Herbal Wines and Cordials

APPLE WINE
2kg Apples
500g Raisins
1.4 kg sugar
1-2 campden tablets
3 tsp pectinase
2 tsp white wine yeast
1 tsp yeast nutrient
water

Wash, peel, core and chop apples, immerse in cold water. Keep skins. Chop raisins and put in bucket. Add chopped apples with half the skins and pour over the sugar syrup. Top up with water (cooled boiled water) to 5 litres, add in the crushed campden tablets. Cover the bucket and leave for 24 hours. Add the pectinase and leave for another 24 hours. Add the yeast and nutrient and fermet for 8-10 days before transferring the strained must to the ferment. Stop fermentation at specific gravity 1010. Rack and mature according to procedure.

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DANDELION AND GINGER WINE

1 lb dried or fresh dandelion flower heads
1/2 oz / 14 grams ginger
1/2 pint strong black tea
1/2 tartaric acid
3 lb / 1,350 grams sugar
Water up to 1 gallon
Yeast nutrient
Wine yeast

Method

Boil the dandelion heads and leave to infuse for one hour. Strain the liquid into a fermentation bucket together with ginger and sugar. Stir vigorously to dissolve the sugar. When cool add the tartaric acid, strong tea, yeast nutrient and wine yeast and cover and leave for three days, stirring daily. Strain into a demijohn and fit an airlock to seal the jar.

Store in a warm place and allow the fermentation to work. When fermentation has ceased, rack the wine into a clean jar and place in a cooler environment and leave. When the wine is clear and stable siphon into bottles

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Beetroot Wine
2kg beetroot
1.5kg syrup sugar
1 piece fresh ginger
1 tsp pectinanse
3 tsp citric acid
1/4 tsp tannic acid
1-2 tsp wine yeast (preferably red wine)
1 tsp yeast nutrient
Water

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BLACKBERRY WINE

6 pints fresh or frozen blackberries
3 lbs / 1,350 grams granulated sugar
1 teaspoon acid blend
1/2 teaspoon pectic enzyme
Wine yeast
1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
8 pints cooled, boiled water
1 campden tablet

Method: Blackberry Wine

Roughly press blackberries and add to clean, empty winemaking fermentation bucket. Next, add the cooled, boiled water, together with sugar, wine nutrient, campden tablet, acid blend and pectic enzyme. Stir well until all of the sugar has completely dissolved and allow to stand for up to 24 hours.

Add activated wine yeast and then stir twice a day for five days. Thoroughly strain the blackberry wine mixture and add to demijohn, with suitable airlock. Rack after approximately one month, and then again at three monthly intervals until clear and approximately 12 months old. Bottle blackberry wine and then leave to stand for a minimum of 12 months.

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Banana Wine
2kg ripe soft bananas
500g banana skins
1 lemon juice, peel not pith
1 orange, juice, peel no pith
1.25kg sugar (syrup)
125g raisins
1 campden tablet
1 tsp pectinase
2 tsp white wine yeast
1 tsp yeast nutrient
Water
Mix chopped bananas, skin, lemon and orange peel in 3 litres of water, boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Separately mix all the juice, raisins and sugar syrup into another bucket, and then pour in the strained liquid from the boiled bananas and skins. Stir and top up with cold water to make 5 litres, pop in a Campden tablet and then stand for 24 hours (covered). Add pectinase leave for 24 hours. Add yeast and nutrient and then pulp-ferment for 3-4 days and then strain, add the must to fermenter following procedure. Stop fermentation at specific gravity 1010. Follow sweet wine rack and maturation procedure. Bottle when stable.

Elderflower Champagne Recipe

Ingredients:

20 elderflower heads
1 kg sugar
2 lemons (juice and zest)
10 litres of water
2 tablespoons of vinegar
(IF REQUIRED: some yeast - a tablespoon of bakers yeast is fine, kicked off with 2 tablespoons of warm water)

Equipment:

Large bucket, or brewing barrel big enough to hold 12 + litres
sieve
funnel
muslin
plastic bottles (from fizzy water, or soda), sufficient to contain 12 litres

Directions:

Boil a couple of litres of water, pour into bucket or barrel and dissolve the sugar in it
Add the remaining 8 litres of water (cold)
Add Lemon Juice and Zest
Add Elderflower Heads
Add Vinegar
Stir all together gently
Cover with muslin or tea towel and set aside for 24 hours
Stir gently every 6 hours or so during that first 24 hours
After 24 hours, if it's not starting to bubble a little, add some yeast.
Set aside for a further 5 days, stirring gently occasionally.
Strain through a sieve and muslin and put into bottles
Leave for 8 days, checking the bottles occasionally and letting out excess gas if necessary.
Serve chilled, and enjoy with friends!

Sanitize Carefully

Make sure that all equipment is sanitized and rinsed thoroughly before use.