Any weird ingredients for making wine?

[dexterdoglancashire]

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

Absolutely Polly! C'om everyone - set us both a challenge! Bernie

[Nicos]

oh - goodie.....this should be interesting!!!

[Polly Fouracre]

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

I will post it in the preserving bit for you,things may get a bit muddled otherwise!

[Polly Fouracre]

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

I'm looking,I'm looking!!

[Brewer-again]

who are you calling a tree leaf ??

I have a garden full of aromatic herbs and several different types of honey suckle It smells amazing when I can get outside to enjoy it. Some of the honeysuckle that is in flower now, was selected from Exmoor but now grows and smells great around my patio area in the south east.

It may be easier but less fun to say which leaves to leave alone.

You have to admit that this weather really makes your garden grow or in my case overgrow.

[Polly Fouracre]

I have a garden full of aromatic herbs and several different types of honey suckle It smells amazing when I can get outside to enjoy it. Some of the honeysuckle that is in flower now, was selected from Exmoor but now grows and smells great around my patio area in the south east.

It may be easier but less fun to say which leaves to leave alone.

You have to admit that this weather really makes your garden grow or in my case overgrow.

Eating honeysuckle flowers,I read somewhere,cures mild depression.Never tried it as I never have the time for depression but if anyone tries it I would be interested to know if it works.You only need four or five flowers)

[UncleDave]

My family loves to make wine, and I have yet to learn the ways or techniques, but I feel I will soon be able to learn. It is tradition in my family, and one of the different styles we make is dandelion wine, im not even sure how it's made, but it definitely is weird.

[grapelet]

In the last two weeks I've put on 4 separate gallons of wine, for the first time ever. I find it fascinating and never realised it was so easy. Ok, there are ways to improve flavour etc, but the basics are just fruit or fruit juice, yeast, a demijon and airlock and away you go!

The best bit is making a gallon of wine out of free fruit from the hedgerows or from someones allotment. Makes the cost of each bottle of wine about 15p!

[seasprout]

brew

Ive heard you can make wine from vine tips.
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Can you use beetroot..?

I have two marrows waiting for something to be done to them, I'm sure i read you can put sugar in them and make a brew...? Has anybody done that..?

[scarey55]

Hello Seasprout,

Take a look at the thread - Marrow wine by Birdie wife. I, like you, have 2 HUGE marrows that need to be turned into wine - Once I get the brown sugar I am going to have a go.
Have fun
Clare

[seasprout]

Cheers scarey, found them, after reading peoples experiences, it appears there have been more failures than success's.
Looks like those who brew a lot have the success, might have a re-think.

[JennieAtkinson]

Can you use beetroot..?

We made beetroot wine many many years ago (about 1979) and it tasted like a good port. When the usual wine etc ran out we used it at our sons christening and few folk can't remember going home!

[Hazel at the Hill]

That sounds like one for me - I love port and I've tons of beetroot - I've never made wine before, can you point me to a good 'recipe'...?

[SarzWix]

one of the different styles we make is dandelion wine, im not even sure how it's made, but it definitely is weird.

You make dandelion wine with a ridiculous amount of dandelion petals...yes, petals, not flowers...! You have to sit and pull all of the petals out of each flower top, and you have to have pints of them - I know, because the OH decided that would be a good one to try, and we spent an afternoon picking carrier bag-fuls of them - only ended up with enough for a couple of demi-johns after several hours of 'plucking'... Never again!!
His grand idea this year was to make oakleaf wine, which is a tradition in his family. Luckily we don't have any handy oak trees in the vicinity!

[Flummery]

My recipes for dandelion wine only uses a pint of petals plus the juice of 2 lemons and 2 oranges and 1lb of sultanas, minced. I make it on St George's Day (traditional) and it's been racked and is waiting for me to get off my butt and bottle it. Lovely! (The wine, that is, not my butt!)