It’s easy to make my recipe for Plum Wine or Umeshu (梅酒) at home with fresh Japanese plums (ume) steeped in shochu/white liquor and sugar. The liqueur is delicious in mixed drinks thanks to its appealing fruity aroma and sweet and tart flavor. Inspired by the Japanese drama Midnight Diner.
It’s the Japanese plum (ume) season! I remember my grandma made plum wine or umeshu (梅酒) and stored it in the cool dark underground storage of her kitchen until they’re ready to be enjoyed. There were several big jars of umeshu from different years.
This sweet alcoholic drink was featured on the popular Japanese TV program called “Shinya Shokudo (深夜食堂)” or “Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories” which is available on Netflix.
Midnight Diner features dishes that are more representative of Japanese home-cooked recipes that you might not have seen in your local Japanese restaurants. “Sour Plum & Plum Wine” episode is Season 1, Episode 6 on Netflix.
Table of contents
What is Umeshu (Plum Wine)?
From mid-May to early June, it’s ume (Japanese plum) season here in California. During this short period of time when fresh ume is available, the Japanese make plum wine, or what we call Umeshu (梅酒) with still unripe and green plums.
I’m not much of a drinker, but I do enjoy drinking homemade umeshu from time to time. Have you tried it before? If you visited Japan and stayed at a ryokan (Japanese-style inn), you might have tried this drink before your kaiseki meal (懐石料理) as an aperitif, or Shokuzen-shu (食前酒).
It’s SUPER easy to make this homemade fruit wine, in less than 15 minutes! Okay, I also should mention that you have to wait for at least 6 months (1 year is recommended) before you enjoy your homemade plum wine… but it’s SO worth it. Plus you get to share homemade umeshu with your guests when they come over. Let’s make it with me this year (share your photo with #justonecookbook on Instagram) so we can celebrate and enjoy ourselves together at this time next year! You and me!
3 Ingredients to Make Umeshu at Home
It’s just 3 simple ingredients to make umeshu at home. You can get all these ingredients at Japanese grocery stores. If they carry green plums, they also know that you’ll need the special rock sugar, liquor, and a glass jar.
1. Green Ume Plums
You have to use these tart and sour green plums to make the plum wine and not any other types of plums you see in the store. Both Japanese and Korean grocery stores sell these plums during this season, so keep an eye on these plums around early to mid-May.
These raw green plums are not edible as they are too tart and bitter (also if you eat too many of them, it is said you’ll likely have a stomachache). We only take the extract of the fruits by fermenting them with lots of sugar or salt.
Where to Get Ume Plums
You have to use tart, sour, and firm green ume plums to make the syrup and not any other types of plums you see in the store. Both Japanese and Korean grocery stores sell these plums around early to mid-May.
You can also find them at specialty fruit producers online.
- Nicholas Family Farms (Text or call Penny at 559-393-3009)
- Good Eggs (SF Bay Area)
- GreatPlentifulShopCA (They also sell semi-ripe ones)
Substitute Ume
- Turkish sour plums – A reader in Europe got them from a Turkish market and used them in this recipe. He said his umeshu tasted as good as the one he had in Japan!
2. White Rock Sugar/Candy
Instead of regular white sugar, we use white rock sugar/candy to make plum wine. Rock sugar takes time to dissolve, which helps to extract the flavors and fragrance from the plums at a slower pace. You can buy it on Amazon if your local Japanese/Asian grocery stores don’t carry it. You could also use white granulated sugar but remember that it’ll not taste as good. I would encourage you to find rock sugar as you invest your time (once a year) to make this drink.
3. Distilled Spirits/Liquor
To make plum wine, we need neutral, colorless, near-flavorless distilled spirits/liquor such as shochu (焼酎) and vodka. Make sure it is at least 35% ABV (alcohol by volume) or 70 proof. The plum wine could become spoiled when alcohol percentage go down being diluted by the fruit juice from the plum.
In Japan, we have a liquor called “White Liquor” (ホワイトリカー), which we use for making plum wine or fruit wine. If you can’t find it, don’t sweat it and use shochu or vodka.
