Nairn Wine Circle
Some Sample Country Wine Recipes
Below are just a selection of a popular recipes. Each are from fruit that is usually cheaply available at certain times of year or , alternatively, can be picked from the hedgerows for free.
Bramble Wine
Apple Wine
Bananna Wine
Bramble/Blackberry Wine
Ingredients
2kg brambles
1 kg sugar
Gervin Varietal A Yeast ( or a good red wine yeast)
250 ml red grape concentrate or about 300g elderberrys
Pectolase-as directed on container
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1tsp of citric acid
Tannin-Leave out if adding elderberrys!
Method
Pour 2 pint boiling water over the brambles(and elderberrys if you use them.) and add sugar
leave overnight
Make up to 7 pints with cold water and add rest of ingredients
Leave 48 hours- it should froth and bubble, give it a bit of stir when you pass it.
Strain off into a clean demi john and fit airlock.
When the frothing dies down a bit top up to the shoulders of the demi john with cold water
Leav to ferment out until bubbles stop.
Syphon off and add a campden tablet and potassium sorbate.
Leave to clear and bottle when clear.
Sweeten if required but does taste very good as a dry wine.
Apple Wine
Ingredients
3kg Apples
1kg Sugar
250 ml grape concentrate
1 tsp pectolase
Tannin
Nutrient
1 tsp acid blend or citric acid
Yeast
Method
Crush, chop, grate or find some way of pulping the apples into small bits. Throw it all into a clean sterilised food grade bucket.
Pour 4 pints of boiling water(two kettles full is about right) over the fruit and add the sugar.
When cool to room temperature add the rest of ingredients and 2 pints of cold water.
Top up to shoulders of demi-john
It should start bubbling within 24 hours. If it doesn't, add more yeast because you killed the first lot!
After 3 days strain off, use a coarse straining bag that you can buy off us. Or, improvise if you must with muslin or the net curtains.
Put into a clean demi john with an airlock and leave to ferment out. This may take a few days or a couple of weeks depending on the temperature.
When the bubbles stop coming through the airlock, or slow down to about one every 2 minutes test the wine.
Either use a hydrometer or taste it. If it's too sweet leave it longer.
If it's dry(sour taste) or just right syphon off into a clean demi john.
Add 1 campden tablet and potassium sorbate.
Leave to clear.
When clear, syphon into a clean demi john or bottle.
If it's too dry sweeten with sugar but keep a check that it doesn't start fermenting again.
Banana Wine
Ingredients
2Kg bananas- not too over ripe
1kg Sugar
250 ml grape concentrate
1 tsp pectolase
Tannin
Nutrient
1 tsp acid blend or citric acid
Yeast
Method
Slice the bananas and boil for 20 mins.
Strain carefully into a clean food grade plastic bucket
You've probably got a rather grey looking liquid, don't worry that's what it should be like!
You'll also have some banana pulp that looks very suspicious, best pop that in the compost bin!
Don't squeeze the bananas too much or you get a lot of pulp that just drops out in the demijohn!
Add the sugar and stir to dissolve, then leave to cool to room temperature.
Add the rest of the ingredients
Put into a clean demi john with an airlock top up to the shoulders with cold water and leave to ferment out.
This may take a few days or a couple of weeks depending on the temperature.
When the bubbles stop coming through the airlock, or slow down to about one every 2 minutes test the wine.
Either use a hydrometer or taste it. If it's too sweet leave it longer.
If it's dry(sour taste) or just right syphon off into a clean demi john.
Add 1 campden tablet and potassium sorbate.
Leave to clear.
When clear, syphon into a clean demi john or bottle.
Rose Hip Wine Recipe
What you will need (Ingredients)
2.5 lb (1.1Kg) Fresh Rosehips
1 lemon
1 orange
3 lb (1.35Kg) sugar
Pectin enzyme
Water up to 1 gallon
Yeast nutrient
Wine yeast
(Note: 1 teaspoon of Citric acid can be used instead of the lemon and orange juice)
What you need to do (Method)
Cut the rose hips in half, place them in a fermentation bucket and pour the boiling water over them. When cool add the pectin enzyme and cover and leave for 24 hours. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the orange and lemon juice (or the citric acid), the yeast nutrient and the wine yeast. Cover and leave for five days in a warm place, stirring daily. Strain through a fine sieve and put into a demijohn and fit an airlock to seal the jar.
Store in a warm place and allow the fermentation to work. When fermentation has ceased, rack the wine off the sediment into a clean jar and store in a cool place until clear. When the wine is clear and stable siphon into bottles.
Dried Rose Hip Wine Recipe
What you will need (Ingredients)
12 oz (300g) Dried Rosehips
1 lemon
2.2 lb (1.00Kg) sugar
Pectin enzyme
Water up to 1 gallon
Yeast nutrient
Wine yeast
(Note: 1 teaspoon of Citric acid can be used instead of the lemon juice)
What you need to do (Method)
Prepare your yeast starter two days before making the wine and soak the rosehips overnight in 500ml (1 pint) of water.
Mince your rosehips through an ordinary domestic mincer with the outer cutting disc removed and put into a bowl with the sugar and lemon juice. Pour over them 3 litres (5 pints ) of water, boiling. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. When the mixture has cooled to 20°C (70°F) add your fermenting yeast starter. Cover closely with a polythene sheet secured by elastic and stand in a warm place (about 70°F) but stir daily. After 10 days, strain into a 4.5 litre (1 gallon) jar, topping up with cold boiling water to the bottom of the neck (if necessary) and fit fermentation lock. When the wine clears rack into a clean jar and refit lock. Leave for a further three months, then rack into clean bottles and cork down.
