Welcome to The Dawnmist Wine Making Manual

In recent years we have both enjoyed making home-made wine and have finally decided to place our recipes along with some wine-related humour on this page of our vast website. We hope you will enjoy reading and have a good laugh as well as trying out our recipes. It all began several years ago when Heather remembered the lovely home made wines her mum and dad used to make and although she does not drink much she enjoys the smell of the wine as it brews and the sound of the bubbles popping from the tubes. We decided to try a very unusual recipe -- Oak Leaf Wine -- to begin with; this uses leaves from a traditional English Oak tree at the right time of year. The result tasted so nice we could not stop after that and embarked on making more types. Natalie's amazing knowledge of science and chemistry was then brought into play to fine tune the recipes which are presented here with much technical help as well. Heather has contributed as usual by coming up with some humorous cartoons to brighten up the page and make you smile.
Our recipes, information and poem may be copied (entire and unchanged only), provided you acknowledge the source. You may write to us at:
heather@dawnmist.org
natalie@dawnmist.org

Part I: Background Information

Introduction

Many people think of wine as being a drink brewed solely from grapes, but this is not true. In warm countries where grapes grow readily, there is of course a very long history of making wine from grapes, and there has been relatively little interest in the possibility of making wine from anything else. But in cooler countries, such as the British Isles (and indeed most of Northern Europe), grapes have been impossible (or at least very difficult) to grow, and so there has grown up an almost equally long tradition of brewing wine from whatever is to hand -- and not necessarily limited to fruit, as you will see in our recipes! These non-grape wines are collectively known as 'Country Wines', and although some wine-snobs sneer at them as being suitable only for folk who carry a pitchfork, hold their trousers up with baler-twine and say "Oooh Arrr" a lot, this prejudice is quite unjustified, since good Country Wines can be truly delicious, and often much more exciting than boring old grape stuff!

Historians might point out that in the Middle Ages, wine grapes were grown across much of Southern England, often by monasteries, and some good wines were made. This is true, and during the 'medieval warm era' when the climate was warmer even than today, grapes were quite practical, but once that spell ended (circa 1250) grapes became much harder to grow anywhere in Britain, and quite impossible during the 'Little Ice Age' (circa 1550-1850), only becoming possible again in recent times -- and even now, it isn't easy to grow good wine grapes even in the southernmost counties of England. It was during the 'Little Ice Age', then, when local grape wine was impossible and imports were hugely expensive, that the real heyday of Country Wine making came.

Today, with astronomical taxation on commercially-made alcohol as well as a growing interest in all matters natural and environmental, there is something of a renaissance of Country Wine making (as well as other forms of home-made alcohol), as you can see from the sudden upsurge in the number of home-brew shops in recent years. As well as the obvious benefit that home-made wines are a fraction of the price of shop-bought ones, there are many other advantages and benefits to 'brewing your own'; it's an interesting hobby for all the family -- the kids will enjoy picking berries or wild fruit for the 'brew' and can even sample a little of the end-product if it's diluted with water to suit their age-group; home-made wine contains no artificial additives or preservatives; with the wide variety of materials to ferment, there is much more scope for interesting and unusual flavours than with grape wine; and, of course, it's always rewarding to be drinking the results of your own efforts!

The instructions on these pages are detailed, although an outright beginner might be well advised to read through one of the many books or booklets available that introduce the basics of home-brewing, or simply spend a few minutes chatting with an expert; almost all specialist home-brew shops are run by enthusiasts, and most are very willing to spend a few minutes advising a newcomer on how to proceed. So if you've never tried home-brewing before but can get a few minutes of an expert's time, probably all you need to do is show her or him the recipe that you want to make, and they can make sure you've got everything you need and are clear about what to do.

Equipment & Materials

Much of the equipment you need will already exist in most kitchens, especially if you have ever made jam -- a large pan or cauldron is vital, as is a means of finely straining fluids, such as a 'jelly bag' made of porous cloth such as fine nylon; some butter-muslin is also very handy for straining boiling-hot fluid -- just line an ordinary wire sieve with muslin and you've got a fine filter that will tolerate hot liquids. A large spoon is also essential for stirring the cauldron; a wooden one is suitable, although a polypropylene one is better because it's easier to sterilise and still OK with boiling liquids, which is essential. If you prepare your wine 'must' (the term for the stuff that you're going to ferment) in quantities suitable for two Demijohns at a time, generally a convenient amount to handle at one time, your main pan or cauldron should be able to boil up 9 litres of fluid comfortably. You will also need some food-safe plastic buckets, with close-fitting lids, that will take boiling water; these are commonly made of Polypropylene (PP); do not use PVC or Polyethylene (PE) as these are unsafe at boiling temperatures. You'll need at least one really big one, say 25 litres, for soaking fruit in boiling water, and at least one large (10 litre) one; a selection of smaller ones can also be handy, e.g. for soaking items in sterilising solution. A plastic or glass funnel is also essential; a thermometer is handy but not essential.

Much is said about what materials should and shouldn't be used for wine-making apparatus, and some of what is commonly said is bogus. The first essential is that everything must be able to be thoroughly sterilised; a variety of methods of sterilisation are described in the Hints and Tips below. Secondly, you will often hear it said that 'no metal must ever touch your wine'; this is not strictly true. Stainless steel is fine, and a large stainless steel cauldron is perfect for boiling up the 'must'. Copper is also traditionally used by some and has no adverse effects, though copper pans these days are hard to find and horribly expensive. Cast-iron is not a good idea, nor is aluminium. Old-fashioned enamelled cast-iron ware is OK so long as the enamel is totally intact, so the 'must' cannot touch the iron.

The only really specialised bits of equipment you need are as follows; all can be found in any home-brew shop or the brewing departments of many large stores, along with all the specialised consumables listed in the recipes (Yeast Compound, Pectin Lyase, Sodium Metabisulfite, etc.):

