As family and friends will tell you, I’m not that keen on plums, but, as the hedgerows and trees around the house have a more than plentiful supply, we thought we’d have a go at making plum wine. Different to the wine we’ve made in kits, we’re hoping this will be a little fruitier, with maybe even more of a kick than than the self-distilling products.
Picking 5.5kg (12lbs) of fruit, we placed the foraged plums in the fermenter and covered with two gallons of hot water to split the skins and let the pulp inside seep out and turn the liquid into a thick mush. We left it in this state for two weeks. The sight of mould peppering the top of the now thick syrup-like liquid, signalled that the first stage of natural fermentation was complete. Onto stage two.
First, the whole lot was syphoned off into a second fermenter, when 4kg of a boiling water and sugar mixture and some brewers’ yeast was added. The sugar syrup has to be added slowly, though, until the plum juice is clear. The yeast has to be measured, too; one teaspoon for every gallon of brew meant that we needed three teaspoons. Accompanied by another good stir, we capped the mixture with an air lock to release any further fermenting pressure and left it for another fortnight, quietly bubbling away.
Before bottling, the brew has to have stopped fermenting, to stop the stuff exploding. Campden tablets usually do the trick; they both kill off any remaining bacteria and stop the wine picking up contamination when it comes to syphoning into bottles. And although they’re explosive in concentrated form, too, diluting them negates this. Adding one tablet for every gallon of wine saw us add two and a half tablets, balancing our 10 litres of brew.
We syphoned the wine off into bottles last week, and just had enough to fill 12 bottles. A very pretty blush-pink liquid, they look perfect for the summer. Which is just as well – before we can drink them, we have to leave them in the outhouse for six to nine months to clear. It’s going to be a boozy 2010; the cider will ready then, too…
Tags: Journal, Make your own