Homemade rice wine: Easy recipe to make a golden Christmas drink in 25 days

Looking for a homemade wine recipe to try this Christmas? This rice wine is an interesting alternative to the usual grape and pineapple varieties. Made with rice, sugar, raisins, yeast and lemon juice, it develops a beautiful golden-yellow colour and is ready in just 25 days, according to the recipe.

Mini Joseph Vilangadan from Kochi shares a simple method that requires a handful of ingredients and a little patience. Jeera rice is used in this recipe, though basmati rice can also be substituted. The wine is prepared in an earthen jar and stirred daily for 15 days before being strained and left to settle for another seven days.

Here's how to make homemade rice wine for Christmas.

Homemade rice wine recipe

Preparation time: 25 days

Ingredients

1. ½ kg jeera rice (or basmati rice)
2. 1 kg sugar
3. ½ kg light-coloured raisins
4. 1 tbsp lemon juice
5. 1 tsp regular yeast or active dry yeast
6. 3 litres boiled and cooled water

Preparation

1. Wash the rice thoroughly and strain it. Keep aside.
2. Take a clean, dry earthen jar. Add the washed rice, sugar and raisins.
3. Add the lemon juice, making sure there are no lemon seeds in it, as they may make the wine bitter.
4. Add one teaspoon of yeast.
5. Pour in one litre of boiled and cooled water. Ensure the water has reached room temperature before adding it. Add the remaining two litres as well.
6. Using a completely dry wooden spoon or coconut-shell ladle, stir the mixture clockwise until the sugar dissolves completely.
7. Close the jar and cover its mouth with a clean cotton cloth. Keep it in a cool, dark place.
8. Stir the mixture once a day, preferably at the same time and in the same direction, for the next 15 days. Use the same dry ladle each time.
9. On the 16th day, strain the mixture and transfer the liquid into clean bottles. Allow the sediment to settle.
10. Let the wine rest for another seven days before serving.
11. The rice wine develops a golden-yellow colour from the raisins. Taste it after straining to check its sweetness. If you prefer sweeter wine, adjust the sugar as suggested by the recipe.

Recipe tip: Use only boiled and cooled water throughout the preparation. Make sure the water has cooled completely before adding it to the mixture. Keep the jar, ladle and bottles clean and properly sanitised. Never tightly seal a container while fermentation is active, as carbon dioxide buildup can cause dangerous pressure.

Watch Mini Joseph demonstrate the recipe and subscribe to Onmanorama Food & Travel YouTube for more easy homemade wine recipes this week.