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Making Fruit & Country Wines

Introductions

Instructions to make 4.5 litre (one gallon or 6 bottles) or 22.5 litres (five gallons or 30 bottles)of the following Fruit Wines:

  Apple Wine

  Blackcurrant

  Blackberry

  Cherry (Black or Red)

  Crab Apple

  Damson

  Elderberry

  Gooseberry  Greengage

  Loganberry

  Pear

  Plum

  Raisin

  Raspberry

  Redcurrant

  Rosehip

  Rowanberry

  Strawberry

See the quantities table below for the amount of fruit needed. If you are producing Wine from

Grapes please see our Grape Wine Guide. 

Equipment needed to make 4.5 Litres (6 Bottles)

  5 litre plastic (or glass) demi-john 

  10 litre (2 gallon) plastic bucket and lid 

  Siphon and U Tube (We recommend the auto-siphon) 

  Standard Straining Bag 

  Hydrometer 

  Thermometer 

  Steriliser 

Equipment Needed to make 23 litres (30 Bottles)

  30 Litre Bucket with lid, grommet and airlock  

  A second 30 litre bucket will be a real help

  23 Litre Fermenter with Large Cap, Grommet, Airlock, Tap & Digital Thermometer 

  Siphon and 'U' Tube (we recommend the Auto Siphon) 

  Large Straining Bag   Hydrometer 

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  Thermometer 

  Steriliser 

You will also need

  Scales (for weighing the fruit and sugar)  Sugar (depending on the amount of fruit, see quantities table) 

  Raisins (depending on the amount of fruit, see quantities table) 

Extra ingredients

The Hedgerow Wine Kit contains all Ingredients you will need and full instructions for their

usage. The kit comes in two sizes, depending on the volume of wine you are making.

  4.5 litre Hedgerow Wine Kit 

  22.5 litre Hedgerow Wine Kit 

Alternatively you can buy the ingredients separately. This is generally useful when doing

large quantities or if you make wine regularly. You will need the following:

  Pectolase 

  Wine Yeast 

  Wine Yeast Nutrient 

  Campden Powder (Sodium Metabisulphate) 

  Stabiliser (Potassium Sorbate) 

  2 Part Wine Finings 

  Citric Acid   Oak Barrel Extract (Available only as part of the Hedgerow Wine Kit) 

Temperature Control

For temperature control you may want to look at using a heat tray, brew belt or similar. We

sell a number of products to help control temperature:

  Brewbelt 

  Heat Tray 

Bottling Equipment

We offer a bottling pack  that includes everything you need to bottle your wines as listed

below. You can or course also buy the items individually on our store.

  Twin Handled Corking Machine 

  Straight Corks 

  Customisable Labels 

  Shrink Tops 

  Plastic Top Stoppers (these simply push in, but should only be used for short term

storage.)

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Preparing the fruit (see quantities you will need after the instructions)

For Hard Fruits

Remove stems, wash with warm water and slice into the bucket leaving the core and

any rotten fruit behind. The skin is important for flavour so don't peel the fruit.

For small currents and berriesRemove the stems and wash the fruit in warm water. Add to the clean bucket and

mash with an implement like a potato masher or use the Pulpmaster. There is no need

to remove the stones or the pips.

For soft fruit

Remove the stems and wash in warm water. Remove the stones if possible. Add to the

bucket and mash as above.

Other fruits

Greengages and gooseberries

Remove the stems, wash in warm water and slice into the bucket.

Raisins

These should be soak in warm water for approx. 2 hours. Large pieces should be

chopped first.

Rosehips

Wash in warm water and add to the bucket.

Campden tablets (or powder) should not be added if you follow instructions within the time

period. If there are any delays to making once the fruit has been processed add one to two

Campden tablets per 4.5 litres (per gallon).

Instructions

1.  Clean and sterilise the bucket (30 litre for the 22.5 litre kit and 10 litre for the 4.5 litre

kit) and lid with hot water. If you have purchased a straining bag then place this over

the rim of the bucket. If you haven't don't worry we will work round this later.

2.  Add the prepared fruit in the quantities as per table below. Add 5 litres (one litre for

the 4.5 litre kit) of boiling water and stir well. Now add 2 kilos (400g for the 4.5 litre

kit) of white sugar and stir really well. This you might find slightly difficult with the

straining bag in place. Now add just enough cold water to cover the fruit. You don't

want to over do this, and allow the temperature to cool to 50°C. Add the Sachet of 

Pectolase (or if using a tub as per the maker's guidelines). Leave for one hour stirringoccasionally.

3.  After the hour top up the bucket to 18 litres (3.5 litres for the 4.5 litre kit) with cold

water. You might already be here after you covered the fruit. Allow the liquid

temperature to fall below 30°C and then add the Sachet of Wine Yeast (or if using a

tub as per makers instructions) and stir. Leave for one hour and then add the Sachet of 

Yeast Nutrient (again or from the tub) and stir well.

4.  Leave at a temperature between 20-27°C to ferment for 3 days with the lid loosely

fitted and if you have one the airlock in place. This should be half filled with clean

water.

