VIN DE PAMPLEMOUSSE
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
2 5-liter (or five-quart) jars with a sealable lids.
5 750 ml bottles with stoppers
INGREDIENTS
6 Blood oranges (or yellow grapefruits)
6 pink grapefruits
2 limes (or lemons)
6 bottles light, crisp white wine (I used a Chilean sauvignon blanc that cost about $8 per bottle.)
1 750 ml bottle good vodka
5 cups sugar
2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise
2 8″ camomile branches with flowers, or 2 bags of camomile tea
honey
TECHNIQUE
1 Trim the grapefruits by cutting a round slice off either end, going deep enough to reveal the fruity core beneath the thick pith. Set aside these endcaps. Cut each trimmed grapefruit in half and then cut the halves into 1/2″ slices. Cut the limes or lemons into thin rounds.
2 Thoroughly wash your two large jars in hot, soapy water and rise well. Scald with boiling water and drain.
3 Divide the sugar evenly between the two jars. Add a split vanilla bean to each.
4 Layer the grapefruit slices into the jars, alternating yellow and red slices and mashing them down as you go. Distribute the lime or lemon evenly as you put in the layers. Once the jars are almost full, poke a chamomile branch down the inside or lay the teabag on top. Now take a few of the reserved rounds cut from the grapefruit and lay them over the top of the fruit, peel side up, to make the final layer.
5 Pour the vodka in over the fruit, evenly dividing the bottle between the two jars.
6 Top up each bottle with white wine. You should have about a bottle left over, which you will need to keep for later use.
7 Seal the jars and invert them a time or two to make sure you have no air pockets. Don’t worry about the undissolved sugar on the bottom.
8 Place the jars in a cool, dark place. Invert the jars to agitate the contents once a day for the first week. At the end of the week, the level of liquid will have gone down a bit. Top up each jar from the reserved bottle of wine. Over the next month, check on the jars and agitate every few days. Once a week, top up with wine.
9 At the end of 40 days, unseal the jars and pour the contents through a colander to capture the liquid. Allow the soggy fruit to drip for an hour and then gently press to extract more liquid. Taste it and adjust the sweetness, if you like, with a few tablespoons of honey. Allow the captured liquid to settle overnight in the refrigerator, then pour it through a double-thickness of damp cheesecloth, trying to avoid disturbing the sediment. Bottle the wine and then stopper the bottles. Keep bottles in the fridge for as long as it lasts. Over time, more sediment will settle out. If it bothers you, and it doesn’t me, just pour gently so as to leave it in the bottle.
YIELD
5 750 ml bottles
Originally from http://www.ocweekly.com/restaurants/turn-blood-oranges-into-wine-6627366