Provided by Hop Shop, 22 Dale Rd, Mutley Plymouth, PL4 6PE - http://www.hopshopuk.com

GOOSEBERRY WINE

Juice from 1 kilo of Gooseberries
500ml White Grape Juice (without preservative) in a carton or 245g White Grape Concentrate
750g sugar
1 teaspoon nutrient
1 vitamin B1 tablet
1 teaspoons pectolase
Gervin Varietal D yeast
Campden tablets
Water to 1 gallon
Finings

1. For best results use fully ripe Gooseberries. It is recommended to extract the juice. To do this easily just wash the fruit and put it in the freezer. In this this case there is no need to top and tail them.

2. When you are ready to make the wine remove the fruit from the freezer, put it in a suitable container and pour 1½ pints of boiling water over. When the mixture has cooled sufficiently sqeeze the fruit with your hands, under the liquid so that it does not shoot everywhere, and burst each berry.

3. Add the pectolase, cover the mixture, and leave for for a couple of hours for the enzyme to work.

4. Press out the juice using a fruit press, if available, or a nylon straining bag. The Gooseberry juice, white grape juice, sugar, nutrient, vitamin B1 and yeast can all be added to the demijohn.

5. Ferment in the usual way under an airlock, rack, sulphite, fine and rack the wine again before bottling.

You can ferment on the pulp if you want to but if you are doing this you should top and tail the fruit first and then keep the fermenation short, just a couple of days.

You can use 2kg of Gooseberries which will produce a fuller bodied medium dry wine with a higher acid level. In this case if would be important to use a strain of yeast which will reduce the level of Malic acid, such as Gervin D Yeast.

 

Plymouth Wine Circle meet at 1930 on the second Friday of each month at Tothill Community Centre, St. Judes, Plymouth. If you would like to meet other people who enjoy the same hobby, you will be welcomed.

 

Provided by Hop Shop, 22 Dale Rd, Mutley Plymouth, PL4 6PE - http://www.hopshopuk.com