winemaking

[codger66]

are there any amateur wine makers on a/b that have any good wine making recipes, using available or seasonal ingredients,
cheers,, pete.

[mrs_overall]

Have you got a glut of a particular fruit at the moment? I've got 17 different types of wine on the go!. Let me know what type of fruit you want to use and I'll give you a recipe for a wine.

[codger66]

hi, mrs_ovrall,
i have just about exhausted everything that Iv'e gathered so far, ie blackberries, elderberries and damsons, I'm not a total novice at winemaking, although I'm not the greatest expert either, what I'm really after is some one elses opinion on methods, as I am trying to improve the quality of my finished wines, for instance I usually boil elderberries etc for maximum extraction, is this good or bad in your opinion, i know it releases more pectin etc, also with my latest batch, I am using bottled water as opposed to tap water, I realise the possibillities are endless, but it would be good to have some one to exchange ideas with, even if it was only to dissagree, if you know what i mean, as i do not know of any one locally who makes wine other than from kits, look i must be boring you already, but it would be nice to chat through some method or other,
regards, pete,

[mrs_overall]

No, I don't boil elderberries, but I do use boiling water (from the tap, not bottled.) I make all my wines from scratch and for most I don't have any definitive recipes. Some of my recipes I make up as I go along and some I adapt from year to year. My wines are made on whatever is surplus from the garden or scrounged from relatives. Here are some of my staple wine recipes.
Rhubarb wine
4lb rhubarb, 6 pints boiling water. For each gallon of juice: 2.5lb sugar, a quarter oz of yeast, juice of half a lemon & juice of half an ornage.
Cut the fruit up, pour the water on it and press the fruit to help extract the juice. Leave for 4 days. Strain the liquid & measure. Add the sugar & yeast. (I usually spread the yeast on a small piece of toast). Add the fruit juice & leave to ferment. I aim for temp of 70 degrees. When fermented (usually 4-6 weeks) stir well. Leave for 3 days for sediment to settle then strain & bottle. Leave for at least 6 months, pref 1 year in a cool, dark room. NB When bottling this wine, fill the bottles right to the top leaving little or no air. If there is air in the bottle, the wine will taste vinegary.

[mrs_overall]

Another favourite of mine is celery wine.
5lb celery, 8 pints boiling water. For each gallon of juice: 3lb sugar, juice of 1 lemon, juice of 2 oranges, half an ounce of yeast (spread on a piece of toast), 1 oz ginger.
The method is exactly the same as for the elderberry recipe.
Other wines I have on the go right now are beetroot, carrot, tomato, apple, blackberry, cherry, gooseberry, raspberry, pear, rosehip, plum, damson and marrow. Some are experimental, some are old favourites.

[rabbitygirl]

Haven't made wine for years but undoubtedly our best was rosehip, made from rosa rugosa, the very prickly bush seen everywhere bearing large hips. I remember it still......