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It's likely to taste bloody awful, but I've just started a gallon made from the stuff you always have left over (because other people have dumped it on you) from Christmas. It's got two tins of blackberries (and if you've ever seen a tinned blackbery, you know why it's in the wine), a tin of fruit cocktail (does anyone eat that stuff any more?), a pack of dates, a handful of raisins and a litre of grapefruit juice.

I'll let you know how it goes.

hahahaha!

Well. If you add enough sugar, at least it should be alcoholic. You may be able to make excellent mulled wine with it, if it's not good as it is; the spices would hide any deficiencies in flavour...

Actually, when I first read the title, I was expecting something like leftover turkey and mince pies!

cant wait for the update to see what it tasts like
good luck

Russ

Update No. 1 ... it's bubbling away like a good 'un

Xmass leftover wine . . . i immediately thought ham and Xmass cake . . .

Update 2 ... it's settled down nicely, and fermentation has almost finished even without additional heat. Something in there must be good! It's already obvious that it's going to be a rose (how do I get that accent on a UK keyboard?). A further spotch at the back of the pantry revealed some raisins and dried apricots exceeding their use by dates, so raisin and apricot wine is now also on the go.

Watch out for the new thread on organic drain cleaners.

now that will be nice

Russ

MKG wrote: (how do I get that accent on a UK keyboard?).

shift alt 130 = é

Thanks for that, Ina. As you can s, I'v usd th tchniqu for vry unaccntd on in this sntnc.

I've got a list with all these special letters etc...

Not Xmas leftover, but ...

Yesterday, OH said "There's a few plums left in the freezer. You can use those up". This morning, I dived in - right to the bottom - and came up with 21 pounds of the remainder of the 2006 crop.

Well, she did say it was OK ...

Taste tests ...

The tinned fruit job is going to be VERY dry.

The raisin and apricot - you were quite right, Russ - is threatening to be absolutely gorgeous.

Ahhh - patience is a cruel thing.

Well - the raisin and apricot isn't going to get the chance to mature. The taste tests continued. Something must be just right because this thing has fermented in no time at all. Last night, it was down to a bloop a minute and, as it tasted just perfect yesterday, I decided to stop it. I put it outside overnight and this morning it had already started to fall clear (or maybe wishful thinking). More taste tests, and it's very similar to Sauternes ( ). I think I'd better start a 5-gallon batch.

For those who want to try it, here's what I did ...

(for 1 gallon)
1 kg raisins
12 oz. dried apricots (already chopped) - 12 oz because that's all I had
2lbs sugar dissolved in boiling water to make a syrup
1 level teaspoon citric acid
1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
1 5mg B1 tablet (crushed)
1 teaspoon pectic enzyme
GP yeast

Minced the raisins in the food processor. Put resultant goo in a large pan with the apricots and a couple of pints of water. Brought to the boil then switched off and allowed to cool for several hours (covered). Put everything in a bucket, stirred well, added the yeast starter, covered with teatowel (incidentally, that's the most common owl in the UK). It started almost immediately. After two days, strained off the solids (using said teatowel) and into a demijohn, topped up with water, under an airlock. You know the rest. If it ever gets to the racking stage, I'll add some sodium metabisulphite, but I suspect that won't be needed. It's thrown a helluva deposit - I probably squeezed too hard at the solids removal stage.

Who needs maturation? On the other hand, something which is so drinkable (he says with another taste test in his mitt) at such an early stage may well turn out to be something wonderful later.

I didn't use a hydrometer at any stage, but I reckon that there must have been 3 lbs total sugar to start with, which would (in a perfect world) give you a 15% abv wine if it was fermented to dryness.

Cheers