This year so far

Right, what have I been making?
There was a couple of different wines to try this year, but as we had moved in February things were pretty busy (Ha! Still is) and I struggled to find time to create any potions.
I realised early on that the four demi-johns that I had, really wasn't going to be enough for my ambitions and certainly after seeing how much Elderflower was appearing around the farm I knew that I had to fork out for at least another four to keep me going. Since then I've added another four and have a few spare in the Shed of Doom.

 Note:  All my recipes have been shamelessly nicked from "First Steps in Winemaking" by CJJ Berry and various websites that I come across. The book is my bible and it takes you through the process along with the various pitfalls and contains many recipes. If you're thinking having a go at this sort of thing then I can't recommend this book highly enough.

Elderflower just starting off.

 First up was the Elderflower, it's a simple recipe. Elderflowers, raisins, yeast, yeast nutrient, lemon juice (or citric acid), brewers sugar, small cup of strong tea and, of course, water.  I use a fairly generic brewing yeast for my wines and have had good results, I would like to try a few different sorts as it can dramatically alter the taste. In case you're wondering the tea is to introduce tannin to the wine.

 The wine has come out very good, it's not as flowery as last years, I think this is because I gathered the flowers a bit late and introduced a small amount of the new berries to the mix. This has resulted in a sharper wine which has a grassy tone to it. When chilled it's lovely, and got the thumbs up from the Chief Tester.

 I also made up a gallon of Elderflower and Apple wine. It's okay, I'm not totally sure the apple goes with it but it was worth a go. I also put aside some of this mix to convert to champagne along with a fair few bottles of Elderflower. At the end of November I'll crack one of the bottles open and see how it's getting along and with a bit of luck we'll have a bit of fizz for Christmas.

Next post, Rose wine and Mead.

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