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Wine Gummies

Alex Fredrickson
Want to take your next party up a notch or impress your friends at your next gathering? Try wine gummies! They’re a fun party snack that is miles more sophisticated than Jell-O shots. If you’ve never made gummies before, don’t be intimidated, as it’s actually a simple process. All you really need is gelatin, which is widely available. Using gummy molds is easiest, but you can get creative and use items available in your kitchen to act as molds, or just make free form drops! Also, I found that adding one cup of wine gave the ideal flavor and texture, so crack open a bottle and enjoy the rest 🙂.
There is plenty of flavorful wine in Oregon that can make delicious candy. This is due to the fact that Oregon wine (especially the Willamette Valley AVA) is traditionally higher in acid (pH average between 3.0-3.4) than it’s other Pacific Coast counterparts (pH averages between 3.4-3.8). This natural acidity leads to a balanced sweet-tart flavor. Also, the complex flavors coming out of Oregon wines easily come through in the gummies.
If you’re looking to maximize your flavors and keep the alcohol in the gummies, you can keep the temp of the water bath lower and place a lid on the gummies to ensure no evaporation occurs. Alcohol evaporates at 173°F, well below water, so if you can keep the temp of your candy liquid below 170°F that will ensure that a minimal amount of alcohol is evaporated. Most of the flavors in wine come from aroma compounds that are highly volatile, so when the temperature is increased, even more of those compounds will be lost. By placing a lid on the candy liquid while heating it up, it will help preserve the flavors as well.
If you’re looking for an alcohol-free gummy that still tastes like wine, this can easily be modified by heating your candy liquid up to 175°F and leaving the lid off the container. This may reduce some of the flavor compounds, but don’t worry, you will still have a tasty candy that can be enjoyed by the whole family.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes
Course Drinks
Servings 6 +

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup (230g) of your favorite Willamette Valley Wine
  • 3 tbsp (45g) of unflavored gelatin (220 bloom)
  • 1 cup (260g) granulated sugar
  • 4 gummy bear molds

Instructions
 

  • Heat a water bath to 149°F (175°F for reduced alcohol). Place wine in a quart canning jar or container that can be sealed. Bloom gelatin in wine, by mixing in gelatin with fork or small whisk.
  • Add sugar. The mixture will be very thick.
  • Seal the container with a lid if you're looking to retain the alcohol or leave the lid off if you want the alcohol to burn off.
  • Place the jar in the water bath, making sure the water covers the entire candy liquid, but not the whole jar. Leave in the water bath for at least 30 minutes.
  • Remove jar from water bath, using a spoon, remove as much of the foam on the surface as possible, then transfer the candy liquid to your filling device (sauce gun, liquid measuring cup, or something in between).
  • If you have molds, pour right away, if not you can cool the liquor to 120°F to pre-thicken the liquid, which will help keep the shape of the free form gummies.
  • Place the gummies in the fridge for at least 2 hours, then remove from molds and enjoy!
Keyword wine