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So after nearly a whole day of picking blackcurrents I had enough to make wine. So I thought I would give it a go and take some pics for you.
Here's what I did....
Take the currants (and a few blackberries I picked) and add water in a big pan and boil.
Once boiled simmer for 20-30 minutes until all the goodness has come out of the fruit.
I used a muslin cloth to seive the fruit getting as much mosture as I could. Pour the liquid into a 1 gallon demijon and then topup the rest of the demijon with cold water.
Leave to cool until it has reached room temperature. Then add 1 tsp of yeast nutrient,1 tsp of wine yeast, 1 tsp of citric acid and 1 tsp of pectine destroying enzime. All these ingredients are available at good wine shops and also some wilkinsons and asda's if the have a homebrew section.
Fit bung on demijon and store. The room temperature should not exceed 25C and should not be less than 16C. I store at an angle by putting 3-4 cd cases under one side so the demijon is pointing diagonally. This is for when you clear the wine using finings it gathers at the bottom corner and is easier to avoid.
You should find that within 24 hours the demijon should start to bubble. Once the bubbles have stopped then you then add 1/2 tsp of potassium sorbate and 1 crushed campden tablet. This will produce gas. You now need to degass. The way I do this is to swap the bung for a rubber stopper and shake the hell out of the wine. After shaking for 1 minute I remove the stopper and release the gas. Repeat this as many times as you can be bothered(the more you do the less gassy the wine is going to be. Now you can either leave it till the next day and shake some more to get rid of more gas or add the finings now.
I tend to leave for a few days shaking each day. Now add wine finings and leave until the sediment has settled. Once settled syphon the wine out into another demijon or wine bottles. Store as long as you can wait (obviously have a quick taste though ) then drink.
Here's what I did....
Take the currants (and a few blackberries I picked) and add water in a big pan and boil.
Once boiled simmer for 20-30 minutes until all the goodness has come out of the fruit.
I used a muslin cloth to seive the fruit getting as much mosture as I could. Pour the liquid into a 1 gallon demijon and then topup the rest of the demijon with cold water.
Leave to cool until it has reached room temperature. Then add 1 tsp of yeast nutrient,1 tsp of wine yeast, 1 tsp of citric acid and 1 tsp of pectine destroying enzime. All these ingredients are available at good wine shops and also some wilkinsons and asda's if the have a homebrew section.
Fit bung on demijon and store. The room temperature should not exceed 25C and should not be less than 16C. I store at an angle by putting 3-4 cd cases under one side so the demijon is pointing diagonally. This is for when you clear the wine using finings it gathers at the bottom corner and is easier to avoid.
You should find that within 24 hours the demijon should start to bubble. Once the bubbles have stopped then you then add 1/2 tsp of potassium sorbate and 1 crushed campden tablet. This will produce gas. You now need to degass. The way I do this is to swap the bung for a rubber stopper and shake the hell out of the wine. After shaking for 1 minute I remove the stopper and release the gas. Repeat this as many times as you can be bothered(the more you do the less gassy the wine is going to be. Now you can either leave it till the next day and shake some more to get rid of more gas or add the finings now.
I tend to leave for a few days shaking each day. Now add wine finings and leave until the sediment has settled. Once settled syphon the wine out into another demijon or wine bottles. Store as long as you can wait (obviously have a quick taste though ) then drink.
