Help with gooseberry wine recipe

[Andysbrew]

I am new to winemaking and have been following cjj berry winemaking book. I am looking for a good gooseberry wine recipe as have gooseberries growing in the garden. The dry gooseberry wine recipe in the cjj book may not be to my tasting. I fancy trying to make sparkling gooseberry wine. the cjj piece about sparkling wines annoying as it doesn't state how many gooseberries to use, just to use 2 n half lb of sugar.

Is sparkling wine tricky to make? I might be better making a still wine?

Please help!

Thanks

 

[RobWalker]

if you want sparkling and sweet, that's where it can get tricky. the carbonation is supplied by sugar that's fermented in the bottle instead of the demi john, and it will eat the sugar in the bottle dry again. for dry, it's pretty easy. for sweet, you need a non fermentable sugar, or expensive bottling equipment - I suggest sweetening with Splendasweet or something, table top sweetener, and using sugar to carbonate your wine in the bottle :thumb:

 

[Andysbrew]

I think my plans have been scuppered! Just picked the fruit from my gooseberry bush, it looks really big and has lots of foliage but unfortunately has only provided 1/2 lb of gooseberries.......I have a blackcurrant bush with plenty on, will wait till next weekend if I get time and make some blackcurrant wine!.

Thanks for your quick reply Rob.

 

[Andysbrew]

Have acquired some more gooseberries , the threads back on!! please help!!

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

There was another thread where someone wasn't sure they had enough elderflowers for a batch of wine, and I suggested adding gooseberries. Perhaps you could do the same.

I was thinking of doing a gooseberry & elderflower champagne, until I saw how many gooseberries there are on my bushes this year - i.e. none

Turns out I was wrong, and the three gooseberry bushes have managed about 6Lbs between them. Encouraging, but still not fantastic - my parents used to get that much (or more) per bush when theirs were at their best. It became a tradition to watch the men's finals at Wimbledon while topping and tailing our way through 30 to 35Lbs of berries.

 

[Andysbrew]

Like the sound of elderflower and gooseberry, although I am looking for a gooseberry and blackcurrant recipe if that's possible, or gooseberry with something else, I have just weighed my total amount of gooseberries out the freezer and I have 1 3/4 lb. One recipe in cjj berrys wine making book uses 6lb.

PLEASE HELP! :lol:

 

[Andysbrew]

Anyone?

 

[godfrey]

here is a quote I received in a mail from andy hamilton author of the book booze for free

people have made fruit wines with varing amounts of fruits for years its part of the fun not to worry too much about exact measures

just make sure you write down everything you do because if you make an excellent brew you will want to reproduce it

in the book winemaking the natural way by ian ball, they have the 2 ingredients separate recipes here are the main differences

1) gooseberry recipe needs citrus and blackcurrant don't so check if blackcurrant contains citric acid
2) gooseberry recipe also needs tannin and blackcurrant don't
3) gooseberry use less sugar than blackcurrant lol
4) quantity of fruit for 1 gallon is the same weight

blackberry may be a better than blackcurrant as the recipe is closer match,
but you use what you have available and don't worry to much

not sure if it is helpful, but I am sure you will enjoy what ever you decide to make.

 

[Andysbrew]

here is a quote I received in a mail from andy hamilton author of the book booze for free

people have made fruit wines with varing amounts of fruits for years its part of the fun not to worry too much about exact measures

just make sure you write down everything you do because if you make an excellent brew you will want to reproduce it

in the book winemaking the natural way by ian ball, they have the 2 ingredients separate recipes here are the main differences

1) gooseberry recipe needs citrus and blackcurrant don't so check if blackcurrant contains citric acid
2) gooseberry recipe also needs tannin and blackcurrant don't
3) gooseberry use less sugar than blackcurrant lol
4) quantity of fruit for 1 gallon is the same weight

blackberry may be a better than blackcurrant as the recipe is closer match,
but you use what you have available and don't worry to much

not sure if it is helpful, but I am sure you will enjoy what ever you decide to make.

Thanks mate, found a recipe online that contains sultanas, might try that!!


http://www.howdoyoumakewine.co.uk/index ... ine-recipe although I'd have to buy a lot of tackle from the wine shop, I don't keep a lot being a newbie!

 

[godfrey]

most of the recipe that I have read use sultana (white grape) or a grape juice concentrate
to give country wine extra flavour, body and smoothness

make sure you chop them up :thumb:

how many more gooseberries did you acquire ?

EDIT:
you dont need tannin use a cup of tea ( 1/2 cup per gallon )
you dont need citrus acid use oranges or lemons ( about 2 per gallon )

in fact i would not use most of that

i would probably go with
gooseberries, sultanas, sugar, tea, orange/lemon juice, water, yeast and yeast nutrient

EDIT 2:
gooseberry is also a high pectin fruit so you will need pectolase or pectic enzyme ( use as directed on the packet )

EDIT 3:
Tartaric Acid is found in grapes and in the sultanas you already have in your recipe maybe just add a little bit more sultanas
but as i said before don't worry about exact measures, I am sure you will make a fine wine.

 

[Andysbrew]

most of the recipe that I have read use sultana (white grape) or a grape juice concentrate
to give country wine extra flavour, body and smoothness

make sure you chop them up :thumb:

how many more gooseberries did you acquire ?

EDIT:
you dont need tannin use a cup of tea ( 1/2 cup per gallon )
you dont need citrus acid use oranges or lemons ( about 2 per gallon )

in fact i would not use most of that

i would probably go with
gooseberries, sultanas, sugar, tea, orange/lemon juice, water, yeast and yeast nutrient

EDIT 2:
gooseberry is also a high pectin fruit so you will need pectolase or pectic enzyme ( use as directed on the packet )

Sounds good to me. Thanks very much!

 

[Andysbrew]

Just had a thought. I have read the recipe wrong. It is 1KG of Gooseberries and I have 1 3/4 lb of gooseberries. I think 2.2 lb is 1 KG. Might still go for it and just add more sultanas.

What do you think?

 

[oldbloke]

Sounds reasonable. If you have blackcurrants they make any country wine more winelike.
Say, your 1 3/4 lb of goosegogs, 1/4 lb blackcurrants, and 1/2 lb raspberries would be good (with a few raisins or sultanas)

I've done a few berry/currant wines and while single variety ones are OK, mixes have given me best results, with inclusion of some blackcurrants being a definite plus.
The exact mix doesn't seem to matter all that much - it all comes out tasty. Around 3lb fruit per gallon seems close to optimum, but raisins/sultanas can (should?) make up some of that

 

[godfrey]

that is sound advice OB it puts everything I believe into perspective

that info will be front page of my notebook !

thanks.