Starting Home Wine Making - part 1 - fermenting equipment

[@hedgecomber]

I've never made wine, but love how you make it look so simple 👌

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Honestly Jane it really is easy! A recipe author like you would find it simple

[@TheCustomer]

This guy is showing us how you can enjoy life in a very simple way. Love this channel, great content, directly to the point without wasting any time, always got good and detailed answers for my questions. Thanks!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

I'm do glad you think that! Honestly, sad in our garden, with our neighbours drinking delicious home brewed beer at £1 for a round of drinks... there's nothing better. Happy doesn't have to cost!

[@FPS-WIFI]

Great video, you really did simplify wine making for new people, thanks for the introduction!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@peterv3216]

I'm just amazed more and more with every video I watch. What a great channel!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Thanks Peter - that's really kind of you

[@juttley72]

had my wine kit and beginners kit arrive today. Booked tomorrow off work and will be getting stuck in. It seems like I am constantly thanking Hugh and Fiona for these videos and inspiration, but I am truly glad. love the idea of not giving the tax man lots of my income. Also love the idea of trying country wines, but we are still early on in our small holding experience and only this year planted out an orchard, and some bushes such as elderflower - (although the wife managed to kill them off yesterday by taking the tractor and topper over them - just the elderflower, not the orchard). So I will be trying wine kits, as well as cider kits for a while, whilst I build my experience and grow the fruits and other ingredients we need for country wines. looking forward to the taste tests. thanks again. John

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Honestly John, you'll not pay silly money ever again. Get ypur friends to save bottles for you!

[@juttley72]

@@EnglishCountryLife Hi Hugh, finally got around to making the wine, plus another (white zinfandel) on the go. I was so impressed with the wine kit that I have another one arriving today. It works out at around £1.20 a bottle at the most and I would say it is equally as good as a £6-8 bottle of wine from the shop. Very easy to make and the taste is delicious. I will get around to making country wines eventually, but for now, I am going to try a few kits and hone my skills whilst I build up the small holding infrastructure to grow all that I need. Thanks for recommending kits, it is definitely a good way to get into wine making, and will save me a small fortune.

[@BLAQFiniks]

I don't even like alcohol... but I really enjoyed this very simple & entertaining explanation of wine making! 😜

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Thanks Alex!

[@ryanewbank9271]

I just stumbled on this channel. I have been making wine for a long time, this is a perfect explanation of wine making.Very well done mate! I really enjoyed this video.cheers mate!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

That's really kind Ryan - thank you

[@topazpowell8561]

I'd love to see mead making, this to me is quintessentially English countryside.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Hi Topaz - I must take care of that then. How do you like your mead? Dry? Sweet? Flavoured? Hugh

[@Karen-eh5zg]

I love your simple approach to home wine making Hugh, and it gives me the confidence to try other flavours this summer. I thoroughly enjoy the process and I'm excited for what's to come this year. Thank you for this..

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Thanks Karen! Is there any particular wine that appeals?

[@Karen-eh5zg]

With Elder season coming up, I'd love to try 'champagne' and even the Elder Berry wine. Blackberries are my favourites, so I'd love to see that one too. Even strawberry wine. In fact any fruit, flower or vegetable wines.. I love them all 😁

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Our elderflower and strawberry champagne might be worth a go! kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGnXpXuKjahrb9U I'll do blackberry for certain this year. We have strawberry wine already kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpXUg6Wans2lacU

[@jimknight5675]

It would be really nice if you made how to make the various country wine as per the seasons.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Hi Jim, we do have a variety of country wine recipes (elderflower, strawberry, blackberry) - but seasons vary by country 🙂

[@glynhaywood3520]

Love the videos mead would be great thanks

[@EnglishCountryLife]

I really must film the next batch 🙂

[@donnapemberton8100]

I get really excited when I see a new video from your channel.. you make everything look so easy without all the technical jargon which can be confusing. Damien used the large spoon on our Parsnip wine. Fantastic. 🐓🪵🌳

[@EnglishCountryLife]

"Damien used the large spoon" sounds like a code phrase from a spy movie 😁

[@donnapemberton8100]

@@EnglishCountryLife 😂 he loves that 😂

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@donnapemberton8100 In best BBC voice broadcasting to the resistance. "And now for our brave friends, here are some messages 'Damien has used the big spoon' I say again 'Damien has used the big spoon' " 😁

[@donnapemberton8100]

@@EnglishCountryLife we are both actually laughing out loud imagining that 😂

[@1megalin]

Fabulous! Thank you! It's such informative content! Loved the Parsnip wine video too! Personally I would be very interested in other wine/alcohol recipes that aren't sweet. I love fruity sweet wine but It's great to have less sweet ones with dinner so if you know any more like that it would be fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙏

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Hi & thank you. Do try our recent elderberry wine recipe - its seasonal and a nice dry red, suitable for having with a meal 🙂

[@1megalin]

@@EnglishCountryLife Thank you, I will!!

