Fizzing and other things
Well the two gallons of Nettle Wine I made last night is fizzing - so the yeast is starting to work - pleased about that. Now have another 4 gallons to make. So I am posting early so that I can get stuck in and get some more wine on the brew. The nettle wine is a great favourite with our family my mum used to make it on a regular basis. But it is also meant to be good for arthritis.
I have other wines to make as well during the coming weeks and when it is elderflower season it is not just elderflower wine and elderflower champagne but lots of other goodies too including Elderflower Vodka. So I need to get as much as I possibly can done especially during these lighter nights.
I paid a visit to the pound shop at dinner and came away with 6 blackcurrant bushes (£1 per plant)and two white rambling scented roses (they are currently lurking under my desk at work as I forgot to bring them home) (£1 per plant). So hopefully I will then be able to grow the blackcurrants and then make my own home made proper cassis. I buy the berries every year and do this as it is marvellous for colds. I also bought 4 x 1.5kg bags of sugar at £1 per bag in order to get the rest of the wine made this evening.
I then nipped into Wilkinsons and picked up four packs x 2 Honeyoe Strawberry plants to go into some planters I have (£1.50 per pack instead of £2 per pack). I want OH to put some shelves up along one of the fences so that I can grow them off the ground. I am a very frustrated gardener - if perchance my dream of a lovely house with lots of land for orchards and gardening ever came true I would then worry how and what to do with it. Only joking I know exactly what I would do and one of the first things would be to plant a wild edible hedgerow with cherry plums, elderberry/elderflowers, hawthorn, sloe, damson and bullace and lots of other things too.
Right some wine is calling.
Catch you later.
Pattypan
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PS That's 6 gallons of Sweet Nettle wine made all its cost is 1 1/2 kg of sugar per gallon =£1 x 6 = £6.00, plus 8 lemons = £3.00 divided by 24 = 0.37 per bottle. I have ginger wine, ginger beer, peach wine, plum wine, rhubarb wine and Rhubarb Champagne to make.
Catch you soon.
Pattypan
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PS That's 6 gallons of Sweet Nettle wine made all its cost is 1 1/2 kg of sugar per gallon =£1 x 6 = £6.00, plus 8 lemons = £3.00 divided by 24 = 0.37 per bottle. I have ginger wine, ginger beer, peach wine, plum wine, rhubarb wine and Rhubarb Champagne to make.
Catch you soon.
Pattypan
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The wine sounds exciting, I made Lemon Balm wine last year and Rose Petal wine, both from recipes I found online. I wished I had paid more attention to my Grandmother as I remember her wines were always tasty.
ReplyDeleteHi Richard, my mum and my grandmother made wine so I grew up around it. I use the same book as my Nan and Mum used First Steps in Winemaking by C J J Berry. Lots of country style recipes. I am sure you would remember how to do things once you get stuck in. Things have a habit of coming back. Wilkinsons sell a lot of winemaking equipment at reasonable prices. Why not try the orange carton wine (using fresh juice) and start dabbling from there. If you want recipes let me know. OH wanted me to get rid of my winemaking equipment some years ago but I have hung on to it, much of it was my grandmother's equipment i.e. demijohns etc. I have tinned peach wine, clementine wine, ginger beer (not the plant method) nettle beer, orange wine, lemon wine and grapefruit wine to make over the next few weeks. And then when the elderflower blooms there will be all sorts to process. I sometimes have lemon balm seed itself in the garden but I have never had enough scented roses to make the Rose wine. One day.
DeleteCatch up with you soon.
Pattypan
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I have found your blog and its an interesting read, I will add you to my list now :-) The nettle wine sounds good will have to show it to Martin.
ReplyDeleteHi Dawn and welcome glad you have tracked me down. The nettle wine is a sweet wine with a hint of ginger. It was one of my mum's favourites when she used to make wine and I liked it too. It goes into the bucket bright green and then works itself out to a clear liquid. You can only pick the nettles for the Wine April to May i.e. the fresh young tips not the older ones. I am going nettling again at the weekend weather permitting this time to make some nettle beer and maybe also some cordial. I hope you enjoy.
ReplyDeletePattypan
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