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I've been making Elderberry wine now for the last 2 years and it's turned out nice, but I'm wondering what else I could try that's not too complex.
My mum and myself like the elderberry, but Dad's not so keen. We all prefer sweeter wines (but not dessert wine sweet) more german Auslese sweet
Although I'm obviously thinking of fruit wines here.

Any thoughts on anything I could make at this time of year whilst I wait for the elderberries to crop again?

my first wine was the ginger and lemon also on this board.

Then i made Mead, recipe on this board somewhere.

Now i've got Chai wine (see recipe somewhere here) and Mystery Wine (could be good, could be draincleaner!)

Others recommended CJJ Berry's book: First Steps in Winemaking, and it took me a while to get it, but i managed to get a copy on ebay. It is really good - it has wine recipes set by season.

I'll have to give them a bash then and see how I do

Rhubarb is the obvious one this time of year.

I could certainly try that one as I've got plenty of rhubarb here..

I find there's always somebody who has too much rhubarb - my friend planted loads of it, although they don't actually eat it a lot - just because she liked the idea of having several varieties! So this year I'm going to try rhubarb wine, too. Have never made it myself, but Cairn o'Mohr make a really nice one.

Has anyone got any idiot proof wine receipes? We have never done it before and would like to turn some of our stuff into alcohol!

Thos Cairn o'Mohr wines are lovelly, but I haven't tried the rhubarb one yet. I usually get the branble one, although I'll have to wait a little while for my blackberries to grow to try it myself.

littlebluefish wrote:Has anyone got any idiot proof wine receipes?

Try and get hold of the above mentioned book - it's very useful. I got mine in a charity shop, for 20p or so.

I've not tried the rhubarb one - must check that one out.... the gooseberry one is very nice!

littlebluefish wrote:Has anyone got any idiot proof wine receipes? We have never done it before and would like to turn some of our stuff into alcohol!

I can give you a copy of my elderberry one if you like. It's a nice simple straightforward one, and was easy for me as a beginner.
Let me know and I'll either PM it through to you or should I just add it into the forum somewhere (Admins/Mod's?)

Oh yes please!

I found elderberry trees up there today so I shouldn't have to scrabble too much for that at least.


The Cairn o'Mohr wines are lovely - we were given a bottle of the Elderberry one last year and forgot we had it til this week when it went down very nicely after a day in the garden.

Im making mint wine at the moment as theres plenty of mint growing. U can use any type - choc mint, grapfruit mint, the normal wild mints - Ive used them all. Thats really easy to make and is smelling lovely!

Lord Azrael wrote:

littlebluefish wrote:Has anyone got any idiot proof wine receipes? We have never done it before and would like to turn some of our stuff into alcohol!

I can give you a copy of my elderberry one if you like. It's a nice simple straightforward one, and was easy for me as a beginner.
Let me know and I'll either PM it through to you or should I just add it into the forum somewhere (Admins/Mod's?)

Stick it on here somewhere, then we can all have a go!!

Ta

OK,
Here it is.......

Elderberry Wine

4lb Elderberries
1 Gallon (5 litres) Boiling water
3lb Granulated Sugar
a claret yeast sachet
8oz chopped raisins
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1 orange
1 vitamin B tablet
1 teaspoon of yeast nutrient

Procedure:
Strip the berries from the umbrellas with a fork into a suitably large primary fermentation vessel (I use a plastic bucket I got from Asda)
Add the chopped raisins, juice of the lemon, juice of the orange, the vitamin B tablet and a teaspoon of yeast nutrient.
Add the boiling water and stir well.
When cool enough to handle, squeeze the fruit in the bucket with your hands to extract all the juice into the mixture.
Leave for one day to infuse. I just cover the top of the bucket with a plate.
Add 21/2 lb of the sugar and the yeast, stir and leave covered for 3 days.
Strain off the liquid into 2 demijohns (through a fine meshed funnel or through muslin cloth in a funnel) add another ¼ lb sugar into each demijohn, and top up with cooled boiled water.
Fit the airlocks and leave in a warm, dark place until the bubbling subsides (a few weeks normally)& rack off the lees into a clean demijohn.
Replace the airlock and rack off again in about 6 weeks.
Bottle in dark green bottles when the wine is clear and there has been no activity for some time. (clarity can be checked by shining a lamp through the demijohn)
Mature for at least 6 months before drinking.

Drink and enjoy.