Demijohns: The traditional one-gallon (4.54 litre) glass fermentation vessels with a narrow neck to take a bung. You'll need one for each lot of wine fermented simultaneously (all the recipes given here make two Demijohns full, but can obviously be multiplied up for larger batches, or halved for a single Demijohn, if desired). Don't fill Demijohns totally full: just over 4 litres is a reasonable limit, otherwise any froth from fermentation will get up into the bubbler. Our recipes are calculated to take this into account. It's also wise to keep one totally spare Demijohn for 'racking' (see Hint H6 below). Recently, 'plastic Demijohns' with a square cross-section for optimum use of space have come into use: there is no reason to suspect that they give any different results to the traditional glass ones, but because they are made of a plastic that will not tolerate boiling temperatures, they can be difficult to clean and sterilise effectively, and for that reason we prefer the traditional glass type. Some people have lately claimed that glass Demijohns are no longer manufactured -- this is not true. However, you may find that demand for these outstrips supply, making them hard to find, during the peak wine-making time of year (August through October). You can often buy them second-hand at a fraction of the new price; see Hint H9 below for advice on deep-cleaning old Demijohns.
Bubblers (Fermentation Locks): During fermentation, each Demijohn is topped with one of these, containing a little sterile water. Working like a sink trap in reverse, the bubbler allows the CO₂ from fermentation to escape without allowing external air (which is not sterile!) in to contaminate the brew. Each bubbler is permanently mounted in a bung (with a hole in the centre!) sized to fit a Demijohn neck. In years gone by, bubblers were glass, but are now usually plastic. Some bubblers are supplied with bungs already fitted, with others you have to buy the bungs separately. These bungs should always be of synthetic rubber, never of cork. We advise you to avoid the 'mini' or 'compact' bubblers that consist of concentric tubes, because they cannot cope with a fast fermentation and 'overflow', breaking the airtight seal; the traditional-shaped ones, shaped like a letter S on its side, work a lot better. Sometimes, bubblers can be a very tight fit in their bungs (they do need to make an airtight fit) and inserting them too forcefully can split the bubbler open, causing a leak (with disastrous effects if not spotted!). Fitting a bubbler into a bung can be eased greatly with a smear of Vaseline.
Plain Bungs: You need as many plain bungs, also sized to fit a Demijohn, as bubblers: after fermentation is complete, replace the bubbler with a plain bung (without a hole) to seal in the wine while it matures. As with bubbler bungs, the plain bungs should be of synthetic rubber, never natural cork.
Bottles: Obviously, you'll eventually want to bottle your wine. You can buy these new, or you can re-use old wine bottles as long as they are undamaged and thoroughly cleaned and sterilised. Even screw-top bottles are OK as they virtually always have a smooth bore that will accept a cork. Hint H9 describes a useful method for cleaning and de-labelling bottles for re-use. It is even possible to use plastic drinks bottles to store finished wine, although these should probably be used only for wines that will be drunk young: for wines that are to be kept and aged, the seal of a plastic drinks bottle may not be secure enough to ensure that the wine does not deteriorate -- also, most plastics are very slightly porous (on a microscopic scale) and this again makes them a bad choice for long-term storage of wine. Glass bottles with good corks (see below) really are the best choice for wine that is to be kept.
Corks: Every bottle needs a cork! All too often, a good wine can be ruined by a bad cork: we have found so-called wine corks on sale in many places that are really quite unsuitable for corking wine and some that are so bad they would instantly ruin the wine! Because cork is a natural material of variable quality, many commercial, and some amateur, winemakers use non-cork closures, such as screw-tops and plastic stoppers. The following methods are available:
- Plastic Stoppers: Plastic stoppers are certainly marketed to amateur winemakers, and are very easy to use as well as re-usable, but they have two serious limitations: firstly, they do not tolerate variations in bottle neck diameter; in a recent sample of standard-size bottles used for commercially made wine sold in the UK, we found plastic stoppers would only fit about 50% of the bottles; therefore it is really only practical to use them with bottles specifically made to match them. Secondly, it is claimed (and seems plausible to us) that even well-fitted plastic stoppers do not give a reliable long-term seal and are therefore best used only for wines that will be drunk very soon after bottling. However, if you can be certain that your bottles are all perfectly sized for plastic stoppers and do not intend to keep your wine for long, they can provide a quick, simple and trouble-free closure which needs no special equipment to insert. They are also handy for temporarily re-sealing an opened bottle.
- Plastic-flanged Cork Stoppers: These are an attempt at a hybrid between plastic stoppers and real corks, and like plastic stoppers, they are easy to insert. But they suffer from just the same dimensional limitations as plastic stoppers: they won't properly fit a large proportion of the available bottles, unless you buy bottles specially made to match them. And like plastic stoppers, they probably don't give a reliable seal for long-term storage, though they may possibly be slightly better than plastic stoppers in this regard. They are a lot more expensive than either plastic stoppers or conventional corks, and because the sealing part is made from cork, it is questionable whether they can be re-used reliably. For all these reasons, we don't think they are worth considering.
- Raw Natural Corks: These are generally the cheapest, but also the least reliable and most trouble-prone closures. They consist simply of a cylinder cut from a plank of natural cork. They should have been sterilised and boiled by the manufacturer, though we have seen plenty that had not been properly treated, especially the cheapest sorts. They need to be soaked, usually in hot water, to soften them sufficiently to go into a bottle, and since they lack any surface coating, can be quite hard to pull out (we have actually broken a fancy "automatic" corkscrew trying to take one of these out!). The three biggest disadvantages of this type are firstly the relatively high risk of the cork contaminating the wine (much reduced by proper treatment by the manufacturer), secondly the risk that one of the natural pores or cracks will penetrate through the cork and cause it to leak slightly, which of course ruins the wine, and thirdly the fact that uncoated cork can be very absorbent, which can lead to the cork becoming "soggy" with wine and deteriorating, again spoiling the wine. Natural cork comes in different quality grades, but more often than not, raw natural corks are made of the poorest grades. We have even seen corks cut from trees infected with diseases, containing large cracks filled with fungus -- guaranteed to instantly ruin your wine!
- Coated Natural Corks: These are made in the same way as raw natural corks, and have some of the same potential problems. The only difference is that they are coated with a thin layer of wax or silicone, and may be "filled" with the same material (to block up small crevices). Thus they are easier to get in and out of bottles, generally don't require soaking, and are less likely to leak, go "soggy", or contaminate the wine. They are also more likely to be based on a better grade of cork than the raw type. Price tends to reflect quality: indifferent ones may cost little more than raw corks, whereas premium-quality ones (which generally perform very well and are still often used for high-quality commercial wines) can be fairly expensive.
- Composite Corks: Sometimes known as "technical" or "reconstituted" corks, these are made from compressed cork granules and a combined binder/sealant. Because they are composite, they do not have the pores or cracks that can be troublesome on cheaper grades of natural cork, and also have the advantages of the coating (as for coated natural corks), most being "no-soak" types. They are also usually very competitively priced, and for all these reasons are often the preferred choice of knowledgeable amateur winemakers. So long as they are well-made (not excessively "open" and porous) they seldom cause any problems. Composite corks of excellent technical quality can often be bought for little more than the cost of the cheapest, nastiest raw corks, because they are made from small pieces of cork instead of having to be cut whole from virgin planks of cork, and therefore make very efficient use of cork.
- Synthetic Corks: A recent innovation, these wholly-synthetic, extruded-polymer closures look rather like composite corks, but without their granular appearance. There has so far been no long-term experience of using these "corks", though it would be reasonable to expect their performance to equal or surpass that of the very best natural corks, and for this reason a number of high-end commercial winemakers are now using them. Being wholly synthetic, they have no pores or cracks and are totally leakproof; they also cannot leach contaminants into the wine. Naturally, they are a relatively expensive option, but can be expected to becone cheaper and more widely used in future. As yet, we have not found them on sale to amateurs, but we think they will probably find their way into the amateur market before long. They are of course "no-soak", and claim to be easier to insert than natural or composite corks.
It should also be noted that corks (natural or composite) can be obtained in both "straight sided" and "tapered" form. The tapered type have the advantage that they can be inserted by hand (no need for a corker), but produce a much less reliable seal than the straight-sided type, so they are only suitable for wines that are not to be kept for long. Straight-sided corks require a device known as a "corker" or "cork flogger" to insert them into bottles; this device temporarily compresses the cork to a small diameter so it can slide into the bottle neck, where it expands again and forms a tight seal. Corkers range from simple hand-operated devices costing a few pounds (which are OK for corking a few bottles if you're strong), through two-handed lever-operated types (much easier to use and cost ten to twenty pounds), right up to "industrial" floor-standing types for bulk production.
Corks should be clean and sterile before insertion into the bottle, particularly if the wine is preservative-free (as all ours are). Good quality corks are often supplied pre-sterilised, but if you are unsure, sterilise them with boiling water first. If the corks are the type that require soaking, sterilisation and soaking can be combined simply by using boiling water for the soak; for no-soak (coated) corks, a quick dip in boiling water is all that is necessary. We do not advise soaking corks in a chemical sterilising solution (unless they are the coated type, and are rinsed well afterwards), since this will otherwise lead to some of the solution getting into the pores of the cork and thence into the wine.
We generally favour good-quality, straight-sided, composite corks with a no-soak coating, inserted with a lever-operated corker. This gives a good reliable seal at a very reasonable cost, easy corking, and avoids the risk of defective natural corks.
Never, under any circumstances, re-use Natural or Composite corks! They will not make a good seal "second time around".
Cork Sealing Material (optional): It is advantageous to seal the cork to the bottle, ideally with a wax compound specially formulated for the purpose (candle wax is not suitable!). Corks seldom give a totally perfect seal even when freshly inserted, let alone after months or years in a wine cellar, and a good sealing compound can make all the difference between a wine that has improved with age and one that has been ruined. Many commercial wines, and increasingly many amateurs too, now use either foil or plastic sleeves to cover the cork; however, these methods are really only of aesthetic benefit -- they may look good, but they don't give an airtight seal to protect the wine. For this reason, we are of the opinion that a properly-formulated wax seal is vital on wines that are to be kept, and highly desirable on all wines; to answer this need for the home winemaker at an economical price, we have developed Dawnmist WineWax, and we seal all wines we make with it. Follow the link below to learn more about the benefits of using a sealing compound as well as specific details of Dawnmist WineWax:
Read about the need to seal corks and Dawnmist WineWax...

