Ginger Wine

I plan on getting a couple of gallons of this on the go for Christmas this year for this month.  We are rather partial to ginger at the best of time and especially ginger wine.  A few years back this used to be a regular on our itinerary when were making a lot of wine and I am keen to get back into the habit as it were.  I have plans to do a lot of wine this year.  Having been bought up in the practice of being able to have a glass of wine on Sunday dinner I am keen to be able to do this again.  Not that I am a massive drinker but I do like country wines - they add something to your meal.  My Nan made a lot of wine as she had the vegetables and the fruits available to her as they had over two acres of land most of which was planted with fruit trees.  She also used the "Wild Larder" extensively as well.  At the moment I cannot lay my hands on my recipe book, but have found this one by John Wright which sounds very much the same. Ginger Wine Recipe

I intend to get some fresh root ginger on Saturday from the shop; I have some sultanas that need using up so they are already here; sugar is in the pantry just need to be able to get on and get things sorted.  I also intend to do a couple of gallons of house orange as well to add to this year's house wines.  I am going to try and do a little bit every so often so that I end up with a flow and not all the wines maturing at the same time.  We used to make Orange, Lemon, Grapefruit and mixed citrus wines from carton juice and PLJ lemon juice.  Fresh fruit was also added.

I am very lucky in that I have a lot of wine equipment in the house.  I don't do things by half at the best of times.  We used to make a lot of wine at one time but slowly got out of the habit of it. I have made a few gallons here and there since but nothing on the scale that we used to. However I am keen to get stuck in again.  Fortunately, I did not get rid of my equipment.  I had always planned in coming back to it.  I also inherited my Nan's winemaking equipment and had added a few more Demijohns from the Charity shop as and when I found them.  If you are considering having a go at making wine for the first time start with a kit as this will teach you the basics of wine making and you can then take it from there.  You can source wine equipment online or Wilkos sell winemaking equipment but Demijohns cost about £8 apiece brand new.

Since Ginger wine is traditionally served at Christmas as it needs a few  months to mature, I was looking out for other drinks that can be prepared for Christmas.  I have come across an old recipe for making Christmas wine which I also intend to have a go at.   It does have ginger in it.  Read the notes on each video as well. The recipe was posted by a lady who by her own admittance was not a wine maker.  Using toast spread with yeast is the traditional way of activating wine and perhaps need updating a bit.  The recipe however is an interesting one.

Christmas Wine and here Christmas wine Part 2

I am slowly getting all geared up in readiness to take advantage of the Wild Larder and also using items that are usually regularly available.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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