History: 20260813 | 20260812

12th August 2026

Redcurrant, blackcurrant and blackberry wine

Ingredients

Blackcurrant 700g, Redcurrant 700g, Blackberry 400g

I had to go back out to get more blackberry from the garden and really 400g was not enough so I bumped up the others from 600g to 700g

Sugar 1kg dissolved in hot but not boiling water. Sugar at 18g per litre per 1% final alcohol content

Water 5 litres boiled and cooled.

Yeast nutrient 1 teaspoon

Lalvin EC-1118 2.5g. I would have used a full 5g sachet but I was ripped off on ebay and so I felt I needed to keep some for the next batch. 2.5g should be more than enough yeast but you can use more because it just dies at the bottom if it runs out of sugar to eat.

1 cup of strong black tea left steeping for an hour or more.

Sodium percarbonate stabiliser

Pectolase enzyme 1 teaspoon

Stage 1

Equipment: 1 5 litre brewing bucket, strainer, spoon, pillow case, big pan, rubber gloves

Method

Put on old clothing
Mix 2.5 litres of sterilising solution in a bucket
Wash and sterilise everything especially hands and keep them clean throughout
Wash the bucket, spoon, masher, bucket, bucket lid and pillow case
Ensure the fruit is fully washed in a mild vinegar solution and rinsed. My fruit was also frozen which also kills any bacteria or bugs and starts to break down cell walls making it easier to extract juices and sugars. If your fruit is fresh then it should be cleaned with Camden tablets
Put the fruit in warm water and mash to a pulp try to ensure all berries are popped at a minimum
Pour the fruit pulp into a pillow case, tie it up and put it into the bucket
Dissolve the sugar and add to the bucket
Add a teaspoon of yeast nutrient
Add a teaspoon of Pectolase
Add the cup of cold black tea
Mix the liquid and check the specific gravity. SG was 1.082 which is nicely near the top of the start wine range. Ideally it should be 1.085 to 1.090
Add the yeast and stir
Cover loosely with the bucket lid and leave for 6 days for primary fermentation

Problems

Making 5 litres of wine in a 5 litre bucket is not possible. Ideally you need 8cm of head space and there is none. Additionally there is nearly 2kg of fruit taking up space that will go in the bin once the juices are extracted. I ended up with 4cm head space and 500ml of syrup which had to go in the fridge and be added for the second stage of fermentation. It will contain more sugar than it should be over the remaining 4 litres hopefully it will not raise the sugar level too much of the rate of fermentation.
I actually added the Pectolase about 10 hours after fermentation started as I had to order it at the last minute. Should not be a problem.
After 1 day Claire checked the mix and found fruit flies had managed to get in. I don't know why but what I think is that carbon dioxide filled the pillow case with air causing it to float and take up all the spare headspace. This caused the lid to open slightly allowing the flies in. However it is possible that they were just able to crawl under the loose lid or sneak in when it lifts to allow CO2 gas to escape.
I replaced the lid with the air lock lid but fermentation was far to violent for that lid so I got another pillow case and covered the mix with that. I tied it to the bucket and put the lid over that one. After another 24 hours that pillowcase had soaked up the juice and was dripping juice outside the bucket again attracting flies however none had got in this time.
I purchased some nylon mesh bag instead and sterilised one of these. I then took out the pillow case and transferred the fruit to a mesh back and sealed it back in the mix. The fruit did not float and the bag did not inflate.
I put the bucket in a plastic bag. I then put the lid back on loosely and weighted it with some bowls and put the top of the bag in to the bowls. I put another pillow case over the bag and weighted the pillow case at floor level with knives. Hopefully this can now breath and keep the bugs out but I'll find out on Monday 17th when it is time for stage 2.

Stage 2

Equipment: 4.5L demijohn, syphon, bottles, steriliser, jug, rubber gloves, hydrometer and vase, airlock and bung

Method

Sterilise all equipment and hands
Remove the fruit pulp from the bucket and allow liquid to settle
Pour some juice into the hydrometer vase and measure. SG - 1.000
Add leftover liquid from stage 1 to the bucket and stir gently
Leave overnight to settle
Store all cleaned equipment in airtight containers
Syphon into the demijohn
Put water into the bottom 2 chambers of the airlock, loosely rest the cover on the airlock
Place in a dark room or wrap around a towel or t-shirt and and leave for 6 weeks before bottling

Blackcurrent wine

Makes 2 litres of wine in a 2 litre fizzy pop bottle.

Recipe and method can be adjusted for larger quantities and different equipment as needed.

Ingredients

500g blackcurrents (550g if frozen)

250g granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon yeast (bread or brewers)

2l boiling water

Milton, sieve, spoon, balloon, old t-towel, needle

Method

Defrost berries if frozen.
Mash berries in a bowl with a potato masher.
Boil 2 litres of water.
Pour 500ml of boiling water into a jug and dissolve the sugar into the water.
Pour the sugar water over the mashed berries, this creates the must. You can use some of this water to pour over the frozen berries before mashing.
Cover the must and leave to steep overnight. Cover the remaining boiling water and also leave overnight to cool.
Sterilize a 2 litre fizzy pop bottle, the sieve, jug, teaspoon, needle and balloon with Milton.
Boil an old t-towel for 5 minutes.
Sieve the mixture into a the jug, use the back of the spoon to push as much liquid a possible out of the must.
Put any remaining must into the boiled t-towel and squeeze any remaining juice into the original must bowl. Then pour into the jug.
Rinse the original bowl then return the juice to the bowl.
Sieve the juice again into the jug.
Rinse the bottle to remove any residue of Milton then pour in the juice.
Top up the bottle with the cold boiled water leaving a 3 inch gap at the top.
Put the top on the bottle and shake it to mix the juice and add oxygen to it.
Add 1/4 teaspoon yeast to the juice and allow to sit on the surface of the liquid.
After 15 minutes the yeast is hydrated and you can shake the bottle again.
Rinse the balloon, put to small holes in the top with the needle and cover the bottle with the balloon.
Put the mixture in a warm, dark cupboard and check it every 24 hours. The balloon should start to inflate after about 4 hours.
Boil the t-towel again for 5 minutes, this should stop the juice staining it.
Daily swirl to stop the yeast from settling for the first 7 days.
After 7 days check it once a week to ensure the balloon is still inflated.
Once the balloon deflates fermentation is complete and you can syphon the wine into bottles.
Leave the wine for a month or more to develop and drink within 6 months.

After about 10 days the sugar should all be used up and the balloon should be floppy.

You should see a distinct layer of pale cream/grey sediment at the bottom.

Check if it is time to rack.

Check for clarity. Is the top 2 inches of the liquid clearer or darker than the bottom

Check with a hydrometer or use a taste test. If it no longer tastes like sugar-water but a dry tart fruit juice with a bit of warmth or bitter/medicinal then fermentation is done. We can now rack the wine.

If fermentation is not done and it still tastes sugary then the yeast has stalled and we need to kickstart it.