Add 2 Campden tables per gallon of wine to sterilize and then seal the bottles permanently. Some wines are pleasant immediately, but others require as long as a year before they develop a good character. Very often wine is fermented to dryness, and sugar is added later in the form of syrup to sweeten the wine to the individual taste. If this process is used, add Campden tablets to stop the fermentation which otherwise may start up again. Sometimes this secondary fermentation is deliberately encouraged to coax a greater alcohol content.
Fermentation reduces the sugar and creates alcohol.
The addition of fruits provide the flavor and aroma. There is a temptation to process whole fruit in a food blender as a short cut rather than peel it. This can introduce unwanted strong flavors from the skin. Some of the better wines also make use of judicious amounts of aromatic herbs and spices as well as fruit. The recipes offered here are general and intended to stimulate the imagination.