Recent content by Dandelion

Thanks beardy, That clarifies it! About the airlock and yeast. Some of my recipes say to put the yeast into the bucket, others to add it at the stage when you strain away the vegetation bits and put tre must into a demi-john. I usually give the yeast a little time before I add the airlock. So...

Hi Jim, Thanks for your answer - could you clarify vacuum or "sheet racking"? My wine is actually stirring a bit more again, possibly because oxygen got in when I removed the airlock to take a sample for hydrometer testing?

Sorry, I forgot the instructions: Put florets together with sugar, lemon rind, lemon juice and bruised ginger into a bucket. Pour over the boiled water. Leave covered to stand for 5 days. Then strain the liquid into a clean demi-john, sprinkle the yeast on, leave to stand a bit, fit the airlock...

Hi there, Thanks for both answers. The reading I got with the hydrometer was 1.000, so I guess ready as a medium sweet wine. I was aiming for a dry wine. I suppose I could rack it off now. However, as I wrote the liquid is still very opaque (pale yellow, rather than the strong amber it started...

I've made elderflower wine quite successfully for a few years now (also dandelion and rhubarb successfully and on one occasion only rose wine which was absolutely horrible). Fermentation has never been a problem - the wine has bubbled away like mad for a week or two, then somewhat slower for a...

Hi Thanks for that - I've found it now and a wealth of other useful information and recipes!:h

Hi, Can someone point me in the direction of Luc's recipe (much quoted in several forums, but I haven't found it) for Rhubarb wine? Alternatively I am happy to receive other suggestions for Rhubarb wine recipes. Please not too technical and without using kits etc. - I'd like to use the rhubarb...

I used something called "Wine Yeast super compound" by "young's brew". Sorry, doesn't sound very technical, does it? Bog standard, wine maker's yeast?

Hey, I love that! Simple calculative approach. Works well for people like me (teacher, ahem...). I will certainly keep that formula in mind for this year's wine making. Thank you and all others again for their advice.

Okay all of you. Thanks very much for all the advice. I'm off to bed now - working tomorrow. Wine can wait, it seems. Oh to be retired!

Okay, thanks for that reply. All my wines so far have come out vaguely sweet and quite strong, i.e. quick to make you feel tipsy. When I say, vaguely sweet, I mean entirely drinkable, but not as dry as a regular white wine, but never as sweet as a dessert wine. I have not backsweetened any. My...

Hi there, This is my third year as a winemaker. I made one batch of elderflower wine two years ago with great success. Encouraged, I made two batches (ie demijohns) of elderflower wine, one batch of dandelion wine and one batch of rhubarb wine last year. They all came out well, except for one...

Oh and by the way - my wine has finally ceased all activity (level water in the airlock for 3 days now...). I'm thinking the little daily shake might have helped. About the gas going the wrong way round - yes we did have a stormy night recently and it might have been that day I noticed the...

I wish...! Thanks for spotting that unintentional little joke - made me laugh too.

Okay Allie, Thanks - I'll give that a try!