METHOD:

1. Wash, peel, removing all yellow skin. Split open pomegranates and scrape out seeds.

2. Chop into small pieces. Put in nylon straining bag, crush fruit and squeeze juice into primary fermentor. Keeping pulp in bag, tie top, and place in primary.

3. Stir in all other ingredients EXCEPT yeast. Cover primary.

4. After 24 hours, add yeast. Cover primary.

5. Stir daily, check Specific Gravity, and press pulp lightly to aid extraction.

6. When ferment reaches S.G. 1.050 (5-6 days) squeeze juice lightly from bag. Siphon wine off sediment into glass secondary. Attach lock.

7. When ferment is complete (S.G. has dropped to 1.000 -- about 3 weeks) siphon off sediment into clean secondary. Reattach lock.

8. To aid clearing siphon again in 2 months and again if necessary before bottling.

If a slightly sweetened wine is preferred, at bottling add 1/2 tsp. stabilizer, then stir in 1/4 lb. dissolved sugar per gallon.

VARIETIES

Pomegranates (Punica granatum) tolerate great heat but fruiting varieties need deep watering. Available in tree or shrub form, 1 1/2' - 12' high. The two popular varieties to try are: "Wonderful," 10' high, large orange-red flowers followed by reddish fruit, and "Sweet," a pomegranate similar to Wonderful but with sweeter, less acid fruit.