squidsin Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 Has anyone tried this, and what results have you had? I've got a demijohn full of rhubarb wine which I will be bottling in November, and another of elderberry wine which will need racking in November and bottling in February. Just wondered if anyone had any advice or tips they wanted to share - also, when you bottle, do you chuck out the sediment at the bottom of the demijohn and just bottle the clear stuff? I am concerned that if I mix it in with the clear stuff it will start fermenting again! I've also heard you should leave the bottles at least a year before drinking - this true? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 You throw the sediment away. How long you have to age the wine depends on things like tannins in it. These make the wine tart and bitter and need to be removed by the maturation process. A light elderflower wine will be ready in months whereas a blackberry wine will take longer. I always make a couple of demijohns of blackberry wine using just the juice from the berries....no water. This is rammed with tannins but the first bottle I tasted after one year in the demijohn and 3 years in the bottle was like a beautiful port with huge blackberry overtones. A compromise is to dilute your hedgerow fruit 50/50 with bought grape juice. This will make you a smooth wine after a year in the bottle,six months in the demijohn. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squidsin Posted September 22, 2010 Author Share Posted September 22, 2010 Thanks old speckled hen! That's really useful. How alcoholic will the wine be - I am not going to go blind or anything when I taste it will I?! I followed the instructions on the yeast packet! Also, I get confused with all the various additives you can put in. I was thinking of adding 2 Campden tabs to stop fermentation before bottling - is this worth doing? Or will it make it taste funny? Love the idea of the blackberry wine - I'll try that next year but the blackberry season here in London is over already! I've got a bag in my freezer but I need that for crumbles... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 I don't bother with Campden tablets as I ferment my wine out in the demijohn. I use heat or milton to sterilise. I think wine will not get over 12%, after that the yeast dies and stops turning sugar into alcohol. So if you have bunged in lots of sugar your wine will be sweet but alcoholic. Less sugar a lighter wine, sharper but less oomph. A general rule of thumb is 31/2 lb to a gallon of fruit liquid for a sweet wine.3 lb for medium and 21/2 for dry. Below 2lb your wine may not keep and above 31/2 be sickly sweet. It really depends on how sweet your fruit is. For my hedgerow blackberries I use 3lb. Two things I've learned is to be really clean and sterilise everything and to write your recipes down. There's nothing worse than opening up a bottle of nectar(or rubbish infact) three years after you've made it and not be able to recall HOW when you have only eight bottles. Good luck, it's great fun, and it doesn't make you blind ........that's something else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squidsin Posted September 22, 2010 Author Share Posted September 22, 2010 Well I've been good on the sterilising front, not so good on the writing recipes down front. I got my elderberry wine one from the Brew UK website, but the rhubarb one I kind of improvised....had an idea to make it taste more 'Christmassy' (plus I didn't have quite enough rhubarb) so I added a load of raisins! If it turns out well (and that is a big IF), I have absolutely no hope of recreating it! What other wines have you made? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 I'm not a great one for making wine from any old thing. My DH used to though and he has an old wine making book that has recipes for wine from tea, parsnips, and bananas amongst others I recall one night before when we were just going out (rather than serious, then married) we sampled a glass from a few bottles. We did get absolutely smashed............never again My favourites are Blackberry and Lime Flower. You can get a secondary fermentation in the bottle and it tastes like a heady aromatic champagne. Wonderful. The advantage of blackberry is that you can cheat and use a varying amount of grape juice (red or white.......... or even grow your own) to produce a range of red to rose wines. Oh and of course Elderflower Champagne. I always keep a few bottles over for Christmas. Edit.PS if you live anywhere near a London park there will be loads of Lime trees to harvest. Bloom in June . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