5.  After 3 days remove the straining bag from the bucket and gently squeeze the liquid

out from the bag back into the bucket. Don't over do it, you will introduce a bittertaste into the wine which comes from the seeds and other fruit compounds.

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6.  If you don't have straining bags use a sieve to remove the fruit gently pressing and

squeezing it to remove the juices. Alternatively pour off the entire bucket contents

through a sieve into the spare container ensuring the fruit is gently squeezed to retain

the precious juices. If making the 4.5 litre kit transfer to the plastic 5 litre fermenting

demi john.

7.  Dissolve the rest of the sugar in a separate container (see table) in 4 litres (800ml forthe 4.5 litre kit) hot water. Allow the temperature to drop below 40°C and then add to

the container. If necessary top up to the 22.5 litre mark (4.5 litre on the small kit).

Don't worry if you are slightly over this at this stage.

8.  Replace the bucket lid (and airlock half filled with water) loosely and leave to ferment

at an air temperature of between 20-27°C for 3 weeks. It will help if you place the

bucket on a surface that will allow you to siphon into another container and don't keep

looking at it during the fermentation as you can introduce infections. The temperature

is important and should be maintained as accurately as possible. Its better to be too

cold rather than too warm and airing cupboards are a definite no no. If the temperature

drops below 20°C (15-20°C) is still okay but the fermentation will take longer. We

would also recommend that heat trays or brew belts are not used as additional heatingaids. If you are struggling to maintain this temperature use a thermostatically

controlled immersion heater.

9.  When fermentation is complete (if using a hydrometer this will show the same gravity

reading for 3 days) add the contents of the Sachet of Stabiliser. If using tubs add

sodium and potassium metabisulphate as per manufacturer's instructions. Give the

wine a good stir this will remove the carbon dioxide gases which build up during

fermentation. Keep stirring for the next 48 hours.

10. When the gas has been removed add finings to clear the wine. Sachet of Finings B

should be added first to the container and stirred for 30 seconds. If you are not using

the kit then we would recommend the Kwik-Clear 2 part finings. Use these finings at

the same time as you would add sachet A and B in this kit. After 2 hours add the

Sachet of Finings A and stir for 10 seconds. Then immediately add the Sachet of 

Fining C and stir for 10 seconds. It is really important to add the finings as we have

suggested. Delicate bonds are formed between the various fining agents and will be

destroyed if these are no done in accordance with the instructions. Each fining agent

only needs to be folded into the wine. It is important that you do not proceed to the

next step until the wine is absolutely clear. Using the kit finings the wine should be

clear in 24 hours but can take up to 2-3 days. Other finings can take a lot longer.

11. Once you are sure the wine is clear you should siphon the clear wine into a separate

container. If you have not got a siphon kit you will not find this easy. Start with the

full container on a work surface and siphon down to the clean container on the floorbeing careful not to disturb or siphon the thick sediment which will have settled at the

bottom of the container.

1.  You will probably need to make some adjustments to the acidity and

sweetness levels. Do the sweetness levels first.

2.  Adjusting Sweetness - Taste the wine and decide if it needs sweetening.

Ignore all other factor like sharpness and acidity and roundness. All these will

change in time. Most wines will need some form of additional sweetness so

don't be afraid to do this. Add sugar or better still grape juice concentrate.

Keep doing this until the wine is to your taste. What the wine will really taste

like won't be seen until the acidity has been adjusted, the Oak Barrel extract

has been added and the wine has had 3-4 weeks to mature.

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3.  Adjusting Acidity - Taste the wine now you have finished sweetening it and

decide if it is sharp enough for you. If its not add about one third of the Sachet

of Citric Acid. Dissolve well and leave to stand for 10 minutes before re-

tasting. Keep repeating until you are happy with the taste. If in doubt leave it

24 hours and then retest the wine when your taste buds have had a rest.

12. The Sachet of Oak Barrel Extract should be added and stirred in well. This will speedup the ageing process and make the wine taste like its 12 months old in 4 weeks.

13. The wine can now be bottled. Depending on how long you want to keep your wine

depends on whether you use cork or plastic tops. If you are going to keep the wine for

more than 3 months we recommend using corks you will need a 2 handled corking

device to push these in. See bottling packs to buy.

Quantities

Suitable FruitHow Much Fruit

(kg)

How Much Sugar

(kg)

