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.