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  1. Wynott

    Can you make Coltsfoot Tea Wine?

    I sent off for some dried Coltsfoot, to make wine with but made a mistake and ordered Coltsfoot Tea instead aheadbutt I have made some Tea wine previously, using ordinary tea/bags but not herbs. Does anyone know whether this might be suitable? I've got plenty of the stuff!
  2. Wynott

    Dryness in Sloe wine question

    When I made my first batch of sloe wine a couple of years ago, I used finings, and it cleared beautifully into a pleasant light red wine. The batch from last year is now ready, but on sampling it has a very 'dry' taste - not in relation to S.G. but similar to when the fruit is picked...
  3. Wynott

    It's a gas...any ideas?

    Last November, I made up a gallon of Elderberry with 1lb Runner Bean liquor (yes, Berry recipe) which had been in the freezer. I thought it had finished fermenting, so put it in the garage to mature (grey owl). Checking in September, it appeared to have started again, so brought it back in. I...
  4. Wynott

    The Undrinkables

    On the whole, I’m not displeased with my efforts at home winemaking so far, but there have been one or two exceptions. I made some Daisy wine which was far too strong a flavour, and even mixed with a tea wine is only good for cooking. Hopefully this year‘s effort will be better. Similarly my...
  5. Wynott

    Firm stuckment ;-)

    Back in February I started a Tea & Caraway from Berry’s book. It was dreadfully slow to start, and seemed to be limping along. I pitched in a little more yeast to no avail, tried Restart a bit later, but it was still tragically reluctant, and wouldn’t shift from about 1.020 so I put it aside...
  6. Wynott

    Malo-lactic fermentation question

    Back in September 2020 I made some elderberry & runner bean wine. It seemed to ferment out nicely, and I racked it off twice. No sign of activity, so I put a bung in, and left it in the garage. I made a casual check today, and it's started working again. Is this malo-lactic fermentation? I'm...
  7. Wynott

    Re-starting surprise

    I made a batch of Clove & Ginger back in February, using 2.5lbs demerera sugar, no other sweetening. It was an absolute devil to get going (even with the heat pad) and I had to make an O.J. starter to get it moving. Unfortunately, it stopped at 1.030 and would not shift. I gave it Re-start...
  8. Wynott

    (Dis)colouration

    I have recently had two occasions with country wines changing colour while in the DJ (after fermenting out). The Carrot went from light orange to quite dark, and now the Celery is moving from a golden colour to more orangey. I have kept them well sealed with rubber bungs. They have both been...
  9. Wynott

    Elderflower with D47

    Just started an elderflower with Lalvin D47. The Homebrew Shop says it's 'an excellent choice for dry whites'. Only using 2.25lbs sugar, aiming for quite a dry wine, it will be interesting to see the difference between that and my 'usual' elderflower (Lalvin 1118 and more sugar). Noticed a...
  10. Wynott

    Novatwist - where am I going wrong?

    I know that Novatwist are highly regarded, and frequently used. I have two difficulties though. Firstly, I can't seem to find the suitable bottles. I have collected a range of different bottles, but none of them work. I tried three types as a test (pictures below), and they all leak...
  11. Wynott

    Can I leave it out?

    I'm making my first attempt at Oak Leaf wine from an older book from the 1970s, which says to include Rohament P, which doesn't seem to be available these days. Does anyone know if there is an alternative, or can I just leave this out of the equation? All the other ingredients are as usual...
  12. Wynott

    Belt and Bracing myself.

    Last year I tried a Daisy Wine (a gallon of daisies!) which wasn't a success. However, through the forum I have seen the Happy Homestead guy on yu2ub, and he only uses a pint, so thought I would have another go. I've also been reading books by Edwin J. Belt, on 'wild' ingredients, flowers...
  13. Wynott

    I blame the weather

    :confused: ...two stuck ferments this week, and all else is going snail's pace. I blame the weather. Anyone else struggling with these temperatures? I'm thinking of buying a second heat pad.
  14. Wynott

    Vinquished!

    It had to happen.....one of the bubblers got knocked off (I blame the cats) and the Peach wine went sour. I've resisted doing anything about it for months, and it's fermented out, but decided to look at it again today. It's definitely alcoholic, and also definitely tart, which mixing with...
  15. Wynott

    Maths failure....

    Can anyone advise me on the following - don't think my record keeping was quite up to scratch, but I'm still very much a beginner! I made some parsnip & ginger wine and noted the following: O.G. 1.112 (with 2.5lbs sugar and a lot of parsnips and yes, I now know that's disastrously high) - it...
  16. Wynott

    Nettle wine advice sought

    I have just collected a decent amount of nettles, now it's warm enough to actually leave home :laugh8: I'm intending to try 2 different recipes - one from Berry, and one from T. Edwin Belt (Wild Plants for Winemaking). I am well used to Berry's recipes. Belt, however, advises 2 3/4lb of...
  17. Wynott

    A different kind of WOW ;-)

    I just tested my Carrot & Wheat wine. From 1.090 to 0.090 in 8 days. I'm going 'wow'...and preparing a further 8 oz syrup (to add in batches) to the 2.5 lbs used to start. Not used to such a quick ferment, but notice that my Parsnip has picked up speed over the last few days, and the Banana...
  18. Wynott

    Racking question

    I am making Medlar wine, and supplies were scarce this year (couldn't get to my favourite trees) so only enough must to fill the DJ with none to spare. Medlar leaves a heavy deposit, up to an inch. On first racking, the level is now down near the shoulder. The S.G. is just about bang on, and...
  19. Wynott

    Oops! Start again...

    Last year I made some Clove & Ginger wine, which turned out to be nicely warming during the visit of the Beast from the East. I used a brown sugar, which gave a nice colour to it. However, what I didn't remember is that I used demerara, and as a raw sugar, it needed some tlc to get it going...
  20. Wynott

    Tannin levels

    I notice that some country wine recipes rarely mention tannin. Does anyone know of a handy guide as to tannin levels in fruits etc? I am making some clove and ginger, and assuming that a couple of teabags would be an appropriate level for a gallon. I prefer these to tannin powder, which...
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