Damson wine.

[googoomuck]

After looking around the web I came across a recipe for damson wine. It is from www.thebrewshop.com The site has quite a few other recipes for country wines and is worth a look.
4lb Damsons
1kg sugar
1tsp citric acid
1tsp pectolase
Yeast nutrient
For yeast it recommended Gervin 2
I washed the damsons and put the into a 10 litre bucket I then poured 2 pints of boiling  over them and left overnight. They gave off a lovely deep pink/purple colour. This morning I added another 4 pints of cooled boiled water the sugar and the yeast (I didn't add the other ingredients as I want to see what the wine will turn out like on its own. At the top of the web page the author give alternatives to other ingredients and what happens if you leave them out) I pitched the yeast at 20*c. The wine will stay in the bucket for 24 hours before straining into a demi, once the initial vigorous fermentation has died down I will top up with water and ferment as normal. The must smells great, I can't quite put my finger on the smell but it reminds me of jam in a way.  pic of last night
topped up this morning sugar and water added.
and the lovely yeast.

[Will_D]

I know its too late but:

If you are making fruit wines then its a great idea to freeze the fruits first.

Not only does this allow you to build up the "stash" over time - like raspberries that you pick over 3 or 4 weeks (longer in the case of my autumn rassers)

BUT the big bonus is that when the fruit thaws out the cell walls are ruptured so they goodies extract from the cells soo much quicker. Almost no need to mash the fruit/juice mixture with a big masher!

Will work great for apples for cider; As the windfalls/friends etc give you apples, wask, quarter and freeze. When thawed they will scratt and pulp so much easier.

I will update my Cider 101 with a bit more info

[googoomuck]

I asked that question in another thread but didn't get a relpy, plus I wanted to use my new 10litre bucket so got a batch on. Plenty more there though, just need to bring a ladder. Thanks for the info, will bear it in mind for the blackberry wine I have planned. My raspberries are still flying it too, second year in the beds and they are still churning out fruit.

[googoomuck]

I transferred the wine this evening

Lovely colour and smells great.
I went for a walk with the dog for an hour  came home and found this

[LordEoin]

lol, happy days! keep her on a dinner plate and you'll be fine

[googoomuck]

I rigged this up with my syphon

It's going like the clappers!!

[larree]

Looks amazing. Interesting that it said to chuck the yeast in with the fruit, I've never seen that before, normally I'd make the juicy damson liquid leave it for a day or two, strain it, then add the yeast.

Still though it looks epic!

[googoomuck]

 The photos don't do the colour justice, it's calmed down now so I put the airlock back on. Yeah it gives the same instructions for the plum wine too, don't know the reasoning behind it. But on the web page it does say not to steep for too long on the fruit as it will turn bitter. Looking forward to supping this next summer!!

[LordEoin]

I think it's got something to do with breaking the fruit down before you extract the solids

[googoomuck]

Bottled this tonight, delighted with how it turned out. Colour is great, taste is great but a bit sweet at the moment. I'll see what it's like in the summer and make adjustments to the recipe if needs be. Definitely making it on a larger scale next August.

[googoomuck]

[LordEoin]

looks good, well done