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Plum & Sloe Country WineCountry Wine · Country Fruit Wine · Still · Dry–Medium

Plum & Sloe Country Wine

E
by @essesser
13.1%
ABV
1.1
OG
1
FG
1 gallons batch · target 13% ABV
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About this recipe

Plum and sloe wine is a deeply flavoured, tannic country wine that makes excellent use of late-summer and early-autumn hedgerow harvests. This homemade plum wine recipe combines the rich, jammy sweetness of Victoria plums with the astringency of sloe berries to create a beautifully balanced, port-like country wine. It's one of the finest recipes in the British country winemaking canon, robust, complex, and absolutely stunning when aged for a year or more.

Ingredients

Victoria plums, stoned and roughly chopped1.4 kg
sloe berries (frozen to break the skins)400 g
white sugar400 g
water3.5 l
wine yeast (Lalvin RC212 or similar)1 tsp
yeast nutrient1 tsp
pectic enzyme0.5 tsp
Campden tablet1 item
Lemon Juice1 item
grape tannin (or 1 cup cold black tea)tsp

Method

1
Stone and chop the plums. Combine with the frozen sloes in a sanitised fermentation bucket.
2
Pour over 3.5 litres of cold water. Add Campden tablet and lemon juice. Cover and leave 24 hours.
1 day
3
Add pectic enzyme and leave a further 12 hours.
4
Dissolve sugar in the must. Aim for SG 1.095–1.105.
5
Add tannin, yeast nutrient, and pitch the yeast.
6
Ferment on the fruit for 6–7 days, stirring daily and pressing down the cap.
7 days
7
Strain through muslin into a demijohn. Press gently, avoid extracting bitter oils from the stones.
8
Rack after 4–6 weeks and again after another 6 weeks.
9
Bottle once fully clear. This wine is astringent young, ideally age 12 months before drinking.
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Brewer's notes

Brewer's note: The sloe skins contribute significant tannin; if the wine tastes too harsh, age longer or blend with a sweeter, lower-tannin wine. A small amount of glycerine (1–2 tsp) added before bottling smooths the texture beautifully.

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