Method & Philosophy

All our wine recipes use a 'boiling water' method in which everything to be fermented gets boiled and therefore sterilised, with a commercial yeast preparation being added to do the fermenting. Some older recipes for wine don't sterilise everything and many don't add yeast, relying on the natural, wild yeast that can be found on most fruits; we don't like this method for various reasons: firstly, with unsterilised materials there really is no telling what else you'll grow as well as yeast, and you risk growing something nasty; furthermore, with the no-added-yeast recipes you can't even wash the fruit (it would remove the natural yeast!), so you could be adding all sorts of pollutants to your brew, and also the 'wild' yeasts often give an unreliable fermentation, poor taste and low alcohol content. The 'boiling water' method avoids all these possible problems, and is very easy in a modern kitchen.

The fermentation process is temperature-dependent, and for good results conditions should be neither too hot nor too cold, nor should there be wide fluctuations in temperature. You will probably be able to find a suitable location in most houses, but avoid attics, garages and sheds because they can cause trouble with temperature swings. Most of the modern yeasts used by home wine-makers require relatively warm conditions; many will not work well below around 20°C and "stuck fermentations" can result. On the other hand, the temperature must not be too high either: higher than around 35°C is liable to kill the yeast. Therefore it is vital to give some thought to ensuring that your fermentations are kept at a suitable temperature. Most of the modern yeasts work best at around 25°C, and so for best results and rapid fermentation, many winemakers use some form of thermostat-controlled heater to maintain the optimum temperature. A range of heaters are marketed specifically for wine-making; most good home-brew suppliers will sell these, designed to keep one or several demijohns at the proper temperature. Here at Dawnmist, we use a purpose-built "warm cupboard" which is well-insulated and held at precisely 25°C by an electronic controller, and which can hold up to 24 demijohns at a time; this is the best solution for "serious" home wine makers who wish to have a large number of demijohns "on the go" at once.

If you wish to avoid the cost of some sort of heating device, for example if you're just starting out with home brewing and don't want to invest a lot of money, there are a number of alternatives. During summer, many if not most parts of the average house will always remain warm enough, but unfortunately most home wine-making is done in the autumn and winter, simply because of the availability of fruit to make wine from. If you're making wine during the colder parts of the year, you'll need to find somewhere that remains suitably warm all the time; even with central heating, most locations in the average house probably won't be consistently warm enough to avoid the risks of slow or "stuck" fermentations. If you have an airing cupboard built around your hot water tank, this may well be an ideal location, so long as it is consistently warm. Or there may be a constantly-warm area in your kitchen, perhaps near the boiler. But be careful that any such warm area doesn't get too hot.

Once a wine has totally finished fermenting, and probably after it has been 'racked', it is left to clear and mature. At this stage it does not need to be kept warm, and in fact the process of clearing and maturing generally proceeds rather better in cool conditions; we transfer our wines at this stage to the wine cellar, where they can clear and mature undisturbed in the cool. But do be sure that the fermentation has really finished and isn't simply "stuck" for some reason.

The fermentation process does not require light (it will happen just fine in darkness) but it is not, contrary to some claims, impaired by light. Direct sunlight might raise the temperature too much, but the light itself is not a problem -- although prolonged direct sunlight might conceivably cause partial 'bleaching' of the colour of some red wines.

We adopt a scientific approach to wine-making: most of our recipes were originated by 'meta-analysis' of several traditional recipes for a given type of wine, with the best features of each original version translated into the final recipe, as well as being refined by experimentation. Many of our recipes also use modern innovations such as Pectin Lyase; this is a natural substance that 'digests' the pectin (soluble fibre) in fruit, converting it to sugars, which both releases more of the natural 'goodness' and flavour of the fruit and also prevents pectin getting into the brew, where it can cause problems, namely either a wine that won't clear or an unacceptably high methanol content. You will also find some interesting snippets of wine-making science below.

Despite our "scientific" orientation, we believe strongly in natural wine-making, particularly with regard to artificial additives. Our pet bugbear is sulfites added to wines (usually in the form of Campden Tablets or Sodium/Potassium Metabisulfite). Most commercial wine producers add sulfites to their wines as preservatives and clearing agents, and unfortunately, many amateur wine makers do the same. Sulfites are known to be detrimental to health, particularly to asthmatics, and seem also to be one of the major contributors to the hangovers experienced after drinking low-quality wines. There is absolutely no need to use artificial preservatives (after all, wines were made for millennia without them, and alcohol is a natural preservative), and as long as you use the "boiling water method", are scrupulous with hygiene and sterilisation, and cork your wines carefully, home-made wines will keep very well without any need for preservatives. You will see in our Hints and Tips below that we do use sulfites purely for sterilising utensils that can't be boiled, and they are indeed good for this, but we always rinse the solution off well before the utensils come into contact with any wine ingredients! Our recipes do use certain "additives" (citric acid, pectin lyase, yeast nutrients etc), but it must be emphasised that these are all entirely natural substances that are found in fruit, or in the case of pectin lyase, in organisms naturally found on fruit. If your wines are "put together" correctly and you are patient, you should not need to resort to artificial additives to get wines to clear -- the only clearing agent (or "finings" as they are called) used in any of our recipes is bentonite, a wholly natural clay mineral that is contained, in tiny but sufficient amount, in the Yeast Compound that we recommend for our recipes. Even though bentonite is totally harmless (it's used in medications and beauty products!) it doesn't end up in the finished wine anyway, since having done its job of "flocculating" the dead yeast cells, it drops to the bottom of the fermentation jar and is discarded along with the rest of the sediment (or "lees").

