Have I had a eureka moment?

[janeyo]

My first batch was Cherry Plum ... everything was going well, although I had to sterilise all the equipment in batches cos of lack of room ... gave it all a final stir ... and then dropped a dish cloth in the bucket.

whoops! A bit like when we make buns with the children and before I can shout 'don't put the spoon back after you've licked it...' it's generally too late!

[HeyWayne]

Bother, I had put a cork in the DJ, will now sprint and put an airlock in.

Sorry, I can't let that go without comment!

[bobleponge]

Comment noted!!

[bobleponge]

Maybe you are just not making wines that you actually like?

Maybe they could be blended to make them more palatable?

Sadly they're just gopping. Have tried them out on several victims and the response was always the same.
Buerk!!

[smallblueplanet]

Is this the point to ask whether you're still making home-made wine vinegar with your left-over wine?

[bobleponge]

My home made vinegar is brewing away quite nicely, with the minimal dregs of my shop bought wine fortunately. I wouldnt even have put that stuff in vinegar

[organic]

I have to ask, how long have you been leaving it for before drinking?

The recipes in the wine book I'm using (got my first wine in the fermentation bucket as I type - it goes into a Demijohn on Friday) calls for "at least 18 months" before drinking.

I read, not too long ago, about someone who had given up on winemaking after about 3 years of failed elderberry wines... then he found a bottle he'd forgotten about for about a year or two - tried it "just to see what it was like" and loved it... he's now back making nice wines but leaving them for PLENTY of time to mature before opening.

I have no plans to open any of this batch until this time next year at the earliest... I might even leave it until the winter after that before I start opening.

Something to consider - I know a lot of home-brewers just drink it once it's cleared but I'm inclined to play the long game and get something really nice... there's always quicker things like sloe gin in the mean time!

[bobleponge]

Organic

I opened a bottle of elderberry only yesterday, it was 3 years old, and tasted like s.. tasted like cr... didnt taste very nice at all.
I think the problem may well have been that I didnt rack, and tbh probably didnt let it stop fermenting properly either.

Will let you know the results of this rosehip this time next year at the earliest.

[organic]

Well, after 3 years it's probably not an immaturity problem.
Hopefully it will be solved by racking.

[scarey55]

Bob, just a thought - what sort of yeast are you using?

I only ask because I can't get winemaking yeast here in France, I always have to buy loads when I'm in UK. I have never tried with live or baking yeast so I don't know if it will affect the taste.

As I said, just a thought

[bobleponge]

I also wondered if that would make any difference Scarey, the first lot that I made was with brewers yeast, and the remaining lots with baking yeast or live yeast, and nothing seems to have made a difference, just tastes buerk.

Just found a 3 year old bottle of wine made from my own grapes, so will try that one this evening, (purely for research purposes) that was made with brewers yeast.

[Two_Sheds]

I can't get winemaking yeast here in France

of all places !

--------
you can buy on eBay and get it posted though

[scarey55]

I know, it seems really weird but there it is. I don't think the French go in much for "country wines" and grapes have a natural yeast on them so I don't think they need to add any. I found it really odd when I came here. Now, every time I go to UK, our local Wilkinsons gets cleared out of all it's yeast

[bobleponge]

When I told the farmer behind that I was making rosehip wine, the look on his face was a joy.

"But wine is made with grapes??"

Anything else appears to be anathema to them.
Didnt have the heart to mention parsnip to him!

[annacruachan]

I use ordinary dried yeast sold for baking, largely because we don't have a wine supplies shop anywhere within 100 miles and the cost of p&p is prohibitive to this neck of the woods. While I am sure that specialised yeasts impart their own probably superior flavour, the taste is not harmed at all by the ordinary stuff. We had some friends over from France and they brought with them bottles of their local wine. They tasted my two-year-old damson and apple wine and promptly put their own away, so it must be okay.