There is no need for me to mention that there are thousands of people all over the world enjoy this branch of home wine-making. Each summer they turn wild fruits and variety of fresh fruits into wines that fit to grace the tables of a banqueting hall.
However, let me tell you this, no matter how advanced winemaking methods become and how easily you can obtain its special ingredients, there will always be in the hearts of everyone - a place for the true country wines, for they have that indefinable 'something' which sets them apart from all others, a uniqueness that cannot be found in any other wine either made at home or commercially produced.
Start of like this... 1.Crush the fruit in a polythene pail and add one quart of boiled water that has cooled. Mix well. Crush one Campden tablet and dissolve the powder in about half an egg cupful of warm water and mix this with the fruit pulp. 2.Leave the mixture in a cool place for twenty-four hours, stirring twice during that time. Strain through fine muslin or other similar material and squeeze gently but not too hard. Discard the fruit pulp. 3.Then boil one-third of the sugar in half a gallon of water for one minute and allow it to cool. Mix this with the juice and return the lot to the polythene pail. Then add the yeast (or nucleus), and ferment for ten days. After this, pour the top wine into a gallon jar leaving as much of the deposit behind as you can. Boil another one-third of the sugar in half a pint of water for one minute and when it is cool add it to the rest. Plug the neck of the jar with cotton wool or fit a fermentation lock and ferment in a warm place for fourteen days. 4. After this, boil the remaining sugar in the remaining half-pint of water for one minute and when cool add it to the rest. Refit the lock or plug the neck of the jar with fresh cotton wool and leave in a warm place until all fermentation has ceased. The recipes are designed to make one gallon of wine, it two gallons are being made at once twice the amount of each ingredient must be used including Campden tablets and the sugar and water added in double quantities.
All fruits should be ripe. This is far more important than most people had imagined. Half-ripe fruits or those with green patches on them should be discarded as it needs only one or two of these to give a gallon of wine and acid bite. Fully ripe fruit is important if you hope to make the best wine.
BLACKBERRY WINE (Burgundy Style): 4-5lb. blackberries, 3 3/8lb. sugar (or 4lb. invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient, 7pts water. Use method 1. Ferment the pulp. BLACKBERRY WINE (Beaujolais Style): This recipe won 1st prize among 600 entries on the occasion of the 2nd National Conference and Show for Amateur Wine-Makers at Bournemouth. 4 1/2lb. blackberries, 2 1/2lb. sugar (or 3lb. 2oz. invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient, 7pts. water. Method 1 was used. The wine was, of course, dry. BLACKBERRY WINE (Light Table Wine): 3lb. blackberries, 3lb. sugar (3 3/4lb. invert), 7pts. water, burgundy yeast, nutrient. Use method 2. Ferment the diluted juice. BLACKCURRANT WINE (Port Style): 4lb. blackcurrants, 1lb. raisins, 3lb. sugar (or 3 3/4lb. invert), port yeast, nutrient. Use method 1. Ferment the pulp with the raisins.
However, let me tell you this, no matter how advanced winemaking methods become and how easily you can obtain its special ingredients, there will always be in the hearts of everyone - a place for the true country wines, for they have that indefinable 'something' which sets them apart from all others, a uniqueness that cannot be found in any other wine either made at home or commercially produced.
Start of like this... 1.Crush the fruit in a polythene pail and add one quart of boiled water that has cooled. Mix well. Crush one Campden tablet and dissolve the powder in about half an egg cupful of warm water and mix this with the fruit pulp. 2.Leave the mixture in a cool place for twenty-four hours, stirring twice during that time. Strain through fine muslin or other similar material and squeeze gently but not too hard. Discard the fruit pulp. 3.Then boil one-third of the sugar in half a gallon of water for one minute and allow it to cool. Mix this with the juice and return the lot to the polythene pail. Then add the yeast (or nucleus), and ferment for ten days. After this, pour the top wine into a gallon jar leaving as much of the deposit behind as you can. Boil another one-third of the sugar in half a pint of water for one minute and when it is cool add it to the rest. Plug the neck of the jar with cotton wool or fit a fermentation lock and ferment in a warm place for fourteen days. 4. After this, boil the remaining sugar in the remaining half-pint of water for one minute and when cool add it to the rest. Refit the lock or plug the neck of the jar with fresh cotton wool and leave in a warm place until all fermentation has ceased. The recipes are designed to make one gallon of wine, it two gallons are being made at once twice the amount of each ingredient must be used including Campden tablets and the sugar and water added in double quantities.
All fruits should be ripe. This is far more important than most people had imagined. Half-ripe fruits or those with green patches on them should be discarded as it needs only one or two of these to give a gallon of wine and acid bite. Fully ripe fruit is important if you hope to make the best wine.
BLACKBERRY WINE (Burgundy Style): 4-5lb. blackberries, 3 3/8lb. sugar (or 4lb. invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient, 7pts water. Use method 1. Ferment the pulp. BLACKBERRY WINE (Beaujolais Style): This recipe won 1st prize among 600 entries on the occasion of the 2nd National Conference and Show for Amateur Wine-Makers at Bournemouth. 4 1/2lb. blackberries, 2 1/2lb. sugar (or 3lb. 2oz. invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient, 7pts. water. Method 1 was used. The wine was, of course, dry. BLACKBERRY WINE (Light Table Wine): 3lb. blackberries, 3lb. sugar (3 3/4lb. invert), 7pts. water, burgundy yeast, nutrient. Use method 2. Ferment the diluted juice. BLACKCURRANT WINE (Port Style): 4lb. blackcurrants, 1lb. raisins, 3lb. sugar (or 3 3/4lb. invert), port yeast, nutrient. Use method 1. Ferment the pulp with the raisins.
About the Author:
Making your own homemade wine might sound like a daunting task. However, you'd be surprised to know that you could completely handle the task of making fruit wines right in your kitchen. Clayton Bigsby has been making wine and learning all the tricks of the trade for many years. To learn more about making homemade wine, click on the link.