Winter Warmers

Zesty Orange and Lemon

Now that it is starting to feel cold at night, I thought it might be a good idea to start making some Winter Warming Wines. I started off with an old favourite flavour of mine, Ginger. Not much foraging involved with this entry but the spirit is just the same.

Must Get A Lemon Squeezer Geezer

After pealing the zest off two oranges, two lemons the house was soon humming with exotic aromas and this was soon added to by my boiling the bruised and battered ginger in water and Demerara sugar.

Add the Rasins and Zest

I have made ginger wine before and it was very successful but I always feel a little bit mean when I smash the ginger root – I grew one once and it had lovely delicate leaves. I used the Head Chef’s stone pestle to prepare this.

Sorry!

We do not have a lemon squeezer apparently, so I cut the remaining skin off the fruit and sliced them into the mixture, this looked as agreeable as it smelled and I then proceeded to crush the juice out with my bare hands.

Smelling Rather Nice Now

In a dangerous manoeuvre I combined the boiling hot liquid with the fruity juice in a bucket and left it to cool down. When the mixture was luke-warm, I added the previously activated yeast and left it to ferment.

Fermenting Away Nicely

It is now bubbling away like a witches brew in my airing cupboard.

I might also try Rhubarb Wine, if I can collect enough from the garden…

Cherry Plum Wine

4lb. Plums

10cm Root Ginger

4 Cloves

1 lemon sliced

1 Gallon water

3lb. Sugar

Yeast

I used the cherry plums that I had previously frozen – there just happened to be approximately the right amount. I’m pretty confident that wine making, like cookery, is not an exact science, despite what some celebrity chefs would have us believe and this makes it much more exciting. If the plums have been previously frozen, this also helps to break down the fruit and release the juice. If you are using fresh fruit you will need to cut and stone the plums before continuing.

Now I Feel a Lot Better...

Bash the ginger with a rolling pin to release the flavour (and any residual stress left over from your day at work), add it to the plums with the cloves and sliced lemon. Boil the water, pour it over the mixture and stir. The boiling water will kill off any stress, which is now contained in the mixture; you can relax now and soak up the fantastic aroma.

A Lovely Smell and Colour

Cover loosely and leave for two or three days, stirring twice daily with a wooden spoon. I also added a teaspoon of Pectinase at this point, to help reduce cloudiness later. Strain the mixture through a jelly bag (a couple of layers of muslin or an old tea towel will do equally well), do not squeeze – be patient and allow it to drip.

And Wait...

Stir in the sugar until it is all dissolved and when the liquid is lukewarm add the (previously activated) yeast. Pour into a fermentation jar and insert an air lock. Then leave it to ferment to finish in a warm place.

Syphon off into bottles or a storage jar and cork.

Country wines will improve over time (apparently), although they can taste drinkable fairly soon after bottling. Even if your wine tastes great at first, it can be worth asking your beverage butler to set a few well labelled bottles aside in the wine cellar (kitchen cupboard/box-under-the-stairs/outhouse/shed etc.).

Cherry Plum Yum Yum Yum