Keep racking the wine as sediment builds, until it is completely clear.ġ4. If there seems to be a lot of sediment in the bottom of the demijohn, rack the wine after a month or so.ġ3. If the must doesn't come up to the shoulders of the demijohn, top up with a little bottled water.ġ2. If it still seems a bit lively, give it a couple of days to settle before doing this.ġ0. If fermentation is slowing down, you can transfer the must to a sterilised demijohn straight now. After 7 days, lift the straining bag out and allow the liquid to drain back into the bucket. Sprinkle the yeast on the must, put the tea towel back on again and leave for 7 further days, stirring daily.Ĩ. Add the sultanas, acid blend, yeast nutrient and pectic enzyme, put the tea towel over again and leave for another 12 hours.ħ. Add the campden tablet, stir and leave for 12 hours with a clean tea towel over the top to keep dust out.Ħ. Give it all a good stir and leave to cool to room temperature.ĥ. When it is just boiling, pour the sugar water over the damsons in the bag, in the bucket. Heat 2 litres of the water with the sugar in a saucepan, stirring with a spoon until the sugar has dissolved.Ĥ. When they're defrosted, mash them with a sterilised potato masher to release more juice.ģ. This way you capture all the juice as it melts. Put the frozen damsons in the straining bag, put them in your fermentation bucket and leave them for a while to defrost. Clean and sterilise all the equipment that is going to come into contact with your wine - if you haven't made wine before, please read our Beginner's Guide to Making Wine from Fruit and Flowers.Ģ.
It's also handy, as when you've been out for the day foraging damsons and then de-stoning them, you may not feel like making wine straight away. A bit like freezing sloes before you make sloe gin, freezing helps release the juices from the damsons. You need to prepare the damsons, which means removing the stones so they don't make your must bitter. As often with winemaking: time is your friend. We tried ours after a year and it was pretty good. In fact it needs to be aged, by a year or 2 at least. But that bitterness diminishes over time and it ages really well. It’s a pretty simple recipe, but one that is worth making time and time again.The acid and tannin in damsons will cause your damson wine to taste bitter when it is young. After 7 days, rack into another fermenter.Put on air lock and lid, let it ferment.Rehydrate yeast and add nutrient to mixture.Let mixture cool down, and transfer it to a 2 gallon plastic container.In a large pot, boil the honey (1 part honey 2 parts water).It has a citrus like flavor to it and it is a bit sweet because of the honey.
I’m not really sure if it’s the same thing, I just call it, “Apple Mead”. Today a lot of people call it, “Apple Jack”. I can remember making this with my uncle when I was just a kid. This is a wine/mead that I’ve made in the past and it turns out pretty well.