Shochu is a Japanese distilled beverage with less than 45% by alcohol by volume. It’s typically distilled from rice, barley, sweet potatoes, buckwheat, or brown sugar.
How About Glass Jar?
You can get this on Amazon or Japanese grocery stores during the green plum season.
How To Enjoy Umeshu
After a year, you can finally get to enjoy your plum wine. The flavor and fragrance of the plum wine ripen as it ages, so make sure to store in a cool, dark place for years to come! You might want to start making two batches if you can’t stop drinking it. 😉
Umeshu can be served at different temperatures; chilled or with ice, room temperature, or even hot in the winter.
- Umeshu On the Rocks (梅酒ロック): Put a big ice cube in a glass and pour the plum wine.
- Umeshu Sour (梅酒サワー): Mix the plum wine with ume-flavor shochu and soda water.
- Umeshu Tonic (梅酒トニック) Mix 30 ml plum wine with 90 ml tonic water.
- Umeshu Soda (梅酒ソーダ割り): Mix one part plum wine with one part carbonated water.
- Umeshu Oyuwari (梅酒お湯割り): Mix one part plum wine with one part warm water.
- Umeshu Ochawari (梅酒お茶割り): Mixed one part plum wine with one part hot/cold black or green tea.
Non-Alcoholic Ume Syrup
You can enjoy making ume drinks without alcohol. My kids and I love making Ume Cider (梅サイダー) in the summer months. Make this Ume Plum Syrup and store it in the pantry to enjoy later.
One Year Umeshu Diary
What To Do with the Spent Plums in the Umeshu?
After 12 months of making delicious plum wine, the plums are ready to retire. Your plums did a tremendous job making your delicious plum wine for a year. Now that their job is done, it doesn’t mean it’s time to toss them away. This amazing stone fruit is the fruit that never stops giving.
You can totally eat the ume plums from the wine! Serve them with your plum wine so you can nibble them while you drink, but if you’re looking into other ways to utilize those used plums, here are some ideas on how to consume them.
- Make jams for your breakfast toasts, yogurt, gelatin dessert
- Bake a cake with plums (just like other fruit cakes)
- Make cocktails with crushed plums
- Use in savory dishes
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
Plum Wine (Umeshu)
Video
Ingredients
- 2.2 lb green ume plums
- 1.8 lb white rock sugar
- 7½ cups shochu (3 750-ml bottles with 450 ml leftover; or substitute vodka, Japanese “white liquor,” or any distilled spirit/liquor above 35% ABV “alcohol by volume“)
For Version B with 2 Shochu Bottles—750 ml x 2 and a 3-L glass jar (optional)
- 1.8 lb green ume plums
- 1.5 lb white rock sugar
- 6.3 cups shochu (2 bottles with no leftover)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. You will need a 4-L glass jar (you can buy one in a Japanese or Korean grocery store).
- Rinse the jar thoroughly with soap and hot water and wipe dry with a clean towel. Dampen the clean towel with shochu (or your choice of liquor) and wipe inside the jar.
- Wash and dry 2.2 lb green ume plums thoroughly. (Use 1.8 lb green ume plums for version B.)
- Remove all the stem from the plums with a bamboo skewer or toothpick. Discard any plums with brown or blemished spots.
- Measure 1.8 lb white rock sugar (or 1.5 lb white rock sugar for version B). I recommend a sugar amount of between half the weight of the plums (1.1 lb, 500 g) to equal the weight (2.2 lb, 1 kg). You just have to try it out to learn your preference (which you will find out after a year). For one batch, I like to use 800 g. The best part is that it’s easy to remember, too—1 kg plums, 800 g sugar, and 1.8 L liquor per batch.
- In the clean jar, put the plums in a single layer. Then, cover the plums with a layer of rock sugar.
- Then, add more plums in a single layer again, followed by the rock sugar. Repeat this process until you’re done with the plums and sugar.
- Pour 7½ cups shochu or your choice of liquor (or 6.3 cups shochu for version B). This bottle of shochu is 750 ml, so you’ll need 2 bottles plus an additional 300 ml. If you have leftover shochu, you can make a yuzu cocktail.
- After pouring the shochu, it looks like this.