Another 'trick' that we use if a wine is slow to clear (as long as all fermentation has finished!) is fine filtration: directly removing even the finest suspended solids from the wine by running it through a very fine filter material. Since we have access to a chemistry lab, we use fine glassfibre filter membranes under partial vacuum, which work extremely well, and fast too. Even if you don't have access to such fancy equipment, you can buy filter kits made for home wine-making which should work adequately, though much slower than proper vacuum filtration. If you do happen to try vacuum filtration, never put wine under full vacuum, otherwise the alcohol will boil, even at room temperature! We never use a vacuum of deeper than half an atmosphere (-500 mbar); this is more than enough to get quick filtration and runs no risk of boiling. We find that doing the final, finest, filtration under rather gentler suction (-120 mbar) gives the optimum removal of the finest particles and will still filter a whole Demijohn of wine in a minute or two.

By following our recipes and methods, you'll benefit from the scientific development that we've done as well as the latest technical innovations in home wine-making and considerable practical experience, as well as being secure in the knowledge that you are using only natural ingredients. You should also end up with a lot of very pleasant wine, and we hope too that you'll enjoy the making as much as we do!

Hints And Tips

H1.	Cleanliness is vital! Anything that is not going to be boiled before going on to the fermentation stage must be sterile.
H2.	A good microbicidal soak can be made with 20 Campden tablets (or 10 grams of sodium metabisulfite, which is the same thing in powder form), plus a pinch of citric acid, in 2.5 litres of water (use a little boiling water to help it dissolve, then make up to 2.5 litres with cold). Once cool, this solution can be used to sterilise most equipment, even filter bags. Always rinse the solution off so that it can't get into your wine: boiling water is ideal for things that can tolerate it (but not glass!); use boiled-and-cooled water for things that cannot tolerate boiling temperatures.
H3.	Boiling water can be used only to sterilise things that can tolerate the heat and have a low thermal mass -- bungs, for example. Not anything made of glass (danger of thermal shock cracking), or large metal objects (too much heat loss). See Hint H7 for sterilising Demijohns and other glassware.
H4.	To ensure bubblers (fermentation locks) are sterile, first soak them (complete with bungs) in the above Campden solution (see Hint H2) for an hour, being careful to ensure they are totally full of solution (no air bubbles trapped inside -- a simple way to make sure is to immerse the bubbler in the solution, then squirt a large syringe full of solution into the top of the bubbler, expelling any air). After soaking, shake out all solution and rinse through well with boiled-and-cooled water. Shake out all rinse water, then fill (no more than half full) with boiled-and-cooled water. Never use boiling water on bubblers -- the heat damages them!
H5.	Don't fill bubblers more than half full: then if a suck-back should occur, at least the water in the bubbler can't get into the brew. Likewise, if the fermentation gets a bit 'excitable', the bubbler is unlikely to overflow.
H6.	Always replace bubblers with plain bungs as soon as all fermentation has finished, in order to avoid risk of suck-back and contamination. The fermentation process always produces a sediment, consisting mainly of yeast that has done its life's work and died, plus a few insoluble by-products; if at this point the wine has already dropped significant sediment, it is preferable to 'rack' it off into a clean, sterile Demijohn so as to eliminate the sediment; in certain cases, leaving a sediment in prolonged contact with the maturing wine can produce 'off' flavours. Some wines that throw off a lot of sediment can benefit from being re-racked several times during the clearing and maturation process -- if in doubt, get rid of the sediment! Racking simply means transferring the wine to a fresh container (Demijohn), leaving the sediment behind -- best performed by syphoning through clean, sterile clear PVC tubing, taking the utmost care not to disturb the sediment. A simple way to start a syphon is to use a sterile syringe to suck wine into the tubing; don't use your mouth as it probably isn't very sterile!
H7.	Demijohns, bottles and other glassware can best be sterilised, once clean, by heating in the oven to 150°C for 30 minutes, then allowing them to cool slowly to room temperature before being filled.
H8.	In winemaking, it is often necessary to measure large volumes of water or 'must'. To make this simple, it's worth 'calibrating' a suitable sized plastic bucket by marking levels (e.g. 1, 2, 3... litres) on the outside with indelible pen. Some buckets do have approximate capacity scales moulded into them, but these are often not accurate, so calibrating a bucket yourself is worthwhile. The easiest way to calibrate for volume is using water and accurate (preferably digital) kitchen scales: one litre of water at room temperature weighs precisely one kilogram (but do be aware that this weight-volume equivalence only works for water -- so to measure how many litres of 'must' you've got, you must use your calibration marks, not try to weigh the 'must'!).
H9.	"Dawnmist ZapItClean" is a two-stage chemical treatment designed to remove stubborn residues, especially organic, in Demijohns, bubblers, bottles etc. It will also dissolve most of the types of glue used to attach labels to commercial wine bottles and is therefore valuable when re-using bottles. To clean an item, first soak it for a time (typically overnight, but can be shorter or longer according to dirtiness of item) in Solution A. This can be used hot for quicker results, but do not exceed the temperature limits of the item being cleaned. Following this soak, pour away Solution A (it can often be used more than once if items are not excessively dirty), rinse item lightly with water, then rinse well with Solution B (no need to soak, no need to be hot). Finally rinse very thoroughly with water, followed by sterilisation in the normal way. This preparation is suitable for use on glass and most types of rigid plastic (such as the PE, PP, PET or PVC often used for plastic bubblers) as well as PVC tubing and synthetic rubber bungs, but must not be used on Nylon (polyamide), Polyester, nor on any type of metal. Use on natural rubber (now seldom used) is not recommended. Very stubborn deposits can benefit from agitation at the end of the soak period, either with a brush (but be sure it is not nylon!) or by partially emptying the item and then shaking vigorously. The very toughest label adhesives may need a little rubbing with wire-wool to remove the last traces. Anything that remains during or after the use of Solution B can be scrubbed with almost any type of brush, including nylon -- even the most stubborn deposits should brush off easily at this stage -- but do not use metal items (other than stainless steel) with Solution B. The full-strength solution is very potent, and for all but the dirtiest equipment it can usually be diluted to half- or even quarter-strength. In the most extreme cases, such as Demijohns that have been left in a forest for twenty years and are thickly encrusted with unspecified organic gunk(!), two applications of ZapItClean can be used. Safety Warning: Solution A is harmful to human tissue; wear rubber gloves when handling, and if any skin contact occurs, flush with copious water. If there is any risk of splashing, we also advise eye protection (goggles). Solution B can be irritating to skin, so again rubber gloves are recommended.
	Dawnmist ZapItClean will be available for you to buy in Spring 2012 -- watch this space for the link, or email us and we'll contact you as soon as it's available!

Some Science...

S1.

How much does the volume of 'must' reduce during the process of fermentation? (Provided you use a bubbler, so the only water lost is that which comes off as vapour within the carbon dioxide that bubbles off)... 6.7 ml for every 1kg of sugar converted to alcohol (at a fermentation temperature of 20°C). This is so small that for most purposes you can assume that fermentation doesn't change the volume.

