Noel Wilson's blog

Making Delicious Homemade Wine from Field Flowers

Did you know that one of the loveliest wines that I have ever tasted was made with gorse flowers? Thanks to Bournemouth Winemaker's Circle, they let me in on the secret of this delicious homemade wine. This gorse wine was then sampled at the Town Hall on the occasion of the Amateur Wine-Makers' Second Annual Conference show.

Flower wines cannot be compared to other homemade wine or commercial wines. Their aroma and flavors are unique; Floral wines can only be described as deliciously aromatic. The only drawback is the labor of gathering up the flowers. Probably you can count on getting flowers enough for a gallon or two in about an hour or two.

When you pick a day to do your cutting, be sure you have an appropriate container to gather you flowers in- larger is better. It doesn't have to be a basket. A large clean bowl or bucket will work just fine. I prefer a basket to help keep air circulating through my flowers so they do not bruise or rot.

How you gather the flowers is also very important. Dandelions must be gathered on their closed state because when they are closed the petals may be pulled out all together merely by holding the head of the flower and pulling on the petals grouped together. Although only petals should be used in making flower wines, still many people make quite good dandelion wine by using the whole heads.

It's best to use an all purpose wine yeast when making flower wines although champagne yeast also works. I don't like to use invert sugar as it has a tendency to alter the flavor and even the color of floral wines. Lastly, here is the recipe that I mentioned earlier that got me turned on to floral wines. Enjoy!

Delicious Gorse Wine:

Ingredients include 5 pints of gorse flowers, 3 pounds of sugar, 1 gal. of water, 1 oz. yeast.

1.Add the flowers to the fermenting vessel and pour half a gallon of boiling water over the top.
2.Leave that to soak for 3 days, stirring each day.
3.Next you'll boil half of the sugar in a quart of water for two minutes and cool the solution. When this is cool add it to the flower mixture. Add the yeast and ferment for three days.
4.Strain out the flowers and continue to ferment the liquor in the fermenting vessel for another seven days.
5.Carefully pour it all into a gallon jar, leaving as much of the reside behind as you can.
6.Boil the rest of the sugar in the remaining water for two minutes and when cool add to the rest.
7.Cover as directed or fit fermentation lock and continue to ferment until all fermentation has ceased.

Fermentation Techniques In Homemade Wine Making

Juice you prepare is turned into wine during fermentation, and you have nothing to do with this process. The only part of the process you are responsible for is mixing some liquids that result in a superb flavor. The yeast does all the work turning the mixture into homemade wine.

It was most often common for brew masters to make their wines using baker's yeast and white sugar. No, on the other hand, people choose specialty wine yeast and use invert sugar. The resultant product had has a beautiful bouquet and less of the taste of a loaf of bread.

One benefit of using wine yeast over a common baker's yeast is a resulting higher percentage of alcohol in the finished product. Baker's yeasts tend to make wines with around twelve to fourteen percent alcohol by volume whereas wine yeast are able to produce wines with up to eighteen percent alcohol by volume.

Yeast can be found in many forms. It comes as a cake, tablet or most commonly in granular form. All are inactive until you add to components- sugar and warmth. The key stage of warmth speeds up the fermentation process.

Fermentation cannot go on forever. When the maximum alcohol percentage of is reached, the alcohol formed kills the yeast. You'll see that from the small amount of yeast you add at the start, masses of new yeast is made helping to make alcohol until the last batch of the original yeast is finally destroyed. From then on, fermentation ceases and no more alcohol is produced. The old idea that the longer wine is kept the stronger it becomes is proven a false.

Sometimes fermentation is allowed to become cool too early, and the yeast ceases to work. If you have already bottled the wine in the belief that fermentation has stopped for good, the result is a popping corks flying in all directions and losing valuable wine. I suggest keeping it good and warm.

Homemade Wine Making from Delicious Dried Fruits & Grains

It's a little known fact that dried fruits and grains make fantastic wines. They need a little more time to mature before reaching peak flavor, but it is well worth the wait. Mixtures of fruits and grains make a strong full flavored homemade wine similar to a whisky or brandy.

Dried fruits you buy in the store contain a large amount of added preservatives to maintain flavor and color. Grains have a tendency to have been exposed to some amount of dust or other byproduct. It's best to therefore clean these items well before beginning your wine making. Boil a pot of water and immerse the grapes, dates, etc… into the water for a few seconds and then strain. Repeat this process with the wheat, or other grains. Strain with a fine muslin to be sure not to wash away all your grain.

Recipes for making fruit wines allow tannin in the fruits. Tannin is an important part of the flavor of the wine; though few people realize it. Yet they soon know when there is too much because the wine takes on the flavor or 'tang' of strong unsweetened tea. Usually, there is no tannin present in dried fruit wines. Thus, it is as well to add one tablespoonful of freshly made tea-not too strong-to make a good deficiency. Special grape tannin is available, but tea is a cheap and handy source of which you might as well make use. In addition, you can include tea in the recipes.

Normally dried herbs cost less than 20 cents per packet and such a packet is usually more than enough for a gallon of wine. The actual amount of the dried herbs may be varied according to personal tastes, but usually two ounces are enough for one gallon, and this amount of herbs rarely costs very much. The amount in each packet varies slightly with the variety of herb.

