Before you start, select the type of wine you are most likely to prefer and then use fruit and the method which will make this type of wine. In fact, the best method to use for each type of fruit is given with each recipe.

However, let me tell you this, no matter how advanced winemaking methods become and how easily you can obtain its special ingredients, there will always be in the hearts of everyone – a place for the true country wines, for they have that indefinable ‘something’ which sets them apart from all others, a uniqueness that cannot be found in any other wine either made at home or commercially produced.

NOTE: If there is not quite enough space for all of this last lot of syrup, put the remainder in a sterilized screw-top bottle and store for a few days in a cool place. This may be added when fermentation has reduced the level of the liquid in the jar. If you have to do this, don’t forget to refit the lock. In addition, in each recipe appears the name of the best yeast to use and this is best added as a nucleus as already described. If you must use bakers’ yeast or dried yeast, merely sprinkle it over the surface of the ‘must’ at the time given in the method you are using.

Note: The amounts of sugar and acid present in each fresh fruits vary from season to season, of course they vary with the type of tree, soil, and situation and with the sort of summer you have had while the fruits have been growing. A hot summer creates fresh fruits containing more sugar and less acid than a wet sunless summer, when the effect is the reverse. BLACKCURRANT WINE (A Light, Sweet Wine): 3 3/4lb. blackcurrants, 3 1/2lb. sugar (or 4lb. invert), 7pts. water, al-purpose wine yeast, nutrient. Use method 2. Ferment the diluted juice.

BLACKBERRY WINE (Burgundy Style): 4-5lb. blackberries, 3 3/8lb. sugar (or 4lb. invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient, 7pts water. Use method 1. Ferment the pulp. BLACKBERRY WINE (Beaujolais Style): This recipe won 1st prize among 600 entries on the occasion of the 2nd National Conference and Show for Amateur Wine-Makers at Bournemouth. 4 1/2lb. blackberries, 2 1/2lb. sugar (or 3lb. 2oz. invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient, 7pts. water. Method 1 was used. The wine was, of course, dry. BLACKBERRY WINE (Light Table Wine): 3lb. blackberries, 3lb. sugar (3 3/4lb. invert), 7pts. water, burgundy yeast, nutrient. Use method 2. Ferment the diluted juice. BLACKCURRANT WINE (Port Style): 4lb. blackcurrants, 1lb. raisins, 3lb. sugar (or 3 3/4lb. invert), port yeast, nutrient. Use method 1. Ferment the pulp with the raisins.

Making your own homemade wine might sound like a daunting task. However, you’d be surprised to know that you could completely handle the task of making fruit wines right in your kitchen. Clayton Bigsby has been making wine and learning all the tricks of the trade for years. To learn more about making homemade wine, click on the link.