S2.

To determine % alcohol (%ABV v/v) of a finished wine (Method I): this can be found from the weight lost (by evolution of carbon dioxide) during fermentation, provided that a bubbler is used so that evaporative loss is limited to the water vapour carried away by the evolved carbon dioxide; this equation assumes fermentation takes place at a constant 20°C, though a variation in temperature of ±5°C would result in an error margin of no more than 0.33%, or ±0.05 %ABV on a 15% ABV wine.

	Where	V_f = (final) volume of brew in Litres,
		D_m = weight lost during fermentation in Grams;

%ABV = D_m / (7.62 V_f)

S3.

To determine % alcohol (%ABV v/v) of a finished wine (Method II): this can be found from the change in specific gravity (SG) during fermentation. To use this method, you need to use a hydrometer to measure the SG of the must, prior to fermentaion, termed the Original Gravity or OG. You can then re-measure the SG at any point during or after fermentation to obtain the current alcohol content. The %ABV is given very simply, by multiplying the difference between the OG and current (or final) SG by 132.7. As with Method I above (Note S2), this method is an approximation but gives good accuracy provided that a bubbler is used (thus avoiding loss by evaporation) and provided that the SG measurements are made close to the temperature for which the hydrometer is calibrated, usually 20°C -- and, of course, provided the hydrometer is accurate!

S4.

To determine maximum theoretical alcohol yield of a recipe (ignoring limits imposed by yeast) from initial sugar content; for accuracy, sugar figure should include sugars from fruit etc as well as added sugar.

	Where	V_i = (initial) volume of 'must' in Litres,
		M_s = total available sugar, as sucrose, in kg;

%Max = 68.1 M_s / V_i

S5.

How sweet or dry will my wine be? First, determine theoretical alcohol yield ( %Max) per Note S4 above. Take the ratio of the yeast's %alc limit to %Max; this will be the fraction of the sugar actually converted, the rest remaining to sweeten the wine. So, for example, a recipe with a %Max of 20% made with a yeast with a 15% limit will convert three-quarters (15÷20) of the sugar, thus leaving a quarter unchanged -- a fairly sweet wine. If all the sugar is converted, the wine will be very dry. It follows from this that if a recipe, as written, produces a result that is too sweet for your tastes, you can 'adjust' it to produce a drier wine by reducing the amount of sugar added to the must; typically, reducing the sugar by 20-25% will make a sweet wine fairly to very dry; a smaller reduction will of course give a medium wine.

S6.

Correct use of Pectin Lyase (see also Note G4 below): this can be added to the fruit during the soaking/extraction phase to maximise the extraction of flavour, sugars and general 'goodness' from the fruit, as well as to prevent "pectin haze" in the finished wine -- but it must be used properly and safely. It is a natural protein enzyme derived from a fungus of the genus Aspergillus, and as such is destroyed by heat -- any temperature over about 40°C may harm it, and it is destroyed by boiling. Therefore there is no point in adding it to the fruit until it has cooled down below 35°C since it will simply be destroyed. Conversely, once it has done its job, the fruit extract must be boiled to destroy the enzyme before the wine is fermented; we have seen several recipes online that fail to include this step and therefore produce a wine that risks causing a stomach upset in sensitive individuals. Despite being natural, in its concentrated form it is also a potential skin irritant and allergen and needs to be handled with due regard for this: if you get it on your skin, wash it off at once. Pectin Lyase should always be dissolved in a small amount of sterile (boiled-and-cooled) water before being added to the soaking fruit. There is little point in using Pectin Lyase with non-fruit materials (e.g. leaves, flowers) since their structure is not heavily pectin-based. The type of Pectin Lyase used in wine-making needs acidic conditions to function efficiently; most fruits contain enough natural acid for this, but in a few cases (e.g. rosehips), adding a small amount of acid (usually citric) to lower the pH slightly is beneficial. You will see that our recipes include specific directions for correct use of Pectin Lyase when it is appropriate to that recipe. Finally, be aware that Pectin Lyase may attack certain natural textiles.

S7.

Beware of pseudo-science! In our researches, we have come across some spectacular cases of totally bogus but 'scientific'-sounding statements in websites and even books on wine-making; don't forget that the vast majority of home wine-makers aren't scientists, so don't take their 'scientific' claims on trust without checking them. One of the most egregious pieces of pseudo-science we've seen is in a seemingly-authoritative book and has been repeated extensively elsewhere; it concerns the 'malo-lactic ferment' or MLF. The book asserts that MLF is a process that causes wine that has long ago finished fermenting to spring back into 'life' when the bush or tree from which the fruit came comes into flower! This is, of course, totally wrong and also biologically impossible: any apparent bubbling of fermentation locks on long-finished wine in springtime is due to nothing more mysterious than simple thermal expansion as the ambient temperature rises. In reality, malo-lactic fermentation cannot be performed by yeast at all -- it requires the addition of a bacterial culture (usually Oenococcus species) to the wine after the yeast-based (ethanol) fermentation is complete, and is generally only induced in certain grape wines that would otherwise taste too 'sharp' due to excessive malic acid, though in some non-boiled recipes it is just about possible that 'wild' malo-lactic bacteria could be inadvertently introduced into home-made wines (along, of course, with a sizeable risk of introducing harmful bacteria, which is why we always use boiled recipes). It is otherwise of no relevance to the home maker of Country Wines -- and the whole idea of a 'mystical' connection between the tree flowering and the wine from its fruit is just plain daft!

General Notes About The Recipes

G1.	All our recipes make an appropriate amount for two Demijohns.
G2.	"Yeast Compound" means a ready-to-use preparation of wine yeast with trace nutrients/vitamins, e.g. Young's "Super Wine Yeast Compound".
G3.	"Yeast Nutrient" means a commercially-available preparation of ammonium phosphate and ammonium sulfate, e.g. Young's "Yeast Nutrient".
G4.	"Pectin Lyase" (or Pectolase) means an acid-stable pectin lyase sold commercially for wine-making; do not attempt to use the type sold for textile processing! See also Note S6 above.

Part II: Dawnmist's Wine Recipes

Oak Leaf Wine

This unusual recipe produces a surprisingly delicious wine that tastes remarkably like a sweet sherry, when made with leaves picked in early Autumn. A quite different, but equally delicious, wine can be made from the same recipe but using the fresh new leaves picked in early Spring.

