Bramble Wine:

Started off our second batch of Bramble wine yesterday. We thought the season was well and truly over until we discovered a south facing hedgerow that was covered in lovely ripe berries. Going to name the wine "White Pheasant" as on the way up the dirt track, we spotted the one white Pheasant the keeper puts down every year.

The idea is that any of the party that shoots this pheasant has to pay £200, it's a tradition at this shoot. I don't think it happens very often, firstly, they don't shoot many birds as it's quite a relaxed estate (one of the reasons I beat there) and secondly, white Pheasants are quite often eaten by foxes long before the season starts due to being slightly conspicuous! Wouldn’t it be a nightmare to be the only pure white one among loads of camouflaged birds.

Anyway, back to the wine. It’s been years since we last tried our hand at wine making so it has been a bit of a learning experience all over again. The recipe we are using is basically just 3 ½ lbs of brambles, 3 lbs of sugar, yeast and a dash of grape concentrate. The first batch tasted ok when being racked, so hopefully after 6-9 months it should be fairly decent. Just wish we had some newer books on the subject, as everything we have is from the 70’s and the days when Boots dedicated whole areas of their shops to wine making.

There are enough brambles in the freezer for one more batch and then it’s on to the beer brewing. That process is a whole lot quicker so we should have some more immediate results while we wait for the wine. Come next spring we are going to try nettle wine as there are a lot of them about. Don’t fancy any of the vegetable recipes like Potato or carrot etc. Would have to try one first before making our own.