Any weird ingredients for making wine?

[Brewer-again]

as it is the growing season ??

Hi ! Dexter, One thing I have plennty of in my garden is leaves. All nice and new and washed very clean, again and again.What leaves aside from my vine leaves do you think would work??

[Snadger]

Hi ! Dexter, One thing I have plennty of in my garden is leaves. All nice and new and washed very clean, again and again. What leaves aside from my vine leaves do you think would work??

Parsley wines supposed to be good, likewise nettle??

Sage wine?

[Flummery]

With all the leaf wines you really do need to give the yeast something to get its (metaophorical) teeth into. I always add a pound or so of minced raisins to a must and then cut the sugar down. Wine yeasts (bred to tolerate a higher level of alcohol than brewers' or bakers' yeasts) are made to ferment vine fruits and the fruit sugars they contain. Generally speaking I don't use the CJ Berry book (although I cut my teeth on it!) because I find they're too sweet and there's too much 'main' ingredient so the taste dominates. I don't use more than 2lb of fruits and just a pint or so of leaves/flowers for flavour. The results are much more like a bought wine - which is what I like!

[dexterdoglancashire]

Tree Leaf

Hi ! Dexter, One thing I have plennty of in my garden is leaves. All nice and new and washed very clean, again and again. What leaves aside from my vine leaves do you think would work??

Here we go: Only oak and walnut are recommended

1kg young leaves
250g white grape juice concentrate
900g sugar
4 litres water
15g citric acid
no tannin
campden tablets
nutrient
GP yeast

Collect the leaves as soon as they are fully grown, rinse in cold water into which a little citric acid and 1 campden tablet have been dissolved. Strain and shake dry.

Pour on 3 litres boiling water and leave to cool.

When cool, stir in the acid, and 1 crushed campden tablet, cover and leave in a warm place.

Macerate the leaves daily for 4 days.

Disolve the grape juice concentrate and sugar in 1 litre warm water and strain the leaf water into the syrup.

Stir in the nutrient and yeast, pour into a fermentation jar, top up with boiled cold water, fit an air lock and ferment to SG 1.015.

Rack into a clean yar and add 2 crushed campden tablets to terminate fermentation.

[dexterdoglancashire]

Parsnip wine (dry)

1.75kg parsnips
250g white grape juice concentrate
900g sugar
4 litres water
15g citric acid
1/2 tsp tannin
nutrient
GP yeast

Scrub the parsnips clean from every trace of soil and rust. Cut off and discard the base of the laves, dice the stems.
Boil the diced parsnips until they are tender and if you want, use them to eat!
Strain the liquor onto the sugar, acid and tannin. Stir well.
When cool, stir in the grape juice concentrate, nutrient and yeast. Pour into a fermentation jar, top up, fit an air lock and ferment to dryness.

NB It is best to make this wine in January after the parsnips have been well frosted since this improves the flavour. It is not necessary to peel or core them.

[dexterdoglancashire]

Parnsip wine (sweet)

2kg parsnips
250g white grape juice concentrate
1.1kg brown sugar
4 litres water
15g citric acid
1/2 tsp tannin
nutrient
Maderia yeast

Make as recipe above for dry parsnip wine but only add half the sugar at first and the remainder in three equal doses at 8 day intervals. Ferment as long as possible and finish the wine sweet at SG 1.020.

[dexterdoglancashire]

Parsley wines supposed to be good, likewise nettle??

Sage wine?

Snadger - no recipes for nettle wine, but I'm sure that somewhere else there are ideas for nettle beer (which my grandad used to make - delish!). Also mowt for sage wine.... Bernie

[Brewer-again]

could not agree more

Hi ! flummery
I have read books and consulted the web and then I change the ingredients to suit my taste. As I have posted before if the result is expected to be 'heavy, rich or overpowering?' then mix fruit such as apples in to adjust the taste. By balancing produce, which I suppose comes with practise, you can acheive a lovely wine.
However I think I would avoid onion

[Darwin]

Go on everyone - I've just got this second hand book by Boots - Home wine making and brewing by B C A Turner - and I'm amazed at the things you can make wine from - so go on, set me a challenge - give me a main fruit or veg ingredient and I'll see if there is a recipe! Bernie

Find onion wine on the web put a (?) on the labels and dont tell your victims till after makes them want to try more. Then i hit them with Runner been or red/green tom wine

[Nicos]

I understand that Ash leaves are good as a tonic- any info on what can done with them??

[Polly Fouracre]

Nettle Wine.

Snadger - no recipes for nettle wine, but I'm sure that somewhere else there are ideas for nettle beer (which my grandad used to make - delish!). Also mowt for sage wine.... Bernie

Taken from Pamela Michael "All Good Things Around Us)
4pts.young nettle tops
1 gallon water
2 lemons
1 small piece root ginger
3lbs. sugar
Wash nettles and put in lge.pan with half the water,the thinly pared rind of of the lemons(no pith) and the bruised ginger root.Bring to the boil and simmer for 45mins. Put sugar in bucket and strain over the hot liquid,stir to dissolve sugar.Add remaining water and juice from lemons.
Cover bucket and leave until cool,then add wine yeast. Put lid on bucket and leave in a warm place for 4 days.Stir and pour into fermentation jar,carry on as normal.


Sage Wine--C.J.J.Berry.(have just retrieved all my old books from the attic,where they have lain since 1987!!)
8lbs.stoned raisins
1lb.barley(will lend body to the wine")
3lb. sage leaves
2 lemons
Yeast and nutrient(I was reccomended a quarter tspn. marmite)
1 gallon water

Pour BOILING water onto minced(or chopped)raisins and add chopped sage.Allow to cool then add juice of lemons and wine yeast.Keep covered in a warm place for seven days,stirring daily,then strain into fermentation jar and ferment in usual way.
Alternatively and more cheaply you can substitute 1lb.raisins and two and a half pounds sugar for the 8lbs.raisins.

[Polly Fouracre]

I understand that Ash leaves are good as a tonic- any info on what can done with them??

I have a recipe for pickled ash keys if you would like it.

[Polly Fouracre]

Go on everyone - I've just got this second hand book by Boots - Home wine making and brewing by B C A Turner - and I'm amazed at the things you can make wine from - so go on, set me a challenge - give me a main fruit or veg ingredient and I'll see if there is a recipe! Bernie

I would like to bet that if you havent got it I have!!!Bet on??

[HeyWayne]

Surely there's something for making Courgette wine somewhere!?

[Nicos]

I have a recipe for pickled ash keys if you would like it.

I'd be interested to see that!!
Not that I'd promise to make it!!