by Arlene
This week, I bottled up the first batch of this years’ homemade wine. Much like all the other things I make, I don’t have a hard and fast recipe, and I am only making for my own use, so I don’t really care about getting a perfect glass of wine. I don’t buy fruit syrups, or concentrated fruit juice, but rely on a bunch of old recipes from home wine making books, and a massive amount of winging it
I make what most people would think of as Hedgerow Wine, which is really just the fruit I can either grow in my own garden, or forage from my local area. I’m a huge fan of foraging, and forage every year for rosehips, nettle leaves, brambles, dandelions and hawthorn berries. If you are a regular forager, you will know the benefits of all of these. If you are thinking of having a go at foraging, these are some of the easiest plants to identify and a great place to start. The great thing about foraging, and making this type of wine, is that what you make is linked really closely with what has grown around you.
This year I managed to make Elderflower & Apple, Rosehip & Chamomile, Mead, Elderberry & Damson, and Strawberry & Hawthorn. It was a lot, and at one point in the process, I had so much wine in my tiny kitchen that I had very little space for actually cooking! Luckily, since I had started them at different times, I was gradually able to rack them off, and get them into a cool area once fermentation had slowed down.
I make a demijohn at a time, which is roughly 8 pints / 4.5 litres. I don’t add any chemicals to my wine, and I don’t use any to stop fermentation or promote clearing. Yes, this can sometimes result in a wine that is a bit more reluctant to stop fermenting, or clear completely, but generally a little patience and a cool area fixes that problem. It also means that all of my wines are fairly dry because all of the sugar has turned to alcohol. I could back sweeten a wine that is particularly dry, but don’t tend to bother. As I say, I’m making wine for me, and since I like dry wine, it isn’t a problem.
Since the Elderflower & Apple was the first wine I made, that was the first one I bottled up, and even if I do say so myself, it has turned out really well! Very clear, very drinkable, and not too dry. The next day I moved straight on to bottling up the Strawberry & Hawthorn. This is a lovely pink colour, and slightly sweet, so I don’t like it quite as much, but I can see it being a huge hit with me during the summer while I ignore all the work that needs done in the garden, and just sit in the shade enjoying the flowers. The Elderflower & Apple won’t last until the summer.
The Mead and the Rosehip & Chamomile look ready to bottle now, so I will do that this week. The Elderberry & Damson was the last wine I made, and since I had a lot – and I mean a lot – of Elderberries I made two demijohns of this. They have been racked off twice and I haven’t seen any fermentation for the past week, so I will bottle them soon. At the moment they are a rich berry red, and I am looking forward to tasting them. If you are interested I will add the pictures to my Instagram page @arlenehbrown.
I am in the process of gathering together my recipes, and I will post some along with instructions, and the equipment you need once I have it ready. I may wait until the summer, so I can take some photographs while I am making a batch. It’s easier than you think!
Mainly Witterings 