- Seal, write today‘s date on the jar, and store in a cool, dark place (not in the refrigerator) for 365 days. See you in a year! You can start drinking from 6 months, but I recommend to wait for a whole year.
1 Year Later…
- Remove the plums from the jar and use them for other recipes. You can leave them in the jar for 2–3 years as long as you used green plums (firm and not ripened) and 35% alcohol. (The liquid in the jar is a bit less in the photo because I had to pour some out for filming the video.)
To Use the Spent Plums
- You can make Plum Jam by cooking the plum and sugar. Spread it on toast, add in yogurt, make a gelatin dessert. Or you can bake a cake with the spent plums, make cocktails with crushed plums, or use them in savory dishes.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on May 25, 2017. The video and new images are added to the post in May 2018.
[…] cooking, I realized that I have never made it from scratch before. Like making your own mochi or plum wine, it struck me that there is something special about making your own miso, and I really wanted to do […]
[…] Plum Wine (Umeshu) 梅酒 – ‘Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories’ […]
Hi. Name. I’m interested to try this receipt. Before I try, I have a question for u. Can I put excess shochu to make the plum wine? Means the amount of shochu uae ratio is higher compare to yours.
Hi Chris! Do you mean you want to put more shochu? I recommend the sugar amount to be between half to an equal weight of the plums to get the right fermentation. 🙂
ya. Can i put more shochu for fermentation while the plum and sugar ratio still the same
So sorry for my late response. I actually can’t tell if that will work for sure… I feel like it won’t work, if the plum and sugar ratio to shochu won’t be the same.
I was lucky to find Japanese plums in our local Korean grocery store! I just put a batch on – your instructions are very easy to follow. I’m sure it will be delicious – I’ve made many of your recipes and am a big fan! ???? I’ve only had umeshu once before, when a Japanese friend brought back some of her father’s from a trip home…I’m hoping mine will be as good! Will let you know in a year! ????
Hi Andrea! I apologize for my late response. I’m so happy to hear you enjoy my recipes and thank you for trying this recipe! Hope you enjoy your own homemade umeshu in a year! 🙂
Hi!
I was wondering if using something like Everclear (which is 75% alcohol, 150 proof) would be ok, or is it too strong? It is what I use to make limoncello and other liquors, as it’s common in the US and Italy, where I am from. 🙂
Hi Barbara! I had never used it and I’m not too sure… but I think it should work. 🙂
Our Japanese Food store had the plums and the sugar stocked right next to the plums. I went to 2 different liquor stores but found the Shochu! Only the “Takara Shochu” was 35%. Surprisingly, the most difficult item to find was a 1 gallon glass jar! (I had to order it on amazon.com) 1 year is going to be an eternity before I can taste it! 😉
Hi Annie! Haha, I know, the year 1 is the toughest!! Next year when you make the plum wine, you have the year 1 plum wine to enjoy! 😉 Glad you found the jar – yeah Amazon sells one. I wish there are more options!
Although not something I’d ever be able to recreate where I live your post brings back some fond memories of visits to Japan. My last visit to Yokohama during a slightly too hot summer with broken a/c my airbnb host brought over a big bag of ice a jar of Umeshu his wife had made and another alcoholic drink made with Yuzu which I never got the name of. As a non drinker those few refreshing drinks hit me hard but when some of the neighbours came over to join in it turned into one of my favourite memories of times in Japan. The power of alcohol to get rid of language barriers!
Hi Gore! Thank you so much for sharing your story! I always enjoy hearing about stories related to food. I’m so happy that you have such a fond memory of your time in Japan. Maybe she made yuzu in a same method. I wish I have abundant of yuzu to make it. Must be so delicious!!!
I followed your steps to make my first uneshu. I found out there is vapor in the jar. Is it normal? Do I have to wipe it? Thank you for your help!
Hi Heidi! I looked it up in Japanese and it’s okay. It says higher alcohol it is, you get more water drop (?) inside the jar. You can just mixed it up. I’m so happy you are trying this recipe. 🙂
I just made the recipe today, but went to Nijiya in San Mateo and only saw the Sochu with 24% and I read online that it’s “acceptable”. Also After a set period of time, once I open the Umeshu, do I need to put in the fridge or can I put it back in the same dark, cool place. Can I try a little after 6 months, put it back and then try it again after a year? Wondering if that process works and if opening it mid-way will spoil the umeshu?
