The fig wine recipe from Jack Keller has placed 1st and 2nd in competition. I also plan on making this WHEN I have figs. I would also think a mead made with figs as the fruit base would be spectacular, need to figure out which honey to pair it up with. You could also check WinePress.US Wine Making and Grape Growing Forum, they are a wealth of info.
Please keep us posted as to what recipe you do use and all notes.
- 4 lbs figs
- 7 pts water
- 1-3/4 lbs granulated sugar
- 3-1/2 tsp acid blend
- 1 crushed Campden tablet
- 1 tsp yeast nutrient
- 1 pkg Montrachet wine yeast
Chop or feed figs through mincer. Place in large, finely woven nylon straining bag, tie top, and put in primary fermentation vessel. Stir in all other ingredients except yeast. Check S.G. (should be 1.085 to 1.100; if not, add up to 1/2 cup more sugar, stirring very well before re-checking S.G.). Cover with cloth. Add yeast after 24 hours and stir daily, pressing pulp lightly to aid extraction of juices. When liquor reaches 1.040 (3 to 5 days), hang bag over bowl to drain, lightly pressing to aid extraction (do NOT force or you will cloud the liquor). While pulp drains, siphon liquor off sediments into secondary. Add drained liquid and discard pulp. Fit airlock to secondary. Ferment to dryness (S.G. 1.000 or lower -- in about 3 weeks). Rack into clean secondary, top up to 1 gallon and reattach airlock. Rack again in 2 months. Rack again and bottle when clear. This is a good dry wine. If you want it sweeter, add 1/2 tsp stabilizer per gallon after last racking (but before bottling), then add 1/4 lb dissolved sugar per gallon. Bottle. This wine can be drank young (after 3 months in bottle), but will improve immensely with age.
You really should consider drying some of the figs for use in other recipes calling for dried figs. They add considerable body to thin wines, but may impart a brownish color that some find objectionable. Not here. To me, that brown color means the wine should be aged four years before drinking, when it will have taken on an almost sherry quality. This is the value of dried figs....