	Requires:	Oak Leaves (See Step 1, and Note A below)
		One Large Lemon (or 2 small)
		2.8kg Granulated Sugar
		12g Yeast Compound (See Note G2 above)

Pick enough leaves to fill a 5 litre bucket when loosely packed.
Rinse leaves well, discard any with rot, diseases or parasites, and coarsely chop with scissors or knife. Stems need not be removed.
Boil up 7 litres of water in cauldron.
Pour boiling water over leaves in plastic bin, cover.
Leave to soak for 24 to 48 hours. Occasional stirring is helpful.
Strain with cloth bag, discard solids. Transfer liquid to cauldron.
Add juice and sliced (or grated) peel of one large (or two small) lemon(s) -- but not the pith!. It doesn't matter if some flesh from the lemon(s) goes in the mix.
Bring to boil, then simmer (quite vigorously) for 20 minutes.
Strain with butter-muslin, just to remove (and discard) bits of lemon. Be careful with synthetic fabrics, some don't tolerate boiling liquid -- if in doubt, use cotton.
Bring back to boil and stir for a few seconds (just to ensure sterility), then remove from heat.
Slowly stir in (and dissolve) 2.8kg granulated sugar.
From now on, care must be taken with sterility.
Let cool till no warmer than 35°C.
Sprinkle on 12g of Yeast Compound, but do not stir in.
Leave for at least 20 minutes, then stir in thoroughly.
Divide equally between sterile Demijohns; be careful to divide any 'sediment' (from the Yeast Compound) equally.
Fit sterile fermentation locks (bubblers), loaded with boiled-and-cooled (sterile) water, and leave to ferment. Never fill bubblers more than half-full to avoid suck-back risk.
When all fermentation has finished, replace fermentation locks with bungs and leave wine to clear. If there is already a heavy sediment at this stage, 'racking' into a clean Demijohn (to eliminate sediment) before leaving to clear is best.
When totally clear, syphon carefully into sterile bottles, being careful not to disturb sediment.
Leave to 'age': although this wine can be drunk as soon as it is fully cleared, it's best to wait till at least a year after picking the leaves to let the full flavour develop. It tastes even better if kept for longer!
Enjoy!

Note A: Leaves are normally picked in September when mature but not yet changing colour, though leaves at any stage of the life cycle can be tried if you wish to experiment with different flavours. Some old versions of the recipe even use withered, reddened (but not dried-out) leaves picked in October/November. As a rough guide, the older the leaves are, the higher will be their tannin content, which contributes a tartness to the wine. Traditionally, leaves from the English oak, Quercus Robur, are used for this recipe; in principle, leaves from other Quercus species (such as the Turkey Oak, Quercus Cerris, which was introduced into Britain a few hundred years ago as a source of faster-growing wood than the English Oak) ought to be usable too, but are likely to produce quite different flavours -- so if you plan to use other species than English Oak, we suggest you try a small batch first in case you don't like the taste!

Hawthorn and Citrus Wine

Another unusual recipe, this produces a wine with a unique taste, quite unlike grape wines or even 'conventional' fruit wines. Hawthorn berries can be found growing wild throughout the UK and most of Europe, so the main ingredient costs nothing! In this recipe, we add a small amount of citrus fruit, which contributes a 'tangy' taste that nicely balances the unusual flavour of the hawthorn berries.

	Requires:	1.4 kg Hawthorn berries
		3 Oranges
		1 Lemon (large)
		2.2kg Granulated Sugar
		4g Pectin Lyase (See Note G4 above)
		12g Yeast Compound (See Note G2 above)

Ensure berries are free from bits of stem and rinsed clean. If using frozen berries, defrost thoroughly before starting.
Place berries in plastic bin and bruise or crush them -- an empty Demijohn makes a good 'rammer' for this!
Boil up 7 litres of water in cauldron.
Pour boiling water over berries in plastic bin, stir and cover with a close-fitting lid.
After a while, the berries will absorb water and sink. Any 'bad' berries, small bits of leaf etc. will stay floating. These can easily be skimmed off with a strainer and discarded.
Leave to cool to no warmer than 35°C stirring occasionally.
Dissolve 4g Pectin Lyase in a small amount (100-200ml) of tepid water -- not warmer than 35°C -- then add to berries and stir in.
Leave to soak for 2 days (in total since adding boiling water), stirring occasionally.
Strain with cloth bag, gently squeezing to extract juice. Discard solids.
Let stand at least another 4 hours, stirring occasionally, to ensure all pectin is hydrolysed, then transfer liquid to cauldron.
Add juice and sliced (or grated) peel of three oranges and one large (or two small) lemon(s) (not the pith!). It doesn't matter if some flesh from these goes in the mix.
Bring to boil, then simmer (quite vigorously) for 20 minutes.
Strain through butter-muslin (to remove citrus peel and any bits of citrus flesh). Be careful with synthetic fabrics, some don't tolerate boiling liquid -- if in doubt, use cotton.
Return liquid to cauldron and bring back to boil momentarily.
Remove from heat and slowly dissolve in 2.2kg granulated sugar.
From now on, care must be taken with sterility.
Let cool till no warmer than 35°C stirring occasionally.
Sprinkle on 12g of Yeast Compound, but do not stir in.
Leave for at least 20 minutes, then stir in thoroughly.
Divide equally between sterile Demijohns; be careful to divide any 'sediment' (from the Yeast Compound) equally.
Fit sterile fermentation locks (bubblers), loaded with boiled-and-cooled (sterile) water, and leave to ferment. Never fill bubblers more than half-full to avoid suck-back risk.
When all fermentation has finished, replace fermentation locks with bungs and leave wine to clear. If there is already a heavy sediment at this stage, 'racking' into a clean Demijohn (to eliminate sediment) before leaving to clear is best.
When totally clear, syphon carefully into sterile bottles, being careful not to disturb sediment.
Leave to 'age' -- this wine needs time for its flavour to develop. It's best to wait till at least a year after starting the process; after two years it should taste even better.
Enjoy!

Sloe Wine

A more conventional fruit wine, but again one where the main ingredient costs nothing -- sloe berries grow wild all over the UK and most of Europe, often in hedgerows. The Sloe bush is also known as Blackthorn, and is very prickly, so be careful when picking berries! Because of its thick, prickly nature and fast growth, Blackthorn is very commonly used to make hedgerows that are impenetrable to livestock; therefore it's very common in farming areas. Sloe wine can be a little "sloe" (groan!) to clear, so be patient when making this one; it's very tasty though, so it's worth the wait!

	Requires:	2.2 kg Sloeberries
		2.4kg Granulated Sugar
		6g Pectin Lyase (See Note G4 above)
		12g Yeast Compound (See Note G2 above)

Ensure fruit is free from bits of stem and rinsed clean. If using frozen fruit, defrost thoroughly before starting.
Place fruit in plastic bin and crush well -- an empty Demijohn makes a good 'rammer' for this! Sloes require a particularly vigorous effort to crush because of their large pips.
Boil up 6.5 litres of water in cauldron.
Pour boiling water over fruit in plastic bin, stir and cover with a close-fitting lid.
Leave to cool to no warmer than 35°C stirring occasionally.
Dissolve 6g Pectin Lyase in a small amount (100-200ml) of tepid water -- not warmer than 35°C -- then add to fruit and stir in.
Leave to soak for 2 days (in total since adding boiling water), stirring occasionally.
Strain with cloth bag, gently squeezing to extract juice. Discard solids.
Let stand at least another 4 hours, stirring occasionally, to ensure all pectin is hydrolysed, then transfer liquid to cauldron.
Bring to boil, then simmer (quite vigorously) for 10 minutes. You will probably see some 'floating skuzz' appear; don't worry.
Strain through butter-muslin (to remove skuzz). Be careful with synthetic fabrics, some don't tolerate boiling liquid -- if in doubt, use cotton.
Return liquid to cauldron and bring back to boil momentarily.
Remove from heat and slowly dissolve in 2.4kg granulated sugar.
From now on, care must be taken with sterility.
Let cool till no warmer than 35°C stirring occasionally.
Sprinkle on 12g of Yeast Compound, but do not stir in.
Leave for at least 20 minutes, then stir in thoroughly.
Divide equally between sterile Demijohns; be careful to divide any 'sediment' (from the Yeast Compound) equally.
Fit sterile fermentation locks (bubblers), loaded with boiled-and-cooled (sterile) water, and leave to ferment. Never fill bubblers more than half-full to avoid suck-back risk.
When all fermentation has finished, replace fermentation locks with bungs and leave wine to clear. If there is already a heavy sediment at this stage, 'racking' into a clean Demijohn (to eliminate sediment) before leaving to clear is best.
When totally clear, syphon carefully into sterile bottles, being careful not to disturb sediment.
Leave to 'age' if desired -- sloe wine can be drunk as soon as it has fully cleared, though like any wine the flavour will generally improve with age.
Enjoy!

