How To Make Wild Plum Wine
Wash the wild plums.
Wild plums are open to infection of worms and other bugs, so check each plum individually.
Add the plums which you have mashed by hand to your fermenting bin, discard any suspect wild plums.
Add sugar to 1 pint/0.5 litres of water and bring to the boil, add this to the bucket while still very hot.
Add 4 pints/2.25 litres of cold water, stir and wait to cool.
Now add citric acid, pectic enzyme and tannin, stir well cover and leave for 24 hours.
After 24 hours from adding tannin, citric acid and pectic enzyme.
Add yeast and yeast nutrient into the must, leave for 2 days stirring 2 or 3 times a day.
Strain must into a demijohn, removing large solids beforehand.
Add the grape concentrate of choice and top up demijohn with cold water.
Fit airlock and move to warm place, for the first few days give it a stir daily.
When fermnetation finishes add a crushed Campden tablet.
Move to a cool place to settle.
Leave one week then rack if necessary.
When fully clear bottle and maybe sweeten to your taste with a non-fermenting sweetner.
Enjoy this wine in 6 to 12 months.
Wild plum wine is a pale rosé wine if you use white grape concentrate. This wild plum wine (as all wines) improves with age, but you may not have to wait as long to try this one, other recipes can take twice as long. For this to become the best wine we recommend leaving it for 6 months, but longer is always better. Wild plum trees can be found in the countryside and if you find one keep it under your hat, as you’ll want these for yourself. Set a reminder for mid to late August. Enjoy foraging!
Preparation time: 50 minutes
Initial fermentation time: 3 days
Time to be ready to drink: 6 months
3½lb/1.6kg plums
2.2lb/1kg sugar
½ pint/250ml white grape concentrate (use red concentrate for red wine)
1 teaspoon/5 grams citric acid
½ teaspoon/3 grams tannin ½ cup strong tea (no sugar or milk)
1 teaspoon/5 grams pectolase/pectic enzyme
1 teaspoon/5 grams yeast nutrient
1 teaspoon Dried active wine yeast
1 Campden tablet
Sweetness: Medium Sweet
Calories per bottle: 400 approx
Yield: 6 bottles
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