HEDGEROW 6 BOTTLE WINE KIT - INSTRUCTIONS

REQUIRED EQUIPMENT

USEFUL EQUIPMENT

THINGS PROVIDED IN THE KIT

Pectolase: To break down the fruit cell walls to release fruit juices inside. The enzyme does much more besides giving improved colour, better clearing as well as improved taste. The same enzyme is added to all commercial wines & also to clear fruit juices - it is entirely safe. Indeed, this is a natural enzyme found in many micro-organisms which use the enzymes to break down plant material for food.

Wine Yeast: To convert all the sugars (natural sugars from the fruit and the white sugar added) into alcohol. The type of yeast chosen for winemaking is very important. The type of yeast contained in this kit is a genuine wine yeast strain, which will produce good wine flavour and also produce high levels of alcohol. one of the biggest mistakes of winemaking is to use cheaper bread making yeast strains - this doesn't make good wine.

Nutrient: To help the yeast work. Yeast (like man) works best if given a balanced diet, complete with all the amino acids, Vitamins & Minerals needed. The nutrient contained in this kit is rather special because its recipe has been carefully selected to suit wine yeasts individual nutritional need whilst it is fermenting.

Citric Acid: To add to the final wine if not 'sharp (lemony)' enough. 10g sachet is included, 1/3 of the sachet should be added at a time and the wine tasted before further amounts are added.

Finings (3 types) - To clear your wine, but also help smooth/mature your wine.

Oak Barrel Extract - A natural blend of real oak extract, real wine concentrate, oak tannins & soft fruit concentrates. Once added to your wine it promotes rapid maturation and mellowing of the wine - allowing the wine to mature within 3-4 weeks instead of 6-12 motnsh.

Suitable Fruits How much fruit? How much white sugar? Extra Fruit

Apple (sour)

2kg

1.3kg

0.1kg Blueberries

Blackcurrant

0.8kg

1.3kg

0.4kg Redcurrants + 0.15kg Raisins

Blackberry

1.2kg

1.3kg

0.1kg Blueberries

Cherry (black or red)

2kg

1.3kg

0.1kg Blueberries

Crab Apple

2kg

1.3kg

0.2kg Raisins

Damson

2kg

1.3kg

Nothing else!

Elderberry

0.8kg

1.3kg

0.4kg Raisins

Gooseberry

1.4kg

1.3kg

0.1kg Blueberries

Greengage

2kg

1.3kg

0.15kg Raisins

Loganberry

0.8kg

1.3kg

0.2kg Blueberries & 0.1kg Raisins

Pear

1.6kg

1.3kg

Nothing else!

Plum

1.6kg

1.3kg

0.15kg Raisins

Raisin

0.8kg

1.3kg

Nothing else!

Raspberries

0.8kg

1.3kg

0.15kg Raisins

Redcurrant

0.8kg

1.3kg

0.4kg Blackcurrants & 0.15kg Raisins

Rosehip

0.1kg

1kg White & 0.4kg Brown

0.3kg Raisins + 0.6kg Rosehips

Rowanberry

1kg

1.3kg

0.15kg Raisins + 0.1kg Blueberries

Strawberry

1kg

1.3kg

0.1kg Raisins

FRUIT PREPARATION

Once you have decided upon which recipe to make from the table above, the fruit must be prepared as below. Wash your hands and rinse away all soap thoroughly before preparing fruit.

For small currants & berries (Blackcurrants, Blackberries, Elderberries etc) - Remove stems & wash fruit in warm water. Add to clean bucket then crush (no need to remove stones) using a 'potato masher' or some other kitchen implement.

For hard fruits (Apples, Pears etc) - Remove stems, wash with warm water then slice into bucket leaving core and any bad fruit. The skin is important for flavour, so the fruit should NOT be peeled.

For soft fruits (Damsons, Plums, Cherries etc) - Remove stems, wash with warm water. Add to the bucket then crush (remove stones if possible - but not essential).

PREPARATION

1. Clean a 5L Demijohn with plenty of hot water (do not use boiling water, but only hot water from a domestic hot water supply).

2. Add your prepared fruit into the Demijohn - this should be done as quickly as possible to ensure the fruit does not 'go off'. Add 1 litre of very hot tap water, swirl Demijohn contents (if using glass do not put your hand over the top as the can cause the glass jar to act as a pressure container). Now add 0.4kg of sugar & swirl for 2-3 minutes to dissolve the sugar. Add just enough cold water to cover the fruit - make sure you do not add too much cold water (better to add less if in doubt). Stir well, then leave to cool to 50c, add the Pectolase sachet contents & stir well. Now leave for 1 hour - stir occasionally.

