Hands on Traditional skills and where to learn them

Making wine and cider

How do you make wine?There is a long tradition of making wine from fruits such as blackberries, gooseberries, elderberries or elderflowers – aka country wine. Essentially, you make it by adding water, sugar and yeast to your chosen fruit.

“Grapes have the perfect blend of sugar, acids and tannins, which is the basis of a good wine,” says Phil Wheal, who gives wine- and cider-making courses. “When you make wine from other fruits, you have to add sugar and wine yeasts.”

The first step is to crush the fruit in boiling water (about 2kg of fruit to 4.5 litres of water). Then you add the sugar (also about 2kg). “The lighter the wine, the less sugar you add; and the stronger the wine, the more sugar you add,” explains Wheal.

Next you leave the mixture to cool until it is lukewarm – 25 degrees – before adding the yeast and leaving it all to ferment for three or four days in a bucket covered with a cotton cloth.

What's next?After that you filter it into demijohns – big bulbous bottles – and leave it for another six to eight weeks. "This is an approximate time. Wines made from flowers or grains will take longer," says Wheal. "When there aren't any bubbles in the fermentation lock on the demijohn for about 15 minutes, it's ready. The wine is drinkable at this stage, but the flavour will improve further if it is poured into another demijohn and stored for a further few weeks in a cooler place." Finally, you bottle it.

“There is a range of flavours you can produce from your own fruits. Blackcurrants will produce a nice red wine, while gooseberries will give you a dry white table wine and elderflowers will give you a slightly medicinal white wine.” says Wheal.

What about cider?For good cider you need a blend of dessert and cooking apples, which you press and add cider yeast to.

“Apple juice will naturally turn into cider if left to ferment with the wild yeasts, but you risk ending up with cider vinegar, so it’s best to use a cider yeast,” says Wheal. “There are huge variations in cider-making, and numerous recipes, but the key is to have the right mix of sweet and sharp apples.”As with wine, you’ll need to leave the cider to ferment for a few weeks before it is drinkable.

Where do I sign up?David Llewellyn is giving a course in making cider next Friday, September 23rd, from 10am to 5pm at Sonairte, the Ninch, Laytown, Co Meath (041-9827572, sonairte.ie). Phil Wheal will give a wine and cider course at the Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co Leitrim, on October 9th. (071-9854338, theorganiccentre.ie).