# Black-Currant Wine



## katein (Aug 2, 2004)

Is there someone that has tried to make wine of Black-Currant, and what is it like?


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## Maui Joe (Aug 31, 2004)

Katein, forgive me for asking being from Hawaii we do not have access to indigineous berries and grapes of the Mainland. I am curious to know what is "Black-Currant?"


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## MedPretzel (Sep 21, 2004)

Oh boy....









How to describe a black currant.... 





Here's a website I've found about it: http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/curbl131.html





Here's what they say, though....
<H1>Currant, Black</H1>
<H4>Botanical: Ribes nigrum (LINN.) 
Family: N.O. Saxifragaceae</H4>


*---Synonyms---*Quinsy Berries. Squinancy Berries. 
*---Parts Used---*Fruit, leaves, bark, roots. 
*---Habitat---*Europe. 


<BR clear=all>
<HR>



<A name=des>*---Description---*</A>The Black Currant is occasionally found wild in damp woods as far north as the middle of Scotland, but is considered to be a true native only in Yorkshire and the Lake District - when found apparently wild in other parts of the country, its presence is due to the agency of birds. It is easily distinguished at all seasons by the strong perfume of its buds and leaves. 


This shrub shows the only instance of a process by which double flowers may become single, by changing petals into stamina. It has a solitary, one-flowered peduncle at the base of the raceme, and its leaves are dotted underneath. 


It was not so popular originally as the Red and Whitc Currants, for Gerard describes the fruit as being 'of a stinking and somewhat loathing savour.' 


The berries are sometimes put into brandy like Black Cherries. The Russians make wine of them, with or without honey or spirits, while in Siberia a drink is made of the leaves which, when young, make common spirits resemble brandy. An infusion of them is like green tea, and can change the flavour of black tea. Goats eat the leaves, and bears especially like the berries, which are supposed to have medicinal properties not possessed by others of the genus. 


<A name=med>*---Medicinal Uses---*</A>Diuretic, diaphoretic, febrifuge. 


The _juice_ can be boiled to an extract with sugar, when it is called _Rob_, and is used for inflammatory sore throats. Excellent lozenges are also prepared from it. 


The infusion of the _leaves_ is cleansing and diuretic, while an infusion of the _young roots_ is useful in eruptive fevers and the dysenteric fevers of cattle. 


The _raw juice_ is diuretic and diaphoretic, and is an excellent beverage in febrile diseases. 


A _decoction of the bark_ has been found of value in calculus, dropsy, and haemorrhoidal tumours.


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## MedPretzel (Sep 21, 2004)

Oh yes, 


Don't believe that they stink. That's the furthest from the truth.





Not only the russians make wine out of them. Germans do too, and so do the Poles. My gramma used to make a wicked wine out of them. She died 30 years ago, and my parents still talk about how good the wine tastes.





From my childhood, I remember that they are very tart berries, with a perfect hint of sweetness to them. They are not as sweet as blueberries, but I would liken them mostly to a tart grape.... I know people would disagree, but that's the closest I can come up with. I don't know what berries grow on Maui, but that's the closest I could come up with that you might know.





Some internet plant-stores sell the bushes, but here in Ohio, you aren't allowed to grow them. I guess it was because they had some sort of disease which spread to other plants most invasively. They've been banned here, and you can't even find them "fresh-picked" or even frozen or canned anywhere either. Funny, in Pennsylvania, which is about 2 hours from here, they're allowed.





Go figure!!





Hope this helps!





Martina


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## Maui Joe (Sep 24, 2004)

Martina, Much Thanks for the info. Sounds interesting, but rare to find...probably banned from Hawaii as well..


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