Homemade wine

Sunnyday

rdpro your vimto recipe sounds lovely, have you made that one before?

I`ve just bottled two demijohns of white and syphoned the plum, blackcurrant and coffee wines into clean demijohns, the plum is a gorgeous colour - almost luminous.

The coffee wine is an aquired taste i think although i`ve not yet added the recommended brandy to it to make it into a tia maria type of drink.

The white wine will be measured with the hydrometer thingie in a week or so, this is the first time that i`ve ever used one of these but was interested in just how strong my normal recipe is. I`ve not bothered with the others tbh as i`m lazy and it was more of a curiosity type thing.

I bought some of the plums from Ald! whilst they were on offer, wish we had some trees around here, i`m a bit torn between using them for jam or wine - decisions decisions

SD

rdpro

Sunnyday wrote: »

I`ve not bothered with the others tbh as i`m lazy and it was more of a curiosity type thing.

I bought some of the plums from Ald! whilst they were on offer, wish we had some trees around here, i`m a bit torn between using them for jam or wine - decisions decisions

SD

That's my kind of winemaking - brewing the curious! Have you tried a chocolate mint wine yet? I've also seen a recipe for black russian (ferment cola and coffee)

I've made blackcurrant port before (a beer barrel full, all used in a week, I have fursty friends hehe), but that was fortified with vodka as it stopped about 11% - I've since learned to 'slow-feed' a sugar mix for higher alcohol brews. Having seen recipes for ribena/vimto wines, I thought I could adjust a recipe for a port/dessert version.

If you live in the suburbs or near the countryside, look out for people selling windfalls at their garden gate. I saw plums going for 50p a lb yesterday, wished I'd had time to stop n' shop

Hydrometers are a must-have unless you're a maths whizz able to calc water/sugar ratios ( I'm definitely not!) - if you forget to check at the start, look out for a Vinometer to test for final %abv, but they're only really accurate on water/alcohol mixes - the extra bits in wines throw them off a bit, but should be a good ballpark figure.

rdpro

Have just started a cola 'alcopop'/wine (about the same strength as a vodka/coke - I'm aiming for a double ):

2x 2 litres cheapo cola (not diet) I used Lidl Freeway, 39p for 2L
1Kg demerera sugar (halve this for a weaker alco-poppy type drink)
1 banana, finely chopped, to add body (I reckon a handful of washed/stoned/chopped dates would be equal)

Boil the cola then add sugar/fruit of choice and simmer for 30min (stirring frequently) to dissipate CO2/knock out preservatives

Cool down to lukewarm, i.e., below 30 degrees (skim the yuk off the top if need be) - at this point, it smells gorgeous!

Add 1 tsp of yeast and nutrient (using youngs yeast + nutrient mix because I'm not after strength, just speedy ferment), 1 tsp citric acid, 1 tsp pectolase (which I ran out of without realising, but can go in later)



I've whisked the mix to really beat up the banana and clear the CO2, I'm also pre-starting the yeast in a few tbsp of water and a bit of sugar - I don't trust the phosphoric acid in the coke



Bung in a demi-john, leave until the initial manic bubbles are down to 1/min (4-7 days), rack to clean demi-john (best check with hydrometer here). I'm looking to stop the main ferment about 1.020 depending on taste tests, then fine/filter back into 2l cola bottles that have 1tsp sugar added (some suggest a tbsp, but I hate excess fizz). Stick somewhere cool for 2 weeks, chill in fridge, then stand back before opening!

OG is 1123, a bit too strong really, stopping at 1.02 gives about 13.5% - I suspect my yeast may have issues at this strength!

Total rough cost: 38p a litre/8p a long glass (with a slice, and 1 icecube )

rdpro

Sunnyday wrote: »

the plum is a gorgeous colour - almost luminous.
SD

did you post the recipe SD? Trawling through this thread is painful

I think that, based on the popularity of this (and other similar threads), a homebrew sub-forum should be created - why pay £8 or more a bottle when you can brew better for 50p?

missychrissy

I know that some of you have tried wine kits but they are so expensive compared to what you can make using lots of everyday ingredients. My elderberry wine costs approximately 16p per bottle (not taking into account any equipment bought as that continues to be utilised) and any wine I make using cartons of juice is approximately 50p - 60p per bottle.

I would recommend C J J Berry for his 'First Steps in Wine Making' and his 'Wine Making Recipes'. These 2 books have helped me to try making wine from anything I had available to anything I fancied trying.

rdpro

I agree the kits are expensive, but they're really designed as starter kits. People either quit after one or two, or become hopelessly hooked on it!

Once you read around, you become aware that it's possible to create beautiful drinks from a staggering range of sources, and it becomes cheaper as you move further into the hobby.

Badrick

If you can find a copy of Homemade Country Wines by Dorothy Wise. It is a mine of information on what time of year to gather main ingredients and make homemade wine, beer, cider and mead from scratch using ordinary kitchen equipment (plus a bucket, tea towel and 6 months patience), but the copy I have is from 1960's so I'm guessing it's well out of print now.
I have seen used copies for sale on the usual websites.

rdpro

Badrick wrote: »

If you can find a copy of Homemade Country Wines by Dorothy Wise. It is a mine of information on what time of year to gather main ingredients and make homemade wine, beer, cider and mead from scratch using ordinary kitchen equipment (plus a bucket, tea towel and 6 months patience), but the copy I have is from 1960's so I'm guessing it's well out of print now.
I have seen used copies for sale on the usual websites.

Ahh, I do believe that's the book that started me off - long since lent/lost

If memory serves, a lot of her brews used wild yeast/bakers yeast, but they're easily modified to modern methods.

Badrick

rdpro wrote: »

Ahh, I do believe that's the book that started me off - long since lent/lost

If memory serves, a lot of her brews used wild yeast/bakers yeast, but they're easily modified to modern methods.

Yes, but I can't see why you would modernise her recipes, for hardly any expense (apart from ingredients), it's amazing what 3lbs of rhubarb, 2lbs of sugar and a gallon of boiling water can be turned into.

nuttybabe

rdpro wrote: »

I agree the kits are expensive, but they're really designed as starter kits. People either quit after one or two, or become hopelessly hooked on it!

Once you read around, you become aware that it's possible to create beautiful drinks from a staggering range of sources, and it becomes cheaper as you move further into the hobby.

Thats why I bought the kit (plus I got the equipment cheap if I bought a kit with it!!! ).

Your vimto port sounds lovely. If I make that now (next), will it be ready for xmas? I am assuming it needs to mature over several months.

I will be trawling the charity shops/librarys for lots of wine making books I think.