Homemade wine

abaxas

Jolaaled wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a recipe for Turbo Cider?

There are loads on google, but thought I'd ask the experts here first!!


THANKS

It's just apple juice + yeast + extra sugar (if you want it).

Recommended yeasts are youngs cider yeast and gervin no3 depending on how dry you want the cider.

Once you've done a few, start experimenting with new flavours etc to see what you like. Cherry is nice but avoid anything too dry like cranberries.

Also you can do a hybrid cider by using a cider kit but instead of water using apple juice. This will blow your head off.

Just have a play, see what you like and make a special xmas one at 18% :P

missychrissy

Sassia wrote: »

I've just bought a wine kit and am about to start my very first batch. This thread has been so useful, thanks!

Wine kits are so expensive, especially when you can make wines out of anything. Come the autumn season I make wines out of blackberries, elderberries, rosehips, plums, apples etc but the rest of the year I use cartons of juice. I estimate that wines made out of available fruit cost me about 20p per bottle and wines made with cartons of juice vary between about 50p to 70p per bottle.

Sassia

missychrissy wrote: »

Wine kits are so expensive, especially when you can make wines out of anything. Come the autumn season I make wines out of blackberries, elderberries, rosehips, plums, apples etc but the rest of the year I use cartons of juice. I estimate that wines made out of available fruit cost me about 20p per bottle and wines made with cartons of juice vary between about 50p to 70p per bottle.

Thats my next project. When the 2 other demi johns arrive, I will be starting a new batch!

GooeyBlob

It's worth checking supermarkets at around 8PM, as they often have reduced fruit and veg at the end of the day.

In recent weeks I've picked up a few kilos of bananas, 500g bags of parsnips, as well as pears and raspberries, none of which cost more than 10p. To this I've added a few apples from my parents' tree and wild blackberries I've picked. The whole lot has been processed and is fermenting in a 5-gallon tub in my kitchen. As I find other ingredients over the coming weeks, they'll be processed and added to the brew.

Should be ready for Christmas.

JLL

I'm half way through drinking the Elderberry wine my OH made. I have to say it's going down REALLY well. It's strong.Strangely though when i get up in the morning i don't feel hung over like i do with shop brought wine. Once this is finished i'll be on to the Blackberry wine.

ragz_2

Quick question for all you winemakers, I have two batches of blackberry wine on the go, my first attempts. My second jar of blackberry wine has stopped fermenting after being moved to the second demijohn. Should I restart it with more yeast?

Sunnyday

ragz wrote: »

Quick question for all you winemakers, I have two batches of blackberry wine on the go, my first attempts. My second jar of blackberry wine has stopped fermenting after being moved to the second demijohn. Should I restart it with more yeast?

It will stop fermenting when its used up all the sugar unless something has gone wrong, are you sure that its not still going but fermenting really slowly?

Mine varies hugely, sometimes the dj`s carry on bubbling for two weeks and sometimes one. I think that i`d leave it be tbh, if its going slowly it may take a good while for enough pressure to build up to bubble that airlock.

HTH

SD

[Deleted User]

I have loads of hm wine on the go now. I used to make wine 35 years ago but gave up after a red popped all over a carpet!

I restarted tentitively as so much has changed, for a start you used to be able to buy all the bits, including good strong demijohns at boots but sadly no more. Demi johns aren`t made the same these days and I have already had one of three crack, so I use PETs all the time now. I started with a good wine kit, ie john ridge chardonay and that included a wine box so worked out cheap enough. That was a huge huge success and made the nicest wine

Now I have hm honey wine and just stabilized it at an SG of 994. Sweetness can be added later if need be, first racking in a week or so, then another after a month and so on, increasing the times to 4 months and then 8. I`ll be keeping that one for 12 months at least

My 2 gals of elderberries are now clearing at an SG of 996 and will be racked again in 4 months. Ready to drink in 12 months minimum

My kit rioja is in a wine box, maturing and is also ready to drink but will keep nicely and get even better. Same for a WOW orange hm wine

My barolo kit is stabilising at 994

My 5 gals of kit chardonay is on its second stage fermentation and I will test SG next week. It will be ready and delicious over the christmas break

So far so very good. I am very very happy with results to date. My plan is to get parsnip going as soon as we have a frost and I think I will make 5 gals

:j it is all so cheap, even with a kit, although I won`t be using kits now that I have got myself going again. I am getting to be a great fan of wine boxes for storage too

I must say that my hydrometer is my best bit of kit as it takes a lot of guesswork out. Re stuck fermentations, I read that adding a little citric acid can help but that depends on ph. So next buy for me is some ph paper. Apparantly some country wines can be a little too low in acid

Sambucus_Nigra

ragz wrote: »

Quick question for all you winemakers, I have two batches of blackberry wine on the go, my first attempts. My second jar of blackberry wine has stopped fermenting after being moved to the second demijohn. Should I restart it with more yeast?

Have you measured the SG?

ragz_2

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

Have you measured the SG?

No, I have a hydrometer but I thought it only made sense if you took a reading in the beginning and I hadn't. I restarted it the other day, I had a taste and it was very sweet so I'm guessing it's not done fermenting though it hadn't moved the bubble in days. It seems ok now.

Question number two... hubby came home yesterday with a sack of red and white grapes. For some reason I said it would be harder to get a decent wine out of them than it is with blackberry. Don't know why I think that. Can I make wine with them the same way I did with the blackberry or is it more complicated? I will get proper wine yeast as I only have brewing yeast but should I mix grape with apple or pear perhaps to give it more body? I guess I thought it would be harder because I have bought wine that I wasn't impressed with before and that was made by professionals! Any advice re the grapes would be great.. until then I shall de-stalk them then freeze until I have a plan...