Apple Wine

Apple Wine is not the same as Cider -- the method of making is totally different, and the result is a true wine, with a subtle, delicate taste; very different indeed to cider! But despite the delicate flavour, apple wine can be a lot stronger than most ciders -- we've managed to get 17% alcohol with this recipe, depending upon the type of apples used! Another interesting observation is that many people who can't drink cider because it "doesn't agree with them" can drink apple wine. Apple wine can be slow to clear, so be patient!

	Requires:	4.2 kg Eating Apples (See Notes E,F below)
		2.2 to 2.8kg Granulated Sugar (See Note K below)
		6g Pectin Lyase (See Note G4 above)
		4g Citric Acid
		12g Yeast Compound (See Note G2 above)

Ensure apples are free from bits of stem and leaf, and rinse well. There is no need to peel them.
Slice or chop apples up small, discard any rotten or bug-infested pieces, and place in large plastic bin.
Boil up 7 litres of water in cauldron.
Pour boiling water over fruit in plastic bin, stir and cover with a close-fitting lid.
Leave to cool to no warmer than 35°C stirring occasionally.
Dissolve 6g Pectin Lyase in a small amount (100-200ml) of tepid water -- not warmer than 35°C -- then add to fruit and stir in.
Leave to soak for 2 days (in total since adding boiling water), stirring occasionally.
Strain through cloth bag; when all free fluid has run through, discard solids.
Let stand at least another 4 hours, stirring occasionally, to ensure all pectin is hydrolysed, then transfer liquid to cauldron.
Bring to boil, then simmer (quite vigorously) for 15 minutes. You may see a small amount of 'floating skuzz' appear; if so, don't worry.
Strain through butter-muslin (to remove skuzz and sediment). Be careful with synthetic fabrics, some don't tolerate boiling liquid -- if in doubt, use cotton.
Return liquid to cauldron and bring back to boil momentarily.
Remove from heat and slowly dissolve in the chosen amount of sugar (see Note K below) and 4g citric acid.
From now on, care must be taken with sterility.
Let cool till no warmer than 35°C stirring occasionally.
Sprinkle on 12g of Yeast Compound, but do not stir in.
Leave for at least 20 minutes, then stir in thoroughly.
Divide equally between sterile Demijohns; be careful to divide any 'sediment' (from the Yeast Compound) equally.
Fit sterile fermentation locks (bubblers), loaded with boiled-and-cooled (sterile) water, and leave to ferment. Never fill bubblers more than half-full to avoid suck-back risk.
When all fermentation has finished, replace fermentation locks with bungs and leave wine to clear. If there is already a heavy sediment at this stage, 'racking' into a clean Demijohn (to eliminate sediment) before leaving to clear is best.
When totally clear, syphon carefully into sterile bottles, being careful not to disturb sediment.
Leave to 'age' if desired -- because of its relatively slow clearing, it's likely that the wine will have already matured pretty well by the time it has cleared, but most wines will improve in flavour if kept.
Enjoy!

Note E: The apples used should be ripe and an eating (not cooking or cider) variety but need not be unblemished 'table quality' fruit. Apples with 'grotty bits', even areas of rot or bug infestation, can still be used if the affected parts are discarded.

Note F: It can be very rewarding to experiment with different varieties of apples, especially some of the 'old-fashioned' varieties which often have richer flavours, though smaller fruit, than modern cultivars. Fruit size and appearance is of course irrelevant for wine, and many of the old apple varieties make excellent wines; Bridgwater Pippin and Cockle Pippin are two of the best we've tried.

Note K: Since apples vary greatly in their sugar content, we have specified a range of weights of sugar to use in this recipe rather than a fixed amount; choose your actual amount of sugar according to how sweet your apples are as well as how sweet you want the wine to be. So, if you use the full 2.8 kg of sugar with sweet apples, you'll get a very sweet wine -- with sweet apples, it's probably better to use less sugar, say 2.4 kg, or even 2.2 kg if you like a less-sweet wine. With less-sweet apples, you might want to use, say, 2.6 kg or even the full 2.8 kg.

Rosehip Wine

Another unusual recipe, and another in which the main ingredient can easily be found growing wild -- traditionally, the hips (fruit) of the wild dog-rose are used for this recipe. Rosehip wine has an unusual, delicate flavour, and can be surprisingly strong!

	Requires:	2.8 kg Rosehips (See Note J below)
		12g Citric Acid
		2.2kg Granulated Sugar
		8g Pectin Lyase (See Note G4 above)
		6g Yeast Nutrient (See Note G3 above)
		12g Yeast Compound (See Note G2 above)

Ensure rosehips are free from bits of stem and dead flowers ('top and tail') and rinsed clean.
Place rosehips in a plastic bag and freeze them in a domestic freezer (this is necessary to break down the tough structure of rosehips).
Leave rosehips frozen at least overnight and then defrost thoroughly at room temperature.
Mince rosehips well but without breaking pips (otherwise they will cause a bitter flavour). This is best done using a food-processor with a plastic mixing blade -- not a sharp 'chopping' blade as this will break the pips open. Then place rosehips in large plastic bin.
Boil up 7 litres of water in cauldron.
Pour boiling water over rosehips in plastic bin, stir and cover with a close-fitting lid.
Leave to cool to no warmer than 35°C stirring occasionally.
Dissolve 8g Pectin Lyase and 12g Citric Acid in a small amount (100-200ml) of tepid water -- not warmer than 35°C -- then add to rosehips and stir in.
Leave to soak for 2 days (in total since adding boiling water), stirring occasionally.
Strain with cloth bag, gently squeezing to extract juice. Discard solids. Do not worry that most of the red colour stays behind in the solids: rosehips are unusual in that their red colour is not readily extractable, and finished rosehip wine is generally yellow to amber in colour.
Let stand at least another 4 hours, stirring occasionally, to ensure all pectin is hydrolysed, then transfer liquid to cauldron.
Bring to boil, then simmer (quite vigorously) for 20 minutes. You will see that some of the red-coloured particles in suspension will coagulate (flocculate) into suspended 'skuzz'; don't worry, this is another natural oddity of rosehips.
Strain through butter-muslin (to remove the skuzz); if a lot of liquid remains held in the skuzz, it's OK to squeeze the muslin very gently. Be careful with synthetic fabrics, some don't tolerate boiling liquid -- if in doubt, use cotton.
Return liquid to cauldron and bring back to boil momentarily.
Remove from heat and slowly dissolve in 2.2kg granulated sugar.
From now on, care must be taken with sterility.
Let cool to below 60°C stirring periodically.
Stir in (and ensure dissolved) 6g Yeast Nutrient.
Let cool till no warmer than 35°C stirring occasionally.
Sprinkle on 12g of Yeast Compound, but do not stir in.
Leave for at least 20 minutes, then stir in thoroughly.
Divide equally between sterile Demijohns; be careful to divide any 'sediment' (from the Yeast Compound) equally.
Fit sterile fermentation locks (bubblers), loaded with boiled-and-cooled (sterile) water, and leave to ferment. Never fill bubblers more than half-full to avoid suck-back risk.
When all fermentation has finished, replace fermentation locks with bungs and leave wine to clear. If there is already a heavy sediment at this stage, 'racking' into a clean Demijohn (to eliminate sediment) before leaving to clear is best.
When totally clear, syphon carefully into sterile bottles, being careful not to disturb sediment.
Leave to 'age': it's best to wait till at least a year after starting the process; two years would be even better. This wine has an unusual, delicate flavour that should improve when aged.
Enjoy!

