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Please note, most of the wines I make have a higher
fruit content than usual, whilst it is possible to make wine with 3 lb
of fruit, it is not as good as using 6 or 9 pounds.
When the wines are made with country fruit, there is little excuse,
from the comments made about the quality of the wines, must be doing
something right :) Preparation is to generally remove skin from fruit,
puree fruit and then treat as usual.
Instructions are basic and at the
moment for my own reference - a lot is left out, may well in the
near future add an idiots guide to wine making type of instruction
list, but not just yet.
Unless otherwise specified:- 1 teaspoon of Tannin & Yeast nutrient
(TronOzymol) per gallon. Water 2/3 rds in first week, then add when
needed, i.e. leave big gap in demijohn to allow for frothing
Half the sugar dissolved in boiling water and added to pulp, second
half dissolved in heated wine and allowed to cool - ensures not too
large a volume is produced.
| Banana |
3 Gallons - Gervin's High
alcohol
tolerance (S.cerevisiae) French strain GV26 - 3 lb sugar / gallon
|
Season
|
Anytime
|
Well ripened bananas
|
12 pounds
|
|
The bananas should be left
until the skins are essentially black as they will then be ripened
fully, wine can be made when the bananas are
less ripe, but the end product is not as good. |
| Blackberry & Elderberry |
4 Gallons - Gervin's High alcohol
tolerance
(S.cerevisiae) French strain GV26 - 3 lb sugar / gallon - Pectolytic
enzyme 24 hours delay to adding yeast |
Season
|
August to October
|
Mixed berries, approximately 50:50
|
12 pounds
|
Preparation
|
Wash the berries to remove
insects and other detritus, then blend in liquidiser.
This year, the yeast was added the same time as the pectolase, with
hindsight, this is a mistake and the pectolase should be left for 24
hours to clear the pectin from the wine. Pectin is are what give the
wine a haze, great for jam, not great for wine.
|
|
Using a hydrometer, the wine is
shown to be sweet (approx.
1.030) and hence has been divided from 4 demijohns into 5 demijohns. An
additional sachet of the high alcohol yeast was added along with
sufficient
water to make upto 5 gallons. The wine will be left for a further few
months
to reduce the sweetness of the wine. NB, future wines being made at 2.5
lbs per gallon, having to ferment out for 2 years is not fun !
|
Blackberry
|
4 Gallons - Gervin's High alcohol
tolerance
(S.cerevisiae) French strain GV26 - 3 lb sugar / gallon - Pectolytic
enzyme 24 hours delay to adding yeast |
Season
|
August to October
|
Blackberries
|
22 pounds
|