collect your ingredients and source your pineapples (fresh and ripe is always preferred).
2. Chop your pineapple and get rid of all bitter portions. The skin can be added if you wish.
3. Place the pineapple into your straining bag and your fermentation bin. A simple jar will do if you have neither.
4. Add your raisins and any other fruits or pods you may need to add to your mix.
5. Proof your yeast by mixing it with sugar and water. Allow it to bubble and activate.
6. Add your sugar water to your pineapple and combine them in a glass jar. Let them rest for 12 hours for the best results.
7. Combine all of your other ingredients (except your yeast mixture) and stir thoroughly. When using Campden tablets, leave the mix alone for 24 hours.
8. Add your yeast to the mix and combine well. Stir.
9. Once fully combined, allow it to ferment for the first time. Stir 2-3 times a day to allow it to activate.
10. After 2 weeks, you can strain your solid residue and gunk and transfer your liquid to the demijohns. Allow it to undergo secondary fermentation.
11. Clear your wine by racking and siphoning. This process may take a long time.
12. Once you achieve the right color and texture, you can undergo final bottling.
13. With your pineapple wine going through the entire process, you can now enjoy a bottle of your labor of love with friends and family.

Conclusion

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The entire process is quite simple if you think about it. You chop the pineapples and proof the yeast. You then combine your ingredients and leave them to ferment.

After two weeks to a few months, you have your pineapple wine ready.

Making wine is a fun, worthwhile endeavor! Homemade pineapple wine is worth the time and the effort, and it is a great conversation starter and an excellent entryway into wine-making.

When done right, your bottle of finished wine should be rich, have a sweet taste thanks to the sugar and recipe, and go down smoothly.

It should also be a hit with the people who drink it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Make Pineapple Wine in 7 Days?

Yes, it’s technically possible to accelerate the fermentation process and make pineapple wine in just 7 days. However, doing so may come at the cost of quality and flavor.

A shorter fermentation period doesn’t allow the wine to develop the nuanced flavors and aromas that come with a longer fermentation process.

If you’re in a rush, you can try it, but for a more refined and flavorful wine, it’s advisable to stick to a longer fermentation period.

How to Make Strong Pineapple Wine?

The alcohol content in pineapple wine is primarily determined by the amount of sugar available for the yeast to ferment. To make a stronger wine, you could increase the amount of granulated sugar in the recipe.

However, it’s essential to balance this with the right amount of yeast to ensure complete fermentation. Too much sugar could result in an overly sweet wine if the yeast can’t ferment it all. Additionally, you may also consider using a yeast strain that can tolerate higher alcohol levels.

How to Make Pineapple Wine Without Yeast?

Making pineapple wine without yeast involves relying on the natural yeasts present in the environment or on the fruit itself. This method is known as “wild fermentation.” While it’s an interesting approach, it’s also less predictable and can result in a wide range of flavors and alcohol content.

If you’re new to winemaking, it might be more challenging to control the outcome. It’s also crucial to maintain strict hygiene practices to prevent unwanted bacteria from spoiling the wine.

How to Make Pineapple Wine in 3 Days?

While the idea of making pineapple wine in just 3 days sounds appealing, it’s not the best approach if you’re looking for a wine with depth of flavor and character. The fermentation process needs adequate time for the yeast to convert the sugars in the pineapple into alcohol.

Additionally, the flavors need time to meld and mature, which simply can’t happen in such a short period. If you’re in a hurry, you might end up with a product that tastes more like a pineapple-flavored alcoholic beverage rather than a well-crafted wine.

How to Make Wine from Pineapples with Different Ingredients?

The basic ingredients for pineapple wine include pineapple, sugar, and yeast. However, you can get creative and add other ingredients to make your wine unique.

For instance, adding vanilla pods can introduce a subtle sweetness and aroma. Wine stabilizers like potassium sorbate can help preserve the wine for a longer period. You can also experiment with different types of yeast to influence the flavor and alcohol content.

Just remember to adjust the recipe and fermentation time accordingly to accommodate these additional ingredients.