Make wine at home this Christmas

Hear it from the winemakerPicShadab KhanAn amateur wine brewer for a decade Dharmesh Ashar experiments with various fruits apart from grapes including strawberries mosambi bananas guava and even litchis For Christmas hersquos made a batch of dragon fruit wine spiced with cinnamon which has been fermenting since August and is almost ready for bottling ldquoWinemaking is an artrdquo the selftaught Juhu resident tells us ldquoThe most important factors to keep in mind are hygiene and patience It is important to think about fungus and moulds they can ruin an entire batch Sanitisation of your utensils knives even the juicer or blender is crucial The simplest and most traditional way is to soak them in boiling water for 10 minutesrdquo he sharesWhile you may not be able to ferment your wine from scratch now he has a handy idea ldquoTake a bottle of your favourite red and three hours before you plan to have it add some cinnamon or cloves to it and close the corkcap tightly Now keep the bottle in a hot water bath and let it rest for 45 minutes Enjoy your instant batch of mulled wine Boiling bottled wine will mess with the notes and flavours This is a teaser of a typical mulled wine without much waiting or hasslerdquo he signs offGet your GluhweinAbout 110 days before Xrsquomas every year chef Aditi Keni begins to make Gluumlhwein or mulled wine ldquoGluumlhwein or gluogi is Germanstyle mulled wine meant to be drunk hot sometimes with a dash of rumA bottle of GluhweinI use a Cabernet sauvignon grape juice and mulling spices seasonal stone fruit and lots of citrus A GermanCanadian professor gave me this recipe I take the leftover fruits and spices and stuff them in a whole chicken and bake itrdquo she tells usCost Rs 1500 for 750 ml Call 9820444561Aunty knows bestKadambari Gupte a publicist from Parel learnt how to make a Christmas pour from her aunt Ashwini Pande in London when she was pursuing her Masters in fashion ldquoAdd spices depending on your taste as many donrsquot like the strong flavour of cinnamon You can add the cinnamon sticks or even powder them I prefer putting them as whole as the fragrance is stronger You can also place it in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to three or four daysrdquo she saysRice rice babyNorth Eastern food curator Gitika Saikia makes a rice wine for the season ldquoThe rice is aged and the yeast needs 15 herbs which I source from Assam It is a sevento10day process I remember making this with my mother as a kid Always keep your wine refrigerated The first press is the most potent and sweetrdquo says Saika who makes it on requestCall 9820445990Trust your instinctsPooja Vir a hospitality advisor makes wine using a Polish friendrsquos recipe she learnt when she was living in London ldquoItrsquos her family favourite that I requested for my mum who loves mulled wine This recipe needs no steepingrdquo she says A suggestion for newbies ldquoWhen it comes to mulled wine treat a recipe as merely a suggestion Be generous with the spices trust your instincts and make sure you always have some Christmas music on when yoursquore making itrdquoSpiced wineTo a bottle of wine add 125 gm of brown sugar a stick of cinnamon peels of a lemon one lime peel one orange peel with its juice three to four cloves two star anise one javitri two bay leaves and frac14 tsp grated nutmeg Simmer the wine along with the ingredients on a slow flame for one to two hours Avoid letting it boil Cool completely before consumingRecipe Mulled wineIngredientsgtgt A handful of clovesgtgt A handful of dried orange peelgtgt 1 inch peeled ginger roughly cubedgtgt A handful of cinnamon sticksgtgt 1 vanilla podgtgt 2 to 3 prunesgtgt 2 to 3 star anisegtgt 2 to 3 handfuls of raisinsgtgt frac12 tbsp of freshly ground nutmeggtgt A handful of green cardamom pods crushedgtgt 1 bottle red winegtgt 200 gm sugargtgt Juice of one malta orangegtgt 100 ml vodkagtgt Almond slivers to garnishMethodBoil one and a half to two litres of water and add all the spices Allow the mix to simmer for half an hour Drain the spicy water into a large pot and add the red wine sugar and orange juice Heat this mix but make sure it doesnrsquot boil Take the mix off the heat and add the vodka Pour into mugs and garnish with raisins and almonds