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re: tannin... Would be better to have the tannin. You could buy some, or just add a big mug of strong, stewed black tea (after its cooled down). Quite ok to sling it in in the bucket while its fermenting I would think.. you ought to be giving it a good stir every day anywyay.

Would recommend dried elderberries... we had no choice cos the berries don't get fully ripe this far N. Made a 5 gallon batch (will post recipe later) and was yummy. The nearest I've made to a commercial grape wine... loads of body, tannin etc. Might even go as far as to say it was v like cabernet s...

Yes mine was yellowish too... and quite a strong flavour. And its really worth straining thru fine muslin... its very hard to get clear with all the pollen otherwise.
Improves with age too... have managed to keep some 18 months and has mellowed.. has an almost almondy flavour..

...that's why I suggested the optional-ness thereof


but try your local 24 hr Creamoftartar-u-like...or maybe World of Tartar

Here's a good recipe for Elderflower Cordial, from BBC website - I made it 3 lemons instead of 2 for a bit more TWANG. Don't know if you can get cream of tartar or what it does exactly - may be considered optional. 20 ripe heads of elderflowers 3½ lb granulated sugar 3 lemons 2 oz cream of tartar...

Hi What they said That pretty much covers it Tip 1 - When you put the corks in, put a bit of clean string down the side so that when the cork is pushed in the bottom end of the string sits just below the end of the cork, give it a minute then pull the string out. This lets out the air that has been ...

I like the sound of the port thing. Do you add brandy to stop fermentation early and keep it sweet like wot they do in Portugal? Although I try and avoid going out and actually PAYING for alcohol I might give it a go - details please! Dried Elderberry+Sloe recipe: Per gallon: 125g Dried elderberries...

Of all the wines I've had a go at, elderberry is the closest I've tasted to commercially produced grape-based red - not unlike a cab sauv in fact. Up in these Orcadian latitudes (that's 59 North fact fans) the trees give you a good crop of flowers but it just ain't warm/sunny enough to get ripe berr...

Thanks for the warm welcome.

I am the male BeeGee. My wife is the female one - it seems to work that way round...



..from Woody Allen's 'Love and Death':

Napoleon (for it is he): "Do you find me attractive as a man?"
Sonja: "Yes, I think it's your best bet"

That Red Clover Recipe..... (white clover is OK but not such a nice, strong flavour) For 1 gallon: 4 pints red clover flower heads, picked on a dry, sunny day 3 Lb unrefined golden sugar 2 Oranges 3 Lemons Yeast + nutrient STERILISE ANYTHING THAT WILL BE IN CONTACT WITH THE LOVELY BOOZE Get all the ...

If you found the yeast you used was slow to get going try SB23 Super Yeast - - - it go whoosh.

Hello. chadspad - racking is when you siphon the wine into a fresh demijohn, making sure you don't sook up the dead yeast from the bottom. The best book to get you started is C.J.J. Berry's "First Steps In Winemaking". I think that's right with the bacteria causing mousey-ness - nuke every...

Hello from Orkney.

Excellent website.

We grow veg and make wine.

We eat veg and drink wine.

We make wine out of veg.

Due to prevailing and almost permanent westerly gales, much of our veg is quite short in stature but we get away with it.