Blackberry Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Fill a large stone jar with ripe berries and cover with water.
Let the mixture stand for 24 hours to ferment.
Strain the liquid through a cloth.
To every 3 quarts of juice, add 2 quarts of cold water and 5 pounds of sugar.
Ferment and age
Pour into a demijohn, reserving some juice to top off as fermentation occurs.
After 6-8 days, add ½ box of gelatine for every 10 gallons.
Cover the bung-hole with muslin after two weeks.
Cork tightly after three weeks and leave undisturbed for six months.
After six months, bottle and seal.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Blackberries (in the method)
- Provide the flavour, colour and natural sugars that ferment into the wine.
- Brown sugar
- Feeds the yeast during fermentation, producing alcohol and carbonic gas.
- Gelatine
- Helps clarify the wine by binding particles so they settle out.
The step that matters
Top off the demijohn as fermentation occurs. Fermentation pushes foam and liquid out of the vessel. Keeping it full with reserved juice limits air contact, which lets oxidation and spoilage organisms take hold.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
You might also like
Vegetable Soup350 recipes
Raspberry Vinegar214 recipes
Brown Coffee with Egg175 recipes
Blackberry Cordial129 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.