How To Make Rowan Berry Wine
Add prepared rowan berries into a laundry bag or similar and lightly crush.
Chop sultanas/raisens and add to bag (if using).
Add 4½ pints 2 litres of boiled water.
Add pectolase.
Add crushed Campden tablet and fit lid to bucket.
Leave for 3 to 4 days.
Remove rowan berries and any other pulped fruit from mix.
Create a sugar syrup by adding the sugar to a pint or so of boiling water.
Add sugar syrup to fermenting bin and stir.
Top up fermenting bin to 5 litres.
Leave for 24 hours.
Add yeast.
Add yeast nutrient.
Cover fermenting bin and move to warm place for 5 days.
Strain the contents of fermenting bin into a demijohn.
Fit airlock and bubbler.
When fermentation is complete, rack into a clean demijohn.
Add one crushed Campden tablet.
Rack regularly until wine clears, then bottle and enjoy after a minimum of 12 months.
This wine is a long time being ready to drink so the upmost patience is needed.
Rowan berry wine is a historic old wine. Made for centuries in northern Europe, and now enjoying a revival in the UK. It’s one of the best foraging wines you can make as the berries are profuse around the UK and Europe. So for the cost of some sugar and a few other cheap ingredients you can make as much as you can get your hands on. The Rowan berry is also known as the mountain ash berry. It should be picked in October, don’t use over-ripe or mushy rowan berries (mountain ash berries), ensure they are of full colour. This wine though, will test your patience, as it takes over 12 months to be fully ready. Soon we will have a rowan berry gin recipe for you to try, so check back here regularly.
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Initial fermentation time: 10 days
Time to be ready to drink: 15 months
3lb/1.36kg rowan berries lightly crushed after being washed and destalked
8oz sultanas/raisens (optional for added body)
3lb/1.36kg sugar
2 teaspoons acid blend or 1 large lemon (zest and juice)
1 teaspoon pectolase/pectic enzyme
1 teaspoon of wine tannin or cup of strong tea (no sugar or milk)
1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
Dried activated wine yeast
2 Campden tablets
Sweetness: Medium dry
Calories per bottle: 500 approx
Yield: 6 bottles
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