3. After 1 hour, top up to 3.5L (Demijohn three quarters full), with cold water (it may already be 3.5L or above already depending upon the fruit you added), swirl well - do not proceed until the liquid temperature has dropped below 30c (it usually will be below 30c at this point). Now add the wine yeast. Leave for 1 hour and add the nutrient sachet contents & stir well.

4. Wash the bung & Airlock in hot water, half fill the airlock with cold water, then fit it to the Demijohn.

FERMENTATION

5. Now leave to ferment for 3 days (fermentation is just the name people use to describe the conversion of sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide gas by the yeast). After 3 days remove the fruit by pouring off the entire Demijohn contents (slowly!) through a Muslin Bag or sieve - pouring into another clean rinsed container - ensure fruit is gently squeezed to retain precious juices. DO NOT Squeeze the fruit too hard otherwise you will introduce a bitter, harsh flavour into your wine from seeds and other fruit components. Once you have poured off the entire contents, rinse out and discard any remaining fruit from the Demijohn using warm water, then return all the liquid.

6. Separately dissolve the rest of the sugar (dependant on table above) into 0.8L of hot tap water. Once dissolved, wait until the temperature drops below 40c before adding to the Demijohn. Top up to 4.5L with cold water if necessary. You may have some issues getting all the fruit into the Demijohn depending on your chosen fruit. It is imperative that extra sugar from instruction 5 is added, even if some of the Demijohn contents need to be thrown away to make room for all the sugar solution to be added.

7. Now replace the Airlock (Airlock may need re-washing and re-filling) and leave to ferment for 3 weeks at between 22c-27c until fermentation stops (this will be when no more bubbles of carbon dioxide gas are rising through the Airlock). The Demijohn should be placed 0.5m or more off the ground for easy syphoning later. The temperature in this part is really important, if thee temp rises above 28c you will end up with really sweet, poor quality wine. If the temperature is slightly below 22c this won't affect the taste or performance but fermentation can take up to twice as long. Ensure you keep an eye on the Airlock & re-fill or re-wash if necessary.

CLEARING

8. After fermentation, add the contents of the stabiliser sachet, stir well and leave for 2 day. The wine is left for 2 days so that it loses its dissolved carbon dioxide gas (otherwise you can get clearing problems). If you remember, it is good to stir the wine a few times during these two days - It's not an issue if not.

9. After the wine is free from dissolved gas, add Chitosan sachet directly to the wine. Stir gently for 30 seconds (its ok that the sediment gets mixed up!), and then leave for 2 hours. After 2 hours, add Finings 32 sachet & stir gently for 10 seconds. Then immediately add Finings 3 sachet and again stir gently for just 10 seconds. Now leave the wine to clear - do not continue to instruction 9 until absolutely crystal clear / 'water bright' - this usually takes about 1 day, but leave for 2-3 days to be sure. It is really important you add the fining sachets gently to the wine. Delicate bonds are formed between the clearing agents and the solid matter (including yeast cells) in your wine - vigorous stirring breaks these bonds and your wine will not clear so well.

10. In white wines it easy to tell whether the wine is clear by simply looking into the Demijohn, you should be able to clearly see through the wine in the Demijohn and the sediment at the bottom should be clearly visible - just as if water was on top of the sediment. For red wines the only way to check clarity is to take a sample of wine 3/4 of the way down the Demijohn.

SYPHONING

11. Syphoning is one of the trickier parts of the process, this is the process of separating the clear wine from the sediment at the bottom of the Demijohn. We advise practising with water beforehand. We would advise purchase a simply syphon as listed above. Simply place the syphon on the top of the sediment & pump until the wine flows into the tube.

12. Once you have clear wine with no sediment, you might want to make some adjustments to sweetness & acidity. It's best to adjust the sweetness before acidity.

ALTERATIONS

Adjusting sweetness: Taste the wine, try not to think of how 'sharp(like lemons' or how ''watery'' the wine is), just consider whether the wine is sweet enough. If it is sweet enough, then proceed to adjust acidity (see below). If the wine is not sweet enough (this is normal) then add 1/4 cupful of white sugar, stir until fully dissolved then re-taste. Continue to add 1/4 cupful's of sugar until sweet enough.

Adjusting acidity: Taste the sweetened wine and decide whether it is sharp enough for your taste. If not, then add about 1/3 of the sachet of Citric Acid, stir well to ensure completely dissolved and leave for 5 minutes before re-tasting. Add further 1/3 or 2/3 of the sachet if required, ensure you wait 5 minutes per addition of Citric Acid.

FINISHING & BOTTLING

13. Now add the Oak Barrel Effect, stir well. This maturing compound will allow your wine to mature within only 3-4 weeks instead of 6-12 months.

14. Once 4 weeks has passed siphon wine into 6 bottles of your choosing, ensuring they're appropriately cleaned & sanitised. Enjoy!