“I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.”
― W.C. Fields

This year I will make twelve country wines. Each wine is loosely based on the wine calendar in the classic British book, First Steps in Winemaking by C.J.J. Berry. I do, however, plan to freely substitute ingredients based on the principle that most should be available either on the farm or from a neighbor. Next year I will gather friends and taste each one and share the results with you.

Cheers, Brian

The blueberry bushes this year have cycled through blooms, then a leafing out, all before a terminal freeze reset the clock, several times. So with the understanding that which does not kill you makes you stronger, I will assume that a crop of blueberries will still grace our table and fill our freezers this year. And with that assumption, I committed 3 pounds of last years harvest to this project.

The recipe:

Blueberries                            3 lb.

Honey                                    3 lb.

Citric acid                              2 tsp

Water                                     3 quarts

Yeast                                      Red Star premier cuvee

Yeast nutrient                       1 tsp

Pectic enzyme                       ½ tsp

Tannin                                    1/8 tsp

The process:

Put the water and honey on the stove and bring to a boil. Put the blue berries in a straining bag and place in the primary fermenter. Pound the berries to release the juice. Pour the hot honey-water over the berries. Add acid, tannin, and the yeast nutrient. When cool, add pectic enzyme and yeast. Stir daily.

After 14 days, remove the strainer bag with the blueberries (do not squeeze). Then rack the wine into a glass carboy. In 3-6 months transfer to ½ gallon jugs.

Next March we taste.

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