hedgerow winery

[hedgerow pete]

about 18 months ago i was livid that some muppet had gone and cut all my canal side elderberry bushes down a few weeks before my harvest was ready to go.

i went for a long walk with the dogs today down the canal to cheer myself up and found that after there pruning they have all come back with new and strong groth so it looks as if elderberry wine is on for this year at last,

i was getting worried as i was down to my last 10 gallons!!!!!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Elder is great for regenerating itself.I have some in the garden and cut it back regularly.
I always make a decent supply of elderflower champagne (which I'm afraid is long gone) and I am bottling the last two demijohns of flower wine this morning. It tastes like a dry reisling. A glass or two for quality control you understand

 

[hedgerow pete]

yuk, elderflower wines piff

what you needs is a strong full bodied red wine, the sort that rots your intestines out with so much tannin.

i used to make a rough 30 gallon of elderberry and apple wine, many cider apples, lovely stuff give it a couple of years and away we go house hedgerow wines, hic hic!!!

i must admit what realy narked me was it was going to be a bumper crop that year every one was very heavily laiden down.

i missed the birch sap that year also but we are out up the cannels with a brace and bit and 12 one gallon plastic jars on monday to see if its started yet. 8 for wine and four to simmer down into birch syrup

 

[Arfermo]

I drink red but prefer white, especially elderflower or gooseberry, sparkling or not. Tried birch sap once but was gnats widdle; also found apple wine too much like Harveys sherry for my taste. However, what's the recipe for birch syrup and what do you use it for?
I entered the Shrewsbury Flower Show for the first time this year and got 4 awards out of 7 entries, one of which was for mead from 1984 so I've been at it for a long time - in the nicest possible sense of course (a la Kenny Everett bless him). My bee products did OK too. Recovered my entrance fee anyway.

 

[Chris B]

Have you tried walnut leaf wine. Our tree suddenly smells glorious for about a week in June. It's the leaves and apparently it's a nice wine. I've been wanting to try it for yonks but always too busy in June. This year......

 

[hedgerow pete]

yes, walnut and oak, nettle yes nettle leaf, and bramble.

you can also do but i have not yet.

lavender, pelargonium vine and red dock

my main leaf wine by far has to easily tea wines, the full range from twinings as well as tetley tea wine. the fancy teas come out like a chillian merlot, very very easy to drink. hic

 

[Hombre]

We'll have to hang a notice about your nuts round your trunk so we don't forget about the leaves in June.

 

[drstitson]

not the week of the 25th? that's the night when you must harvest walnuts for making Nocino!

 

[Ervyne]

yes, walnut and oak, nettle yes nettle leaf, and bramble.

you can also do but i have not yet.

lavender, pelargonium vine and red dock

my main leaf wine by far has to easily tea wines, the full range from twinings as well as tetley tea wine. the fancy teas come out like a chillian merlot, very very easy to drink. hic

I have had great success with Tea wine, I think it is a nice one to start on!

 

[hedgerow pete]

its a great wine to start on , nice and simple and very easy to make with any of the twinning range

 

[freethorpe bees]

Sloe wine is one of the best I've made. Got six gallons of it in the garage.

 

[hedgerow pete]

my main stays are tea for every day drinking, eldder berry as a house red, i looooovvveee rhubarb wine, comes out like a german lieber. a great house white so is apple. every thing else is made in one gallon demis and i mix up what recipe i use for next times, lots of differant styles and flavours great

 

[Erichalfbee]

Sloe wine is one of the best I've made. Got six gallons of it in the garage.

Have you a recipe, please?
I make sloe gin and have some berries in the freezer.

 

[freethorpe bees]

Yep - I'll get it when home from work and send it to you on a pm.

I have made some out of frozen sloes - highly recommended!!!

FB

 

[freethorpe bees]

Here it is - in case anyone else would like to give it a try!

Sloe Wine

3 lb sloes
250g concentrated red grape juice (I use 8oz mashed raisins)
2 lb sugar
6 ½ pints water
2 tsp citric acid
1 tsp tannin
Pectic enzyme
Nutrient
Campden tablets
Burgundy yeast

1. Stalk, wash and crush the sloes and pour hot water over them. Cover and leave to cool.

2. Add pectic enzyme, acid and one crushed campden tablet, cover and leave for 24 hours.

3. Stir in grape juice or raisins, tannin, nutrient and activated yeast. Ferment on the pulp for 4 days, keeping fruit submerged.

4. Strain out, press dry and discard fruit. Stir in the sugar and dissolve. Pour must into a demijohn and top up with cold boiled water. Fit an airlock and ferment out to dryness.

5. Rack into a clean demijohn, add one campden tablet and store until wine is bright.

6. Rack again and store at least one year before bottling. (If you can refrain for that long!)

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks fb I may just have enough for one demijohn.
cheers

 

[Nik]

Damson is my current tipple. I did 3 gallons this year and it isn't going to last until the cider in the shed is ready!

Also try sloe vodka instead if gin, you get a much smoother flavour of sloes. Again, far too drinkable to be healthy...

 

[hedgerow pete]

so far this year i have three gallons on the go in the dinning room two gallons of birch sap which i collected this week and a gallon of carrot wine. the birch sap should be ready for the end of the year , the carrot in a year or so's time

 

[Wraith]

I'm a home brewer myself, Got 5 dj's of Spud wine, 1 Dj of parsnip all clearing, just bottled 5 gal of rice wine, and 2 gal of Rhubarb.
We had poor crops of plum, gooseberry etc so not done many country wines this winter, so done some Carton juice wines which are nice and quick to bottle.
looking forward to see what you brew in the coming years