Hi Mike! Yes, I’ve seen some articles say it’s okay with lower % but I just don’t want anyone to ruin the umeshu or get sick from bad umeshu after waiting for many months (officially recommended at least 35%). So I still recommend higher %. And yes, you keep it always same dark and cool place. You can open it up at 6 months (some people already start drinking at 6 months – I waited).
I’ve been keeping an eye out for ume at my local markets, but have yet to see them. Hoping to be able to make umeshu this year since it’s the first time we’ll be in one place long enough for it to age. 🙂 I recently fell in love with umeshu after trying Suntory’s Yamazaki Umeshu. Have you tried it?
Hi Rachel! I hope you get to make it this year. No, I had never tried Suntory’s umeshu. I will try it when I get a chance. Thanks for your recommendation!
Miss you Nami-san! Just wanted to stop by and say hello and share your video for Umeshu. Our favorite way to serve this is on the rocks. Wishing you a super weekend. Take Care, Bobbi
Hello Bobbi! Thank you for visiting!! Hope all is well with you. I enjoy umeshu too, even though I got drunk with just 2 sips! LOL. Sending my big hugs. xo
It seems our local Japanese store (Uwajimaya) doesn’t have that type of jar in stock. Is there a way to order one online?
Hi Abigail! You can get this on Amazon (https://amzn.to/2rkZxgs) or have you checked Korean grocery stores? They make something similar, so I assume they have this type of jar too. 🙂
Thank you Nami!
Any updates? How is the plum wine?
Hi Grace! Thank you for reminding me. I took the picture a few months ago but haven’t had a chance to upload the image yet. So behind! I’ll dig my images and upload soon! Thank you for reminding me. 🙂
Oh and forgot to mention, I’ll open and taste at the end of May. 😉
I have a strange question I thought you might be able to help me with:
I make umeshu – and love it.
Last year I also tried the recipe using crabapples instead of ume. I’m about to bottle the crabapple liqueur – but what do I call it? 🙂
Ume = Umeshu. Crabapple = ?? (does a name for it even exist??)
Hi Angela!
Fruit liqueur = 果実酒 (かじつしゅ) = Kajitsushu
Crabapple liqueur = 林檎酒 (りんご酒) = Ringo Shu (Ringo in Japanese refers all types of apples, if you want to say “wild apple” (that use for liqueur), then 野生林檎酒 = Yasei Ringo Shu.
Hope that helps?
Thank you SO much. That solves my problem. I’ll get onto the labels now.
(… and it’s nowhere near as good as umeshu 🙂 )
Angela
Hi Angela! Very cool! Enjoy! And thanks for letting me know it’s not as good as umeshu. 🙂
My mom would make ume syrup with regular sugar. She would pack the ume with the sugar in the jar and leave in the refrigerator. We would drink a cold drink of ice water and 1 or 2 tablespoon of syrup. Fond childhood memory. My dad gave me a ume sapling when I got my own home place almost 40 years ago. The tree still produces ume and my storeroom is filled with containers of salted ume. We refer to them as umeboshi, but it’s basically just salted ume minus the drying process and shiso, still yummy. I’d love to share my fresh ume with others, so if you’re interested email me your address and I will send you a sample of my fresh ume.
Hi Grace! Thanks for sharing your beautiful stories with us! I love food memories, and I hope my children will remember their childhood food memories like you do, when they grow up! Wow, you have Ume trees… so nice! Thank you so much for your kind offer. I’m picking up some Ume soon from John I mentioned in this post. I’m excited to make a new batch of umeshu soon! Happy Ume season!
I was curios about making plum wine as i had a bottle home made from Japan. When i saw that the plums were available in San Rafael I got very excited because it is where I live. I am going to reserve my plums right away! And stop in Japan town in the city for the rest!
Hi Judy! Awesome! Hope you could contact John and arranged the pickup this spring! 🙂 I can’t wait to make another batch this year, too.