[Sideways]

I make most of my wine from fresh fruit, some of which is picked at the end of the summer and frozen until required but a cheap and effective way to make wine all through the year is to use tinned fruit.

I currently have tinned strawberry, apricot and peach wines on the go. The strawberry makes a lovely 'summer blush' wine and the apricot makes a nice, dry wine with a good acidic bite, a bit like Riesling.

As a general guide use this recipe-

2~3 x 400g tin of strawberries / apricots / peach (a peach & apricot mix is particularly nice)
2 1/4 lb sugar
1 ½  teaspoons citric acid
1/2 teaspoon tannin (or leave a tea bag to soak in a little water)
Pectolase (helps to clear the wine)
1 vit B1 tablet or yeast energiser
general-purpose wine yeast
Water to 1 gallon
Optional- An 8oz can of Red/White Grape Concentrate (sold in Brew-Shops or Wilkinson’s for £1.99, this adds body to the wine)

Method-

Pour the juice from the cans into the primary fermenter (bucket) and mash the fruit with a potato masher.
Boil 4 pints of water and dissolve the sugar in it, place mashed fruit into primary with juice and pour over the sugar syrup.

Add water to 1 gallon, allow to cool to room temp then add the acid, tannin, pectolase, grape concentrate if used, yeast energiser and yeast. Stir daily, for four days and then strain wine into a Demijohn through a nylon sieve and fit an air-lock. Ferment out, rack to clean DJ, stabilise and sweeten with sugar dissolved in water if an off-dry wine is preferred. Rack again after a month and leave to mature for three months, rack again if sediment builds up. Bottle and leave for at least six months before drinking.

 

[flatcap]

hi sideways
have you tried making wine from cartons of friut juice works out very cheap and easy and some great tasting wines

[GrannieAnnie]

Hi Sideways, yes, I sometimes make wine from fruit juice too like flatcap, very cheap, but now I have started to buy a sack of horse carrots from our local place, and at £1.80 for 25 kgs, I not only have enugh carrots there for 6 gallons of wine, but as in my recipe you only use the carrot water, I freeze the cooked carrots and use them in stews and for soups, and any extras, the chooks get.  Oh and the dog loves carrots too!!!  

Best £1.80 I've ever spent!

[Sideways]

Hi Sideways, yes, I sometimes make wine from fruit juice too like flatcap, very cheap, but now I have started to buy a sack of horse carrots from our local place, and at £1.80 for 25 kgs, I not only have enugh carrots there for 6 gallons of wine, but as in my recipe you only use the carrot water, I freeze the cooked carrots and use them in stews and for soups, and any extras, the chooks get.  Oh and the dog loves carrots too!!!  

Best £1.80 I've ever spent!

wow! thats some low-cost wine, I'm impressed!

Yes, I have tried fruit-juice in the past, your options really are endless. Best to avoid juices with preservatives in though, they can have a negative effect on the fermentation. Also, If using juice, I find the addition of a ripe banana or two to the primary gives the wine a little more body.

[GrannieAnnie]

mmmmm, never tried banana for more body, will give it a go!!!

[wisp]

With regard to bananas, what constitutes ripe? Is it when you peel the nearly black skin and the contents pour out   ?

On a more serious note, what would constitute a ripe banana that is ideal for the purpose of providing body? I presume it is not when it is all pretty and yellow.

Do you mash, slice or chop the bananas before adding to the ingredients? Do you use the peel?