Bokbunja-ju (Black Raspberry Wine)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-liter glass jar with nonreactive lid
• •Kitchen scale
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Clean cotton cloth or cheesecloth
• •Funnel
• •Two or three clean glass bottles, 750 ml each

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the jar

   Wash a 3-liter glass jar, lid, funnel, and spoon in hot soapy water. Rinse well, then sanitize with boiling water or a dishwasher hot cycle and let everything air-dry completely. A dry jar matters because extra water lowers the alcohol strength, and wet corners invite mold.

2. 2

   Sort the berries

   Pick through the bokbunja and discard any berry with mold, a sour fermented smell, or leaking flesh. If the fresh berries are dusty, rinse them quickly in cold water, drain, and spread them on towels until the surface is dry, about 1 hour. Do not soak them. Frozen unsweetened bokbunja can go into the jar frozen and unrinsed.

3. 3

   Layer with sugar

   Put one third of the berries in the jar, scatter over one third of the sugar, and repeat until both are used. Press lightly with a sanitized spoon just to crack some berries, not to mash the seeds. Let the jar stand 1 hour, until the sugar begins drawing out dark juice. This starts extraction without turning the finished drink cloudy and bitter.

4. 4

   Pour the soju

   Pour in the 30 percent damgeum soju until the fruit is covered. If the berries are not submerged by at least 2 cm, add more soju, not water. Seal the jar and write down the date. Weak table soju is for drinking with supper; it is not for holding fruit at room temperature for months.

   Use 25 to 35 percent infusion soju, with 30 percent as the clean middle. It extracts color and flavor while keeping the jar safer than low-proof drinking soju.
5. 5

   Tend the first week

   Keep the jar in a cool, dark place, ideally 15 to 20 C. Turn the jar gently once a day for the first 7 days, until the sugar dissolves and the floating fruit stays wet. If fruit dries above the liquid, push it down with a sanitized spoon or add a little more soju. If you see fuzzy mold or smell rot, discard the batch.

6. 6

   Age and strain

   After 90 days, strain the liquid through a fine sieve lined with clean cotton or several layers of cheesecloth. Let it drip, then press the fruit lightly. Do not wring it hard, or the seeds give bitterness and the wine turns muddy. The liquid should be deep garnet, with the berries faded and spent.

7. 7

   Rest and balance

   Bottle the strained bokbunja-ju in clean glass bottles and rest it in a cool, dark place for 30 days. Taste it cold. If it is too sharp, add simple syrup 1 tablespoon per 750 ml bottle, wait a day, then taste again. Stop at 3 tablespoons per 750 ml. The berry should speak first, and sugar should answer from behind.

8. 8

   Serve it cold

   Chill the bottle well and pour 50 to 60 ml into small cups. For a lighter glass, mix 1 part bokbunja-ju with 2 parts cold sparkling water. Serve it after dinner or beside grilled meat, and keep the bottle cold once opened.

Chef Tips

• •Buy bokbunja in late June and July if you can, especially from Gochang or another Jeolla grower. The berries should be dark, tart, and fragrant, with no white fuzz. Frozen unsweetened berries are an honest winter choice.
• •Do not use 16 to 17 percent drinking soju for a room-temperature jar. When fruit and sugar sit for months, the alcohol strength matters. Use damgeum soju made for infusions, preferably 30 percent ABV.
• •The sugar is measured at 45 percent of the fruit weight. More sugar extracts quickly, but too much turns the drink flat and syrupy. If you want it sweeter, adjust after aging, when you know what the berry gave you.
• •A glass jar is easiest because you can see whether fruit is floating dry or anything has gone wrong. A glazed onggi can work, but an unglazed crock will absorb aroma and alcohol, so I do not use it for this drink.
• •Serve bokbunja-ju cold in small cups. It is often poured with grilled eel, duck, or pork, but it also sits well after dinner with pear slices and a quiet table.

Advance Preparation

• •Start this at least 4 months before you plan to serve it: 90 days for steeping, then 30 days for the strained wine to settle.
• •For a date-night bottle, strain and bottle it a week before serving at the latest. The flavor is rounder after the full 30-day rest, and better still after 6 months.
• •When made with 30 percent soju, strained, and bottled cleanly, bokbunja-ju keeps about 1 year in a cool, dark place. Refrigerate after opening.
• •If you used low-proof table soju despite the warning, keep the jar refrigerated from the beginning and drink the strained batch within 1 month. I would rather you use the right soju.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 85g)