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I’m all for saving some cash. That’s the main reason I started making our own wine just a couple of months ago. I had a bit of kit in the shed from a few years ago when I made two fairly unsuccessful kit wines, and I scoured market place and free adds for the rest. I’ve got around 100 bottles...

I bottled my spruce beer tonight. 8x 500ml clip top bottles and a small glass left over to try. I’ve got to admit I’m very pleasantly surprised. Very refreshing. It’s got a taste reminiscent of a light ale/larger type beer but without the chemical aftertaste. Definite citrus flavours. I’ve...

I stole an hour tonight and transferred my 3rd run off the dried bilberries tonight. It’s far from fully fermented (sitting at 1.028) but tastes good. I added red grape concentrate to the 3rd run as recommended in the recipe but there is still a definite bilberry flavour. I’m looking forward to...

Hi all, this is clearing really well but I’m in a rush so I’m planning to rack 2 gallons tomorrow, de-gas and add bentonite, because that’s what I have, and let it clear for another week. (Does this sound sensible?). It’s dry, tastes pretty good and looks really clear in the glass. Neither me or...

In primary: - Dried Bilberry first run - spruce tip In secondary - Gooseberry - Rhubarb - Mixed Berry (black currant, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry and cherry - frozen 4 berry medley with a bag of cherries chucked in) - Beech leaf Non in bottles as I’ve only been at this 5 weeks.

Mmm, maybe. I’m not that sophisticated but I’ll give it a crack. What you probably need to know is that I’m not keen on white grape wine of any type. The spring oak (from cain o’mhor winery near me) is quite close to a fresh zingy white wine. The autumn oak is heavier like a red wine or cider...

From what I can gather, for beech use young leaves only, oak any age leaf will work. I’ve no idea about walnut, birch, lime, but they are all options. I used the very translucent beech leaves with hairy margins. All references say that the tannin rises as the leaves mature which makes them...

Yep, I had it my head that racking to the smaller demijohn would avoid head space without topping up but I over estimated the volume of sediment. Next time I’ll have a glass ready to catch the extra. I’ve actually got an auto syphon (delivered today). I couldn’t work the bloody thing so I just...

First racking from the secondary. I thought I was being clever racking from a 5ltr demijohn to a 1 gallon demijohn (4.5ltrs). There’s now a good amount of wine on the floor and soaked into my sock. Looks bonnie and tastes pretty good though.

If it’s any good I’ll post the recipe. If it’s rubbish I’ll likely never mention it again…. Yea, you’re right. The leaf recipes I’ve found all measure in volume but don’t state loose or tight packed etc. For ease of replication I just weighed what I had picked and chucked them in the pot. I’m...

I’m using Sitka and Norway Spruce tips but I’ve found a couple of references that suggest black spruce is the best. I’m using the freshest new tips. They taste very citrus. Nearer grapefruit than orange and lemon and very ‘dry’ like a sloe berry. They hold a lot of flavour so I’m going to guess...

I’m guessing that is a no. Here’s the spruce beer (the brown brew at the centre back). It’s a very basic country type wine recipe using about a pound of brown sugar to 1 imperial gallon. It should ferment dry to around 6.5% abv and I’ll bottle with a little sugar to carbonate. It wouldn’t be a...

That’s a very good point which I hadn’t considered. Luckily a bit of Googling tells me that sulfites aren’t added to organic dried fruit so it’s all good in that front. I was going to make a raisin wine next from the big bag of raisins in the baking cupboard but I think I’ll hold out until I can...

It’s probably due to growing conditions. They like heathland beyond the tree line. I would guess that the blueberry is a better bet for the home grower. Come to think of it, I don’t think I have seen bilberry plants for sale. They are pretty close to a blueberry. Smaller, more tart and stronger...

I’ve been looking for a Spruce wine recipe but so far I’ve fallen short. There’s a few references but they all seem to be based on opinion rather than actual experience. Does anyone have any first hand experience of using spruce tips either as a main ingredient or just as an additional aromatic...

Crikey! I thought they were dear here. I found an organic supplies place in London. It works out about £12 per kg (US$6/lb ish) delivered. The recipe states that dried bilberries are equivalent to 4x fresh. So, I’ve used roughly equivalent to 6kg fresh bilberries. I can’t get fresh bilberries...

I managed to get my hands on a few more demijohns over the last couple of days so made a start on this. The original recipe makes around 18 or 19 imperial gallons so I’ve pared it back a bit to suit the equipment I have. The first batch is cooling in the bucket just now and I’ll pitch the yeast...

Welcome from Perth, Scotland!

If I bottle enough wine before winter I might not actually be capable of installing a shower room……….hopefully!

I have an old utility room which, until last weekend, was packed with tools and various dog walking equipment and other junk. I thought I was being pretty lavish having that to use rather than the kitchen table but I guess a hobby is a hobby and different people take it to different levels. It’s...