A while ago,
Ina wrote:
I have, however, discovered some absolutely delicious elderflower and oakleaf bubbly, made in Scotland, available for a lot less money than champagne would cost! It would be a nice step towards selfsufficiency, if I could find out how to use oakleaf in winemaking - anybody any ideas? (Can't really ask the makers of this stuff, they want to earn their breakfasts by selling it...)
Got a recipe for Oakleaf wine. Works for walnut leaves as well (allegedley).
Here goes:
4.5 l (1 gallon) young Oak or Walnut Leaves (suggest June for picking)
1.5 Kilos (3lb sugar)
10g Citric Acid (2 teaspoons)
4.5 l (1 gallon) Water
Yeast & Nutrient
Dissolve the sugar in 4 - 6 pints of boiling water; when it clears pour, boiling, over the leaves. Infuse overnight, and strain into a fermenting jar the next day. Add the citric acid, the yeast & nutrient and shake well. Top up to the top of the neck with cold water, and then ferment out in a warm place. Rack when it clears, and again two months later.
This sweet wine recipe is given in
C J J Berry's First Steps in Winemaking
In the same book, published by Nexus Special Interest, tips for blending wines as to improve quality, namely:
Body/thickness
Taste/Lack of Flavour
Dryness/Sweetness
Acidity
Blandness or Insipidity/tannic harshness
Bouquet
Colour
are given as:
Blend only wines that are compatible ('sympathetic'), i.e. red with red, white with white;
Blend small quantities at first as to establish proportions required when blending in bulk;
Never blend diseased or really bad wines in the hope of improving them! You'll only end up with one very bad wine!
Always expect the blended wine to referment, however stable the original wines were. The new fermentation will be quite brief, possibly two or three days, whilst the two wines 'marry';
As a winemaker, it will often pay to 'marry' your mistakes!
By the way can cider be stored in a beer keg as opposed to bottles, I'm always worried about exploding bottles 
). I am now at the straining and putting in a demijohn for 3 months, altho mine is actually a 10L plastic wine bottle thingie that the french use instead of demijohns. I just wondered if I can use the screw lid instead of a cork and if not, why not?