Extra Fruit

22.5

Litres

4.5

Litres22.5 Litres 4.5 Litres

Apple (Sour) 10 2 6.5 1.3100g per 4.5 Litres of 

Blueberries

Blackcurrant 4 0.8 6.5 1.3 400g per 4.5 Litres Redcurrants

Blackberry 6 1.2 6.5 1.3100g per 4.5 Litres of 

Blueberries

Cherry (Black or

Red)10 2 6.5 1.3

100g per 4.5 Litres of 

Blueberries

Crab Apple 10 2 6.5 1.3 200g per 4.5 Litres of Raisins

Damson 10 2 6.5 1.3 Nothing Else

Elderberry 4 0.8 6.5 1.3 400g per 4.5 Litres of Raisins

Gooseberry 7 1.4 6.5 1.3100g per 4.5 Litres of 

Blueberries

Greengage 10 2 6.5 1.3 150g per 4.5 Litres of Raisins

Loganberry 4 0.8 6.5 1.3200g per 4.5 Litres of 

Blueberries

Pear 8 1.6 6.5 1.3 Nothing ElsePlum 8 1.6 6.5 1.3 150g per 4.5 Litres of Raisins

Raisin 4 0.8 6.5 1.3 Nothing Else

Raspberry 4 0.8 6.5 1.3 150g per 4.5 Litres of Raisins

Redcurrant 4 0.8 7.5 1.5400g per 4.5 litres of 

Blackcurrant

Rosehip 0.5 0.1 6.5 1.3 150g per 4.5 Litres of Raisins

Rowanberry 5 1 6.5 1.3 300g per 4.5 Litres of Raisin

Strawberry 5 1 6.5 1.3 120g per 4.5 litres of Raisin

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All wines are designed to produce approx. 16-17% ABV wines. Should you wish to produce

less than this simply reduce the sugar. For example if you wish to make a 12% ABV then

reduce the sugar approx 25%.

All sugar shown is White Granulated Sugar available from any food shop.

For Rosehip you may prefer to use 5kg of white sugar and 2kg of brown sugar (1 kg and

400g for the 4.5 litre kit).

There is nothing to stop you experimenting with these recipes but do use the quantities as a

base.

What to do if you have insufficient fruit

Work out how much you are short from the table above. Then add half this weight in White

Grape Concentrate (for the red types like Elderberry you can use Red Grape Concentrate as

this will help to increase the colour) or Raisins. You will get a better result using the Grape

Concentrate. Alternatively you can mix different types of fruit together.

What do the ingredients do to the wine?

Pectolase 

This breaks down the fruit cell walls to release the juices. It also gives improved

flavour, colour and helps with clearing the wine. This is a natural enzyme and is used

in all commercial wines.

Wine Yeast 

Converts all the sugars into alcohol. It's important to use a genuine wine yeast strain(as is contained in the kit) as this will help to improve the flavour and allow a

sufficiently high alcohol level. Cheaper bread making yeast does not make good wine.

Wine Yeast Nutrient 

The nutrient in the kit is a special mix that contains all the vitamins and minerals

necessary for the yeast to work at its best. Always buy a decent yeast nutrient if not

using the one in our kit.

Citric Acid 

This is to balance your wine with the right amount of acidity. It gives the lemony zip

you want.

Stabiliser (Potassium Sorbate) 

The sachet is a mix of Sodium and Potassium Metabisulphate. The Sodium helps tostop your wine going off and the Potassium helps to prevent a secondary fermentation

but won't stop the fermentation so it's important to make sure the fermentation is

complete before this is added.

2 Part Wine Finings 

These will clear the wine and will also help to remove some off flavours smoothing

and maturing the wine. The three part finings used in the Hedgerow Wine Kit are not

available separately, so for bulk purchases we recommend Kwik Clear Two Part Wine

Finings, which are just as effective.

Oak Barrel Extract

This is a really super product which is a blend of real oak extract, real wine

concentrate, oak tannins and soft fruit concentrates. Once added it will promote rapid

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maturing and ageing in the wine. It is only available as part of the Hedgerow Wine

Kit 

Equipment

Hydrometer This will be a must needed product for your winemaking. It will tell you when your

wine has finished fermenting and will also help you work out your alcohol content. It

measures the gravity in your liquid.

Thermometer 

Temperature is one of the most important areas in successfully making wine. Don't

rely on guess work.

Straining Bag 

This will make it so much easier to separate your fruit and obtain the maximum juice

extraction. It will work much better if it large enough to fit around the rim of the

bucket. We offer them in two sizes, with a fine and a coarse option for each size.

Thermostatically controlled immersion heater 

This fits through a bung or grommet and drops into your wine. On the top you have a

control which allows you to preset the temperature to what you want. It will then

switch off when it reaches this temperature and then switch on when it drops again. If 

 you want to ferment in a cold area and can't keep a temperature between 20-27°C this

is a must. 

Pulpmaster 

This is like having a knife on the end of a metal rod that can fit into the end of an

electric drill. This then chops up the fruit. We recommend you buy the Pulpmaster

Bucket with the Pulpmaster, as the shield on the pulpmaster forms the lid of the

bucket (which keeps the drill in place) and prevents the drill from going out of control. It also keeps all of your valuable juice in the bucket, and not all over you or

the floor!

Siphon and 'U' Tube 

This prevents you from drawing up the sediment after the wine has been cleared

allowing you to bottle the clear wine. The U Tube fits onto the end of the siphon

tubing and draws the liquid about 50ml from above its end.

Starter Kits

  Buy a 6 Bottle Wine Press Starter Kit 

  Buy a 30 Bottle Wine Press Starter Kit   Take a look at our Wine Presses 

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