Wine Making 'ingredients'

[donnakebab]

I have all the equipment but never made wine before.

Where do you get all your yeasts and so on fro?. Is there a good website or do boots still do all that stuff? Obviously the cheeper the better.

I have raspberries in my freezer I want to use and want to have a go at Elderflower champagne in a few months time.

Cheers, chin chin, slanche.

[super trowel]

Wine at 8am
Love it

I fin all my stiff at my local market.
But flea bay ave a good choice.

I have read on some other sites that people use bread yeast to make beer.
But I don't know if this will work on wine?

Good luck

[donnakebab]

It's because I'm on holiday!

[rustylady]

I don't think Boots stock winemaking stuff any more, but Wilkinsons do.

[rustylady]

Did a google search for you and found this Home Brew Kits and Wine Making Equipment Lots more in the Birmingham area if you search "winemaking supplies Birmingham"

[chris]

I got most of mine from Wilkinsons. I did buy some stuff from biggerjugs.co.uk too

[Hazel at the Hill]

Wilko every time. Also there's a good brewshop in Great Barr if you are on that side of the City.

[Two_Sheds]

people use bread yeast to make beer....I don't know if this will work on wine?

No, the yeast isn't robust enough to handle the higher volume of alcohol (apparently)

Our Wilko has a small range, but I prefer to use my local brewshop (he's a cyclist too )

[Kleftiwallah]

I should forget all chemist shops, they may stock eqwuipment and chemicals but they (usually) know nowt!

I should go to your local winemaking shop. You will get all the advice you need as the shopkeeper wants you to succeed and return. I've made my own wine for years and I think rasberry wine and elderflower champaigne might be a tad advanced.

I always recommend plum, and damson as they are easy peasy (and usually free). However as it is spring, I should see what is cheap and cheerful down the fruit market, can be soft, but not rotten.

The Golden rule, CLEANLINESS, CLEANLINESS, CLEANLINESS, cheers, Tony.

[Two_Sheds]

I think rasberry wine and elderflower champaigne might be a tad advanced.

No! I don't. The easiest is Shirl's teabag wine, and once you've got the hang of that, my raspberry wine recipe is really easy. Even Chris is having a go (joke! You know I don't mean it)

Every year loads of Grapes do the elder champs, that's not hard either

[donnakebab]

Thanks for the advice and tips.

I'll let you all know when I've started one.

[donnakebab]

Did a google search for you and found this Home Brew Kits and Wine Making Equipment Lots more in the Birmingham area if you search "winemaking supplies Birmingham"

Thanks RL. There's one in Hall Green. Just up the road.

[Peas'n'Kews]

There are still dedicated wine/beer making/brewing shops. For instance, one near me in St Albans and another in Tring. (sorry, not much use to you!) ~But you get the idea.

The OH makes wine out of peapod, spring oakleaf, autumn oakleaf, and potatato-wheat-and-rasin to name but a few.

[donnakebab]

If it's free and bountiful I'm there.

[Hilary B]

Any fruity wine is pretty straightforward, some give a nicer result than others. You can make it complicated, and sometimes the complications even out the types that are less successful made the straightforward way.
If you use ordinary 1 litre carton of fruit-juice, a bag (1kg size) of sugar and make 1 gallon from that, adding yeast and nutrient etc, it's simple, works OK, and someone I used to know made a gallon of that every week, as the 'basic' and then did the 'quality' ones as well. The 'basic' (not always the same flavour, I think orange, pineapple and apple were all on his list) meant that the family could open a bottle of home-made wine every day. He claimed it needed 3 weeks fermenting in a warmish place (airing cupboard), 3 weeks to clear in a cold place, and once bottled, start drinking at once. I never did it that fast, more like 2 months fermenting in a uncold room, and another month in the cold to clear. Got bored after a while, we don't drink THAT much wine!