Note J: Traditionally, rosehip wine is made from the hips of the wild dog-rose, but hips from cultivated roses should also be suitable. Rosehips are edible raw, so you can easily taste any variety of hips to get an idea of what they will bring to a wine. It can be interesting to blend different types of rosehips and experiment with flavours.

Natalie's Sweet Mead

Mead is a very ancient drink, with a history going back thousands of years. This easy recipe produces a very pleasant (and rather strong!) sweet mead, which is quick both to ferment and to clear.

	Requires:	2.7kg Unset Honey (See Notes B,C below)
		400g Granulated Sugar
		12g Yeast Compound (See Note G2 above)
		10g Yeast Nutrient (See Note G3 above)
		2g Tartaric Acid
		2g Citric Acid

Place 6 litres of water in cauldron and begin heating.
Stir in 2g Tartaric Acid and 2g Citric Acid and ensure dissolved.
Pour in honey and stir in well.
When close to boiling, dissolve in 400g sugar, stirring well.
Keep stirring periodically until boiling begins. Some froth will usually form on the surface, this is quite normal.
Boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, then remove from heat.
From now on, care must be taken with sterility.
If any froth (or floating 'skuzz') remains, skim it off and discard.
Let cool to below 60°C stirring periodically.
Stir in (and ensure dissolved) 10g Yeast Nutrient.
Let cool, again stirring periodically, till no warmer than 35°C.
Sprinkle on 12g of Yeast Compound, but do not stir in.
Leave for at least 40 minutes, then stir in thoroughly.
Divide equally between sterile Demijohns; be careful to divide any 'sediment' (from the Yeast Compound) equally.
Fit sterile fermentation locks (bubblers), loaded with boiled-and-cooled (sterile) water, and leave to ferment. Never fill bubblers more than half-full to avoid suck-back risk.
When all fermentation has finished, replace fermentation locks with bungs and leave wine to clear. If there is already a heavy sediment at this stage, 'racking' into a clean Demijohn (to eliminate sediment) before leaving to clear is best.
When totally clear, syphon carefully into sterile bottles, being careful not to disturb sediment.
Leave to 'age': although you can drink mead as soon as it's totally cleared, its flavour does improve considerably with a bit of aging. This recipe should taste really good if aged for six months (after fully clearing), but you may wish to try putting some aside for a year or more to really mature -- as a rule, all meads improve greatly with age.
Enjoy!

Note B: Different types of honey do, of course, produce different 'flavours' of Mead, and some experimentation may give interesting results. It is theoretically possible to use a set honey instead of the usual unset type, but this may be harder to dissolve into the water; with set honey it is probably advisable to replace about 300-400g of the honey with water since set honeys contain much less water than unset types.

Note C: It is possible to add some combination of herbs and/or spices to the 'must' (in between Steps 4 and 5); strictly speaking, the result then is a Metheglin rather than a Mead. If such solids are added, it is necessary to strain the 'must' through a sterile cloth bag in order to remove the solids, in between Steps 8 and 9.

Blackcurrant Wine

This recipe is a great one for beginners: it's simple to make, clears and matures really fast, and is really delicious, with a wonderful depth of flavour and a colour so deep that it really does look almost black. It also makes truly wonderful mulled wine to drink on those long, cold winter evenings!

	Requires:	2.2 kg Blackcurrants (See Note D below)
		2.4kg Granulated Sugar
		6g Pectin Lyase (See Note G4 above)
		12g Yeast Compound (See Note G2 above)

Ensure fruit is free from bits of stem and dead flower ('top and tail') and rinsed clean. If using frozen fruit, defrost thoroughly before starting.
Place fruit in plastic bin and crush well -- an empty Demijohn makes a good 'rammer' for this!
Boil up 6 litres of water in cauldron.
Pour boiling water over fruit in plastic bin, stir and cover with a close-fitting lid.
Leave to cool to no warmer than 35°C stirring occasionally.
Dissolve 6g Pectin Lyase in a small amount (100-200ml) of tepid water -- not warmer than 35°C -- then add to fruit and stir in.
Leave to soak for 2 days (in total since adding boiling water), stirring occasionally.
Strain with cloth bag, gently squeezing to extract juice. Discard solids.
Let stand at least another 4 hours, stirring occasionally, to ensure all pectin is hydrolysed, then transfer liquid to cauldron.
Bring to boil, then simmer (quite vigorously) for 10 minutes. You will probably see some 'floating skuzz' appear; don't worry.
Strain through butter-muslin (to remove skuzz). Be careful with synthetic fabrics, some don't tolerate boiling liquid -- if in doubt, use cotton.
Return liquid to cauldron and bring back to boil momentarily.
Remove from heat and slowly dissolve in 2.4kg granulated sugar.
From now on, care must be taken with sterility.
Let cool till no warmer than 35°C stirring occasionally.
Sprinkle on 12g of Yeast Compound, but do not stir in.
Leave for at least 20 minutes, then stir in thoroughly.
Divide equally between sterile Demijohns; be careful to divide any 'sediment' (from the Yeast Compound) equally.
Fit sterile fermentation locks (bubblers), loaded with boiled-and-cooled (sterile) water, and leave to ferment. Never fill bubblers more than half-full to avoid suck-back risk.
This wine clears and matures so rapidly that there is no point in 'racking' it; simply leave it alone until fermentation has finished and the wine has cleared. Because this wine is so dark-coloured, it can be helpful to shine a light through it to see if it has fully cleared. Depending on the yeast used, this recipe will usually be cleared and ready to drink three months after making.
When totally clear, syphon carefully into sterile bottles, being careful not to disturb sediment.
Although this wine can be drunk as soon as it's cleared, you may wish to try keeping some of it to see how the flavour changes with age -- if you can avoid the temptation to drink it all long before it's had a chance to age!
Enjoy!

Note D: The recipe should work equally well with mixed berries instead of pure blackcurrants, for example blackcurrant-and-blackberry.

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