1.7Kg soft fruit collected in Bishopwood comprising (most first) blackberries, elderberries and a few rose hips) 1kg crab apples (also from  Bishopwood) 5 litres boiling water 2 campden tablets 250g seedless raisins Rind and juice of one unwaxed lemon 3 tsp pectolase 1.2kg sugar 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient ½ teaspoon tannin 1 teaspoon citric acid SB3 High Alcohol and Country Wines yeast

DAY 1: 07-09-02
The fruit was thoroughly rinsed, and the apples roughly chopped. 5 litres boiling water was poured over the fruit and left to steep overnight.

DAY 2: 08-09-02
Once cooled 2 teaspoons of pectolase were mixed into the fruit mixture along with two crushed campden tablets.

DAY 3: 09-09-02
The mixture was mixed morning and evening.

DAY 4: 10-09-02
The mixture was mixed morning and evening. A starter bottle was prepared.

DAY 5: 11-09-02
The fruit was strained through a nylon straining bag, then twice through muslin. This proved to be extremely time consuming as the liquid contained a fine suspension of fruit pulp that repeatedly clogged the muslin strainer.
Not wanting to risk the considerable effort that had gone into this brew already the 4.5 litres of semitransparent deep purple liquid (which dyed everything it came into contact with!) was brought to the boil to ensure any natural yeast or other contaminants were rendered harmless.
The boiling liquid was poured onto 1.2kg sugar, 1 tsp yeast nutrient, 1 tsp citric acid and ½ tsp tannin. The brew bucket was covered and left to cool overnight.

DAY 6: 12-09-02
The starter bottle was added to the cooled fruit juice along with a teaspoon of pectolase. The bucket was recovered and left to allow fermentation to get underway.

DAY 8: 14-09-02
The initial fermentation was extremely vigorous and produced copious amounts of foam, had this happened in the demijohn there would have been a good deal of mess and waste! Once the fermentation had settled the brew was transferred to a clean demijohn, with the remainder put into a pop bottle ferment.

WEEK 10: 17-11-02
Fermentation appeared to have ceased, yet the gravity was measured at 1023! The wine look rather cloudy, and it was decided to filter the brew before proceeding any further. The filtration required a wholly excessive four crystal brite pads to complete the gallon, as the wine was really too soupy for effective filtration, and the paper quickly became blocked. Even with the inclusion of the pop bottle ferment the loss incurred by the filtration and racking meant there wasn't quite a full demijohn by the end, however the cloudiness had all but vanished leaving a deep red wine.

The only reasonable explanation for the stuck ferment is that the berries contained rather more natural sugar than I had accounted for (perhaps in this case a guideline initial gravity measurement would have been worthwhile!). This coupled with the apparent low alcohol tolerance of the Young's Dried Active Wine Yeast used in the initial brew may have caused fermentation to cease prematurely. Once again a frothy start by the Young's yeast hasn't come up with the goods in the end. Might be best to stick with Brewmaker Express Wine Yeast Compound in future as it causes less hassle!

Not for the first time a sachet of SB3 High Alcohol and Country Wines yeast was brought to the rescue. A  starter bottle was prepared with the new yeast and after 24 hours was added to the partly full demijohn, filling it to the neck.

WEEK 10: 22-11-02
After a slow start a gentle stream of bubbles began rising in the bottle. Hopefully the wine will ferment to dryness this time!

WEEK 39: 08-06-03
The wine's gravity was measured to be around 1002. Although not as dry as some brews, a definite improvement over the result obtained back in November!! There was still some barely perceptible activity, but essentially this brew was finished and can be bottled at the next convenient time.

WEEK 44: 14-07-03
The wine was racked onto one crushed campden tablet and a teaspoon of potassium sorbate. Once dissolved it was filtered through the VinBrite and bottled into blue glass. Quite pleasant tasting even at this early stage, with a good mid red colour.

A fruity wine, with a real taste of forest fruit. Unusually the wine retained a good red colour. Slightly sweet, and a little lacking in tannin for a red. Almost certainly the best brew to date.