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Dad's Wine Recipe

This recipe has been handed down from Father to son, and it works very well on all kinds of wine fruit with only minor variations. When I first tried this recipe in 1998, I was extremely pleased with the results, having achieved a 100% success. The wine was rich and full-bodied with the flavor of the blackberries still intact, but also with a high alcohol content and great legs.
As it matured (from about 3 months on) these qualities became more pronounced and it continued to improve into an excellent quality wine. It became increasingly difficult to save, and was gone shortly before Christmas. My only regret is that I made too small a batch.

 8 to 10 kg of frozen berries (1kg=just over 2 pounds)
20-30 litres of boiling water.
One teaspoon of active dry yeast
The end slice off a loaf of bread (the thicker, the better)
2 KG of sugar cooked to syrup

Start with a 20 to 30 litre pail.
The type used for commercial kitchens is ideal, with a tight fitting lid.
1) Place the frozen (blackberries in this case) into a 20 to 30 litre (ten gallon) pail. Cover with the lid, and let thaw for 24 hours.
2) Prepare a piece of toast, nearly burn it, and let it completely cool before using it. If possible, put it in a warm, dry place for a week or so to really harden and dry out.

3) Bring 20 or 30 litres of cold water to a boil, and pour over the blackberries, filling the pail to within two inches of the top. Cover, and let cool another 24 hours without opening. this will keep conditions as clean as possible, in prep for the yeast.

 4) Remove the berries and add the sugar which has been dissolved in water and cooked to a syrup.

5) Float the toast in the middle, and measure a teaspoon of Active Dry Yeast onto the toast, taking extreme care not to pour it directly into the juice. Cover immediately, and leave for 24 hours, and then remove toast. Secure cover, and wrap entire vat with a blanket to hold the temp @ 72-78 deg.
6) The wine will bubble for a very long time, and you should check its progress each day, lifting out the last whole berries with a sieve. When it stops working, (6 to 8 weeks ) siphon it in gallon jugs, and store in a dark, cool place for at least 1 month to let the sediment stratify.

7) Finally, siphon again into wine bottles laying them down for a month to wet the cork. Stand up again, and store as long as you want, it only improves with age!!! Please share this recipe around as much as you want, this wine can be said to be good for you, unlike some domestic "wine" which is simply berry juice with pure alcohol added, and can actually harm you!!! Best when shared with family and friends, and seldom leaves you hung over. I hope you will enjoy it and experiment with any type of berry you like!! It's a lot of fun!!

      The benefit to growers, and the reason I put this recipe on my grow page, is that while it's working, it produces a LOT of C02 which can be utilized by your garden to boost growth to ABOMINABLE proportions!
Up until now, I've left out the CO2 supplementation until I could provide the easiest way to produce it without buying a whole bunch of expensive equipment, and this is definitely it. All these projects will keep you busy, but, eh, what're you going to do?? A busy life is a happy one.
Brew the wine in your 24/7 vegging room for best results, the 12/12 cycle in the flowering room will cause too much heat variation and will kill the wine by freezing out the active bacteria.