Blackberry Wine

Here are some pictures and instructions from my blackberry wine experiment. Now we have our own flat, I thought I'd get some brewing started. We also live by the river Avon which is lined with fruiting trees this time of year. I stuck to just blackberries and butchered a recipe partly from the internet (http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/blackbr2.asp) and partly from a book I was too tight to buy at the brewing shop Brewer's Droop in Bristol. The plastic bin was borrowed from the Maddawg.


I started with 2kg of blackberries and mashed them up in a gallon (4l) of water. I left this to absorb the blackberries and then sieved the mixture a few days later. Some pectic enzyme and some yeast added with 1kg of sugar and a slow unspectacular fermentation started.

initial pressing divided into foul blackberry compote and barrel full of blood like liquid.


some cleaned kit

After 2 weeks I though this has faltered enough to put in Demijohns. I bought these from a shop in Cornwall for a quid each - although they were full of kelp at the time of purchase. I realised that the mixture was still full of guff, as sieving had only removed the pips and large dregs. So, using a posh bag, made from fibrous material, that Lou had bought an expensive pair of shoes in, I started filtering the mixture. This worked well until the bottom of the barrel.



I put the better part into the first demijohn, and the nastier last part half filled the second one. So if you come round in a year's time and I give you some gritty tasting wine, then you'll know where you sit in the hierarchy of guests.