Rose Hip Wine

• Forage 3-4lb Rose Hips (hard work believe me) (Thanks to my best mate Cossi)
• 2lb sugar
• 1tsp yeast
• 1tsp yeast nutirent
• 1 litre red grape juice (They were sold out of white which I would have preferred)

• Boil the rose hips for a long time until they begin to soften
• Mash them
• Add the sugar
• Stir and allow to dissolve
• Once the must is well flavored with the Rose hip juice pour through a fine sieve to remove the flesh and seeds.
• Pour the filtered must into the Demi John
• Add the grape juice top up with cold water
• Wait until the liquid is lukewarm
• Add yeast and nutrient
• Pop the trap on and wait for 4 weeks for the fermentation to slow
• Rack off into a clean Demi John
• Wait another 4 weeks
• Bottle... wait... drink... enjoy!

Pear wine

Recipe: (per demijohn)

• 4 1/2 lb pears
• 2 lb Sugar
• Water
• 1 l white grape juice
• 1 tsp Yeast
• 1 tsp Yeast nutrient
• 1 tsp Citric acid

Method: (per demi john)

• Chop the pairs
• Add to very large sauce pan
• Pour over boiling water cover if possible mine were slightly above
• Simmer until softened

• Using a masher crush them a little just a couple of presses do not make pear soup!
• Add the sugar stir to help dissolve
• Allow it to cool a little (safety for the next bit!)
• Pour through a sieve try not to allow any of the pears drop into it (some will)
• Pour 1 l of grape juice into a demijohn
• Pour the stock into the demi through a funnel (filter if you have bits)
• Top up with cold water about an inch short of full
• Wait until lukewarm
• Add yeast, yeast nutrient, citric acid, rock the demi to mix a little, add the trap
• Wait about 4 weeks
• Rack off filtering the liquid
• Put back into clean demijohn
• Wait about 3 or 4 weeks until clear
• Bottle it
• Try to be patient but you can drink it from now!

This is 5 demi john's of pear wine, 14 bottles of elderberry and 6 bottles of plum (in bad light!) That is 50 bottles of wine :D

Ruby Rhubarb

So my Mum gave me some Rhubarb, which I could have used to make a nice Rhubarb crumble, but why not make a wine instead!

Recipe:

• 3lb Rhubarb (Chopped)
• 2 tins of Rhubarb in syrup (from super market)
• 1 litre Red Grape Juice
• 2lb Sugar
• 1 tsp Yeast
• 1 tsp Yeast nutrient
• 1 tsp Citric Acid (important)

Method:

• Chop Rhubarb into 1/2 inch chunks
• Place in saucepan and cover with boiling water
• It took about 10 minutes for them to soften
• Add contents of Tinned Rhubarb
• Add Sugar
• Stir to help it all dissolve
• Simmer for 5 minutes 
• Add 1 litre Red Grape Juice to the Demi John
• Strain the rhubarb collecting the liquid (careful hot sugary water is severely dangerous to your skin!)
• Filter that liquid through something fine (I use an old pillow case)
• Add the liquid to your Demi John
• Allow it to cool until it is Lukewarm
• Add yeast, yeast nutrient and citric acid

(I keep the Demi in a dark cupboard its only out for photography purposes)

Then wait 4 weeks, rack off into another Demi John within 2 weeks or so it should clear nicely and from then you can drink it, the longer you wait of course the better.

I will add a photo of the finished product when it is done!

Elderberry Red 2011

There are different varieties of elderberry and thus far I have discovered that the kind with red stalks going to the berries make the best tasting elderberry. Also continuing my strategy for this year I have added 1 liter of grape juice (red in this case) to each demi, this is to give a more shop like wine quality both in body and nose.

Elderberry Red 2011 


3lb Approx Elderberries
1Kg Sugar
1L Red Grape Juice
1tsp yeast
1tsp yeast nutrient
1tsp citric acid

Technique


To gather the berries quickly I just cut the whole bunch off, and departing from last year I did not even pick them once home I just boiled them up on the stalks.

So boil on stalk... just after the boil add sugar, strain off the liquid, allow to cool a little (bath temp is good enough). Add grape juice to demi, pour berry juice into demi, add cold water to top up. Wait until lukewarm. Add yeast, yeast nutrient and citric acid.

Wait about 3 weeks for fermentation to slow to near finish. Rack off into a bucket through a filter to remove particles. Clean demi john. Put back into demi and leave for 1 week to settle.

Rack off into bottles. You can drink it now but wait 6 months as the acid content in the berries is very high and this allows it time to mellow.

Enjoy!

The Cherry wine is delicious

10/10 best wine yet!

A Shed Load Of Cherries 3 Ways

Today I found some wild Cherry Trees, I have picked a few...

Supermarkets are charging about 1 pound per punnet... in monetary terms that must be about 150 pounds worth!

Ok you know the drill, boil fruit, add 2lb of sugar, dissolve, mash, strain, get stock and strain a couple of times to remove bits. Add about 1.5 litres of grape juice. I did 1 with red grape juice, 1 with mixed red and white and 1 with all white grape juice.

Add 1tsp yeast, 1tsp yeast nutrient, 1tsp pectolaise, 1tsp citric acid, top up with water.

And there you have it 2 hours cherry picking, 1 hour cooking, 30 minutes cleaning up and we have 18 bottles of Cherry Wine on the way, in 3 different colours / tastes!

Cherry Rose

Well the cherries that grow locally to me have come earlier than last year. It is always a balance between humans and the birds when it comes to fruit, especially Cherries! Hopefully this will be the first batch and next week I will try to get another 2 batches if I can. Depending on weather/greedy birds.

So for a change with this first batch I have decided to make a rose. For 3 reasons, probably not enough fruit, its different from last time and it should have more body and alcohol.

Time will tell. Looks good though!

Pick a shed load of cherries, I did not measure them but there is roughly 3lb here. The saucepan is gigantic.

Boil the fruit up and simmer until the fruit is soft... the smell was amazing... if it wasn't 100 degrees C I think I could have had a sip of it! Add 2lb of sugar and dissolve.

Strain this off into a bucket and crush fruit to extract flavour.

Pour into the demi-john add 2 litres of white grape juice, 1 tsp yeast, 1 tsp yeast nutrient, 1tsp pectolaise, 1tsp citric acid.

Top up with cold water... wait approximately 4-6 weeks and then I should have 6 bottles of Cherry Rose!