Tim_Crowhurst
Landlord.
Something of a brewing newbie here. I made elderflower wine about fifteen years ago, and then didn't do anything more after that because I was at university and didn't have anywhere suitable for the DJs, so I forgot all about it.
For the last three years, my mum, aunt and I have been making jams, jellies and chutneys from fruit we collect in the hedgerows and get from my mum's garden and my allotment. The ones we make most often are apple & ginger and plum & brandy jams, bramble jelly, and plum chutney, and I also make sloe gin each year. Last autumn/winter I branched out a bit and did hawthorn blackthorn and spiced rosehip jellies, rosehip syrup, rosehip liqueur, seville orange marmalade and ginger marmalade for the first time, but even after all that still had quite a lot of sloes and a whole freezer drawer full of rosehips (my aunt was rather prolific in her rosehip collecting). I decided to use them up in wine since I also had about 8 kilos of sugar left over from making jams & jellies, and so began my new addiction.
My next wine-making project is rose-petal wine, using petals from a rose I gave to my mum for her 65th. It's a moss rose called Nuits de Young, and has an exceptionally strong and beautiful scent that I'm hoping will make for a great wine. The gorgeous deep maroon petals that should give it a really nice colour. I've had a search around online and heard quite a bit about the late-addition method, and will by trying that as I want to preserve as much of the scent and flavour as possible.
For the last three years, my mum, aunt and I have been making jams, jellies and chutneys from fruit we collect in the hedgerows and get from my mum's garden and my allotment. The ones we make most often are apple & ginger and plum & brandy jams, bramble jelly, and plum chutney, and I also make sloe gin each year. Last autumn/winter I branched out a bit and did hawthorn blackthorn and spiced rosehip jellies, rosehip syrup, rosehip liqueur, seville orange marmalade and ginger marmalade for the first time, but even after all that still had quite a lot of sloes and a whole freezer drawer full of rosehips (my aunt was rather prolific in her rosehip collecting). I decided to use them up in wine since I also had about 8 kilos of sugar left over from making jams & jellies, and so began my new addiction.
My next wine-making project is rose-petal wine, using petals from a rose I gave to my mum for her 65th. It's a moss rose called Nuits de Young, and has an exceptionally strong and beautiful scent that I'm hoping will make for a great wine. The gorgeous deep maroon petals that should give it a really nice colour. I've had a search around online and heard quite a bit about the late-addition method, and will by trying that as I want to preserve as much of the scent and flavour as possible.