New member from Scotland

[Cosyden]

Hi, I’m Graham, based near Perth in Scotland, new to the forum and totally new to wine making.
I’ve made a couple of kit wines in the past , neither of which were much good but apart from that, I have no experience at all. However, I do have a bit of kit which I’ve picked up over the years from friends and family.
We grow a bit of fruit in the garden and have easy access to great ground for foraging, so I thought I’d give making country wines from scratch a go.
I’ve tentatively made a start by putting a gallon of gooseberry wine on using a random recipe i found on the internet a week ago. I think it’s fair to say I’ve got the bug as I’ve found myself constantly thumbing through recipes and taking note of good foraging spots on our regular dog walk.
I’m here to glean as much information as I can and hopefully brew some wines that are at worst drinkable and hopefully better that average supermarket plonk.
Cheers, G

 

[VinesnBines]

Welcome! Plenty of information here.

 

[Ohio Bob]

Welcome! Lots of people here do country wines, search for topics on that forum.

 

[Jovimaple]

Welcome to WMT!

 

[ibglowin]

Welcome aboard!

 

[Jimpaw]

Welcome, from one newbie to another!

 

[sour_grapes]

Welcome to WMT.

 

[Mcjeff]

Welcome!

 

[NorCal]

Welcome, plenty of OTG (other than grapes) winemakers here.

 

[Rice_Guy]

Welcome to wine making talk.

Gooseberry? WOW,, mine is just starting to bud out. Last year this was combined with Juneberry and I see that blend turning into a standard.

 

[Cosyden]

Thank you very much for all the welcomes. What a friendly place.

@Rice_Guy it was last years fruit from the freezer. Our plants won’t start to bud for at least another 2 or 3 weeks yet. I’ll have to look up Juneberry. I don’t think I’ve ever come across them.

 

[David Violante]

Welcome!

 

[Rice_Guy]

Amalenchier canidensis. ie a pH 5 fruit that blends some of the acid out of pH 2.8 gooseberry

. I’ll have to look up Juneberry. I don’t think I’ve ever come across them.

 

[BigDaveK]

Welcome to WMT, Graham!
I've become somewhat of a country wine fanatic. SO many possibilities. I started this hobby too late last year to use my gooseberries but I'm ready now.
Foraging may get you some great raw material! I think the general rule of thumb is - if it doesn't run away you can make wine with it.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Welcome to WMT, Graham!
I've become somewhat of a country wine fanatic. SO many possibilities. I started this hobby too late last year to use my gooseberries but I'm ready now.
Foraging may get you some great raw material! I think the general rule of thumb is - if it doesn't run away you can make wine with it.

 

[VinesnBines]

The late Jack Keller had recipes for nearly everything. https://swguildpa.com/wp-content/up...ler-Complete-Requested-Recipes-Collection.pdf

Also check out the Happy Homestead blog:
Happy Homestead He was living in Orkney and making unusual wine.

Rhubarb is wonderful as is dandelion and black currant. I've made ginger wine though my last batch was not my best. Keller has a nettle wine recipe and a turnip (neep) recipe.

 

[Cosyden]

@VinesnBines I’ll get a look at them links you posted, thanks very much.
I’ve got a few kilos of rhubarb in the freezer. That’s the next one I was planning. Might even get to it tonight.

 

[VinesnBines]

Strawberry Rhubarb is outstanding. Either fermented together or separately. I wish I had a few kilos of rhubarb.