[@geoffanddebshipton6797]

Perfect timing Hugh! We’re making our first wines over the next couple of weekends. Strawberry wine first, then a rhubarb (maybe). We’re keen to have a go at blackberry too. All the fruits really! We hadn’t thought of the wine kits though - sounds like they are worth a try... Thanks as always for the great info and demystifying the process. 👍

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Honestly some of the modern wine kits are superb here. I strongly recommend trying one of the quality kits

[@geoffanddebshipton6797]

@@EnglishCountryLife will definitely give it a go!

[@sethbuchanan1566]

If I may be so bold, I would suggest you consider making tej. Tej is an Ethiopian honey wine, and is apparently quite simple to make. I believe y’all would find it interesting.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Thanks for the idea - how does tej vary from mead?

[@sethbuchanan1566]

@@EnglishCountryLife I believe tej is considered a form of mead. The three traditional ingredients are honey, water, and gesho, with the yeast naturally present in the aforementioned gesho serving to ferment the tej, and as a flavouring agent. I do not know enough about other forms of mead to make any sweeping statements, but seeing as how gesho is native to Ethiopia I think I can safely say that it is one of the main differences. Though I admit, tej being one of the older extant beverages makes my interest mainly historical.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@sethbuchanan1566 Fascinating, thank you

[@sethbuchanan1566]

@@EnglishCountryLife Thank you for your response.

[@robertsouthernsouthern5524]

Cheers

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Slainte!

[@jacquiehahn4910]

Best wine I ever made was "Boozy Floozy". About 11 years ago we had a mad glut locally on plums & damsons. Our neighbours lived in Berlin, and only got down here on high days & holidays. "Pick!" They said. "For the love of God, pick!" 160kg of damsons later, I'm thinking some of this is being reincarnated as wine. Bucket, must, yeast, demijohns, more demijohns, finally, after a house move, bottled. One glorious Summer evening I thought "oh! The damson wine!" A glass went down champion on the terrace as I watched the sun go down. A gorgeous deep rosé. Sweetish, very fruity. Just lush. Got up for a wee and my legs were a little reluctant. 17.5% according to my hygrometer!!! I was banjaxed after 3 glasses.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

That is the best name ever for a wine 🤣

[@ashm5206]

I’ve missed your last few videos so looking forward to catching up on them this evening! A great straightforward explanation as always. My parsnip wine is still ticking along, our kitchen ended up quite cold and it delayed the fermentation but it’s been racked now and waiting for it to clear. Had a sneak taste while it was still fermenting and it tasted like a strangely nice cross between brandy and beer!!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

A cross between brandy and beer sounds awesome!

[@ashm5206]

@@EnglishCountryLife it really was, I think I’ll even put some aside early next time to drink quickly as a still fermenting beer-esque drink! You should give it a go next time around

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@ashm5206 I think I will!

[@peterjones3879]

Great video Hugh, and as always perfect timing, I always want to make elderflower wine but miss it, your video now has me primed and ready. If you are planning to make elderflower wine please show us how. Thanks to both of you for your great content!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Thanks so much Peter! As it happens we have a three part series on Elderflower wine. Here's part 1 kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4CqZZuCaNJ_mLs Hugh

[@TheCustomer]

Do you have any videos for cleaning and maintaining suede or nubuck leather boots? Or do you plan to do any? ;-)

[@EnglishCountryLife]

I haven't yet - let me give it some thought!

[@jacquiehahn4910]

Ok, been here before with the Rumtopf, but one tiny, cheap, and in my humble opinion, vital part of the wine-making kit is one square inch of kitchen towel and one small rubber band per demijohn. If you're using glass, double-bubble, S shaped airlocks, cover the top with the kitchen roll & secure with the rubber band. That way you avoid the disgusting sludge caused by CO2/alcohol crazed fruit & vinegar flies diving into the airlocks. And that glass is pretty delicate, so cleaning them is a pig.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

That's a fantastic "top tip". Love it!

[@garethwilliams1923]

Great video. Need to take away the fear that winemaking is a dark art and too complicated, which you’re doing. I’ve never used sterilising powders and always used bleach. I do use the Young’s super wine yeast compound and have never been let down. Removes the need for extra nutrients. I’ve also found that if you deflower elder and vacuum pack, you can portion and freeze to make at a later date. I find it’s quite nice to have the champagne at Xmas, when I miss spring.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Love that idea for elderflower. I find freezing actually helps some fruit wines h the freezing bursts cell walls releasing flavour. Similar to harvesting sloes after frost.

[@bunny-tc8