Name: Blackberry Wine
Yield: 4.5 litres
Ingredients: 1.8 kg blackberries; 1 kg sugar; 4.5 l water; 1 tsp acid blend; 1 tsp pectic enzyme; 1 campden tablet; 1 tsp yeast nutrient; 1 sachet Lalvin 71B

About this recipe

Easy homemade blackberry wine recipe for one demijohn (1 gallon). Hedgerow fruit, sugar and patience. The cheapest full bodied red you will ever make.

Ingredients

blackberries1.8 kg

sugar1 kg

water4.5 l

acid blend1 tsp

pectic enzyme1 tsp

campden tablet1

yeast nutrient1 tsp

sachet Lalvin 71B1

Method

1

Pick over the blackberries, rinse and discard anything mouldy

2

Freeze overnight, then thaw and mash in a sterilised bucket

3

Dissolve the sugar in hot water, cool, and pour over the fruit

4

Add the acid blend, pectic enzyme and a crushed campden tablet, cover and leave 24 hours

5

Add the yeast and nutrient

6

Ferment 5 to 7 days, stirring daily

7

Strain into a demijohn, top up to 4.5 litres and fit an airlock

8

Ferment out for 2 to 5 weeks

9

Rack off the sediment

10

Age at least 6 months before drinking

Brewer's notes

The fruit is free if you time it right, which is most of the appeal. Pick from a few different spots for balance, above dog height, and skip anything dusty from the roadside. Early September berries beat the late watery ones. Freeze them overnight first, it breaks the fruit down and you get more out of it. No added tannin needed, the skins carry plenty, which is what makes this one drink more like a proper red than most country wines. Ferments dry with 71B; sweeten at bottling if you like.

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