Of course, those who know their herbs well enough to gather them fresh from the garden or field or hedgerow may do so, but you must remember that one needs at least one pound of the fresh plant to get the equivalent of two ounces of the dried herbs. On the one hand, it is also important that you should be expert at identification because many health-giving herbs bear a striking resemblance to others which have proved themselves to be deadly poisonous. So by buying ready packet of herbs such risks are done away with.

Here's a basic recipe to get you started.

Delicious Wine from Dried Fruit & Grain

1. Prepare 1 lb. raisins,3 lbs. prunes and 1 lb wheat as has already been advised. Then put them with the sliced 2 oranges and 2 lemons in the fermenting vessel.

2. Mix two pounds of sugar in 7 pints water and boil for two minutes. Pour over the ingredients while it is still boiling.

3. Cool the mixture and add 1 oz yeast.

4. Cover as directed and ferment the mixture for 10 days. Crush it well each day and stir up the wheat and cover again at once.

5. After 10 days, strain out the solids, and wring out as dry as you can and put the strained liquor in a gallon of jar.

6. Mix and boil one pound of sugar with two pints of water and when cool add it to the jug.

7. Cover as directed or fit fermentation lock and leave until all fermentation has ceased.

Everything You Need To Know About The Clearing Method In Homemade Wine Making

Winemaking directions usually say something like 'leave until fermentation has nearly stopped' -confusing terms to beginners. When fermentation stoppers are used, this stage is reached because the water will remain pushed to one side of the fermentation lock and a bubble just barely pushes through every two minutes.

Sometimes no locks and just clear-glass jars are used; you will be able to see the bubbles of gas rising in the homemade wine . There is quite a few of them rising steadily. When only a few bubbles are rising to the surface winemakers may say, that fermentation has nearly ceased - though it may go on for a bit longer.

Of course with the recipes and methods involved in winemaking, fermentation locks, keeping the wine warm during the whole of the fermenting period, using the appropriate wine yeast, invert sugar and nutrient you will obtain wines with a stronger flavor and an aroma of which they will be proud.

Clarifying a wine is a big step to success. In terms of clarifying wines, there is no need to use any aids. Wines clear themselves practically before fermentation has ceased. It is usual to have a clear wine a month before fermentation has stopped. If a couple batches of wine appear to be slow to clear, you shouldn't worry, a week or two after fermentation has finally ceased clarifying will take place.

Therefore, when all fermentation has ceased, it is best to siphon the clear wine - if not yet crystal clear - into another jar leaving the deposit behind. (Siphoning is a method used to pour clear wine from one bottle to another without stirring up the deposit.) Then when the wine is finally crystal clear it should be siphoned into bottles. This racking, as winemakers usually call it, helps to get the slight cloudiness to settle out quickly.

Making Homemade Wine From Citrus Fruits

If your previous attempts at wine making haven't been up to your expectations, then there is a reason for that. You haven't tried making citrus wines. Citrus wine is refreshing and unique and guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser during those warm summer months. It's also a bonus if you are able to buy fruits which are in season and able to cut costs in production.

Grapefruit wine is an acid wine, but many people like it, especially where a pound of raisins or dates are fermented in with the grapefruits. This gives it a sweeter more complex flavor to enhance the refreshing taste of the grapefruit. If raisins or dates are used, use half a pound less of sugar, because dried fruits contain approximately fifty percent sugar.

Loading your fermenting bucket with fresh tangerines makes for an excellent homemade wine, however quite a few tangerines are required. The suggested amount is at least fifteen, but less than thirty for a single batch. Cutting and peeling all of the fruit takes quite awhile, but the result of this wine will be well worth the effort. The fresh fruit leaves the finish of the wine with an added fresh and crisp flavor.

Another great citrus wine is lemon wine. Lemon wine is a bit more unique because you rarely see lemon wine served independently but more often as an additive to punches or other drinks. One delicious use for lemon wine is as an additive to a pitcher of sangria. The sourness of the lemons cuts the sweetness of the sangria and gives it a refreshing aftertaste.

Before starting to work with citrus fruit, be sure you have cleaned all fruits thoroughly. Also, because of the highly acidic nature of the fruit, you may want to wear gloves. All of these recipes are simple enough for anyone to try in the comfort of their own kitchen. Also, don't be afraid to get creative as in the addition of dried fruit. Experimentation is half the fun.

Delicious Citrus Wine Recipe

1. Put 24 halves of your citrus fruit of choice into boiling water. Push each half under the water a few times. Remove all of the halves to a large clean bowl.

2. Cut the boiled halves into small pieces and pour over half a gallon of boiled water that has cooled slightly. Cover well, and leave to soak for forty-eight hours, crushing and pressing the fruit between the fingers to extract the juice which gives a very special flavor.

3. Boil a quart of water and add two pounds of sugar. After it has cooled, add it to the pulp mixture, slowly. Add half an ounce of yeast and allow this to ferment this in a warm spot. It should ferment for five days.

4. The last step is to strain the mix through cheese cloth or another fine muslin cloth. Get rid of the remaining pulp and return the liquid to the fermenting vessel. Ferment for another ten more days. Pour the wine off the top leaving as much residue behind. Do this twice if necessary.

Noel Wilson

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