The Grant Clan Brewers Log

How to Make Homemade Strawberry Wine (Melomel with Honey)

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by

Jeremy Grant
in ,
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When venturing beyond traditional grape wines, berries are one of the most rewarding fruits to ferment at home. Strawberries deliver a vibrant color, bright aromatics, and a naturally crisp profile. Rather than using standard white cane sugar, this recipe uses pure raw honey as the fermentable backbone—technically making it a strawberry melomel (a fruit-infused mead).

Brewing with whole fruit requires a slightly different approach than working with clear juices. Using a few simple techniques—like gently warming the fruit, managing the fruit cap in a bucket, and balancing acidity and tannins—ensures a clean fermentation and a clear finished pour.

Key Techniques for Fruit Winemaking

  • Mashing Without Pureeing: Gently warming the berries with water in a slow cooker or stockpot softens the skins. Pulsing them briefly in a blender breaks open the flesh to release color and sugars without pulverizing the tiny seeds, which can impart unwanted bitterness if ground too fine.
  • Primary Fermentation in a Bucket: Fermenting whole fruit directly inside a narrow-neck 1-gallon glass jug is a recipe for volcanic airlock blowouts. Using a 2-gallon bucket provides the necessary headspace for the foaming fruit pulp and allows you to stir and degas easily during the first week.
  • Balancing the Additives: Strawberries naturally have high water content and lower acidity and tannin levels than grapes. Adding pectic enzyme breaks down fruit hazes to aid clarity, while small amounts of acid blend, wine tannin, and yeast nutrient provide structure and a healthy environment for the yeast.
  • Yeast Selection: Lalvin EC-1118 is a vigorous, reliable fermenter capable of handling high-gravity fruit musts smoothly. It ferments clean and dry, allowing the natural strawberry aroma and subtle honey notes to shine.
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Homemade Strawberry Wine (Strawberry Melomel)

A rich, vibrant homemade fruit wine made with real strawberries, raw honey, and Lalvin EC-1118 yeast. Technically a strawberry melomel, merging the techniques of fruit wine and mead making.
Prep Time45 minutes
Fermenting Time30 days
Total Time30 days 45 minutes
Keyword: fruit wine, mead, melomel, strawberry wine
Yield: 1 gallon
Author: Jeremy Grant
Cost: $20

Equipment

  • 1 oz Star San Sanitizer Will make 5 gallons of water to sanitize all equipment
  • 1 2-Gallon Fermentation Bucket with Grommeted Lid Allows headspace for fruit pulp krausen and stirring
  • 1 Double Bubble ‘S’ Type Lock or 3-Piece Airlock
  • 1 Rubber Stopper / Grommet for Bucket Lid
  • 1 Slow Cooker / Crockpot or Stockpot To gently warm berries and extract juices
  • 1 Ninja Blender or Food Processor For pulsing and chopping berries
  • 1 Digital Kitchen Scale For weighing honey and fruit
  • 1 Digital Brewing Thermometer To check must temperature before pitching yeast
  • 1 EASY-SIPHON 3/8"
  • 1 5/16" x 7/16" siphon hose 3 to 6 foot
  • 1 1-Gallon Glass Carboy / Jug For secondary clearing and aging
  • 1 Long Brewing Spoon / Paddle

Materials

  • 5 pounds Frozen Strawberries Thawed or warmed to extract juice
  • 2 pounds Raw Honey About 1 container / ~2.6 cups
  • 10 cups Filtered Water Divided: 8 cups (1/2 gal) warmed with berries, 2 cups cool to rinse crockpot
  • 1 teaspoon Yeast Nutrient Fermaid O, DAP, or standard wine yeast nutrient
  • 1/2 teaspoon Pectic Enzyme Powder Breaks down fruit pectin and clarifies wine
  • 1/4 teaspoon Acid Blend Balances fruit acidity
  • 1/2 teaspoon Wine Tannin Adds mouthfeel and structure
  • 1 packet Lalvin EC-1118 Wine Yeast 5g packet; vigorous, clean fermenter
  • 1 splash Vodka Used inside the airlock

Instructions

Cleaning Prep

  • Clean and sanitize all equipment, buckets, spoons, and lids with Star San and hot water to prevent wild bacteria or yeast contamination.

Fruit Prep & Mashing

  • Place 5 lbs of frozen strawberries and 1/2 gallon (8 cups) of filtered water into a slow cooker (crockpot) or large pot on low heat to gently soften the fruit.
  • Pulse the warmed berries briefly in a blender (such as a Ninja) or food processor to chop the fruit and break it open. Avoid over-blending into a puree.
  • Pour the warm strawberry mash into your sanitized 2-gallon primary fermentation bucket.
  • Use 2 additional cups of cool filtered water to rinse remaining fruit juices out of the pot/blender and pour it directly into the bucket.

Mixing Additives & Honey

  • Allow the strawberry mash to cool down below 90°F (check with a digital brewing thermometer).
  • Stir in 1 tsp yeast nutrient, 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme powder, 1/4 tsp acid blend, and 1/2 tsp wine tannin.
  • Weigh out and add 2 lbs of raw honey into the bucket.
  • Stir vigorously with a long brewing spoon to dissolve the honey completely and introduce oxygen into the must.

Pitching Yeast & Primary Fermentation

  • Confirm must temperature is between 80°F and 90°F, then pitch 1 packet (5g) of Lalvin EC-1118 wine yeast directly into the bucket and stir thoroughly.
  • Snap the lid securely onto the bucket. Insert the airlock into the grommet and fill to the fill line with vodka.
  • Let the must ferment in primary for 7 to 10 days, swirling or stirring daily during the first few days to keep the fruit cap moist.

Racking to Secondary

  • After about a week, use an Easy Siphon to rack the liquid off the fruit pulp and heavy sediment into a sanitized 1-gallon glass carboy.
  • Fit the glass jug with a stopper and vodka-filled airlock, and allow it to ferment out and clear in secondary for 3 to 4 weeks before cold crashing or bottling.

Notes

Because raw honey is used as the primary fermentable sugar source instead of cane sugar, this recipe is technically a strawberry melomel (fruit mead). Using a wide-mouth 2-gallon primary bucket gives ample headspace for the active fruit pulp krausen and makes degassing and punching down the fruit cap easy.

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