No
chemicals are used, just all natural ingredients other than Milton baby
liquid to sterilise equipment. A great Autumn wine to make... if you
fancy making a Spring wine you might like to try my dandelion wine easy recipe, or for Summer try my plum wine easy recipe.
I
started making this wine for two reasons... firstly its a shame so many
apples go to waste in Autumn, and secondly because I was fed up trying
to find wine in the shops that didn't have the 'contains sulphites'
message hidden away on the back label. Sulphites can cause allergies and a headache.
Every
autumn there's an excess of free apples from friends or gathered in the
wild. With a bit of organisation, very little effort and a small
investment you can make yourself enough sweet white wine to last the
whole year. Not sure where to get enough apples? If you don't have any
friends desperate to give you their excess have a look around the
countryside. Often there are trees along roadsides or footpaths where
you can gather the apples for free.
The
instructions below are to make five gallons of wine, which will give
you just under thirty bottles. It's simpler to make large batches of
wine since it's easier to bottle without disturbing the sediment.
The
cost of equipment is pretty low... about £35 if you acquire the wine
bottles by saving from bought white wine. Thereafter your only cost is
for sugar, raisins, lemons and some wine yeast... so having made the
initial investment in equipment, typically you're enjoying rather nice,
strong wine with no sulphite content for well under 50p a bottle! Why
wouldn't you want to do it?
Equipment needed
Something for stirring the contents
Large strainer
Long clear plastic tubing (available from DIY stores)
Funnel
30 wine bottles (ideally clear glass)
Ingredients needed
Enough healthy apples to fill the 5 gallon barrel... its best if you can get a mix of cooking and eating apples
8kg of sugar (adjust this depending on how sweet you like your wine)
1kg chopped golden raisins
The juice of 9 lemons
Small cup of black tea
Method
1. Sterilise the fermentation barrel and lid using the Milton liquid.
2. Wash the apples and quarter, place in fermentation barrel until almost full, discarding any bruised bits.
3. Fill with boiling water. It doesn't take all that much since the barrel is so full of apples.
4. Put the lid on and leave for a few days, stirring twice daily.
5.
After a few days the apple juice will have seeped out into the water.
Strain out the apples and you're left with the apple liquor.
6. Add the sugar, raisins, lemon juice and tea.
7.
Top up with part cold, part hot water (so the temperature of the water
is lukewarm) to make up to five gallons and stir to ensure all the sugar
is dissolved.
8. Add the wine yeast, stir, cover with lid and store somewhere warm.
9.
After a few hours you'll notice something starting to happen...
there'll be a froth on the surface as the yeast starts to ferment,
turning the sugar into alcohol. Stir the contents twice a day.
10.
It will take a couple of weeks or so for the fermentation to finish.
Once completed transfer the liquid to the demijohn using the plastic
tubing and funnel. Make sure all the equipment has been sterilised with
Milton liquid.
11.
Avoiding disturbing any sediment, place the fermentation barrel at a
higher level than the demijohn (e.g. put the barrel on a table and the
demijohn on the floor), put one end of the plastic tubing in the barrel,
and having placed the funnel in the neck of the demijohn give the other
end of the tubing a strong suck to pull some of the wine in the tube up
and over the edge of the barrel. Quickly remove your mouth and put the
tube end into the funnel. The wine should start to drain.
11.
Avoid transferring any sediment if you can. Once all the clear liquid
is in the demijohn top up with water to bring to five gallons. Seal with
the rubber bung and airlock, having put a small amount of diluted
Milton liquid in the airlock.
12.
You can now store the wine for months somewhere cool and frost free. At
first the fermentation may start up again and you'll see bubbles going
through the airlock. Gradually the wine will clear.
13.
Once fully clear repeat the draining process, this time from the
demijohn to sterilised wine bottles. Put a stopper in each bottle and
store.
14.
The wine will be ready to drink but will improve even more with age.
Typically I bottle and start drinking the wine from May onwards. If the
wine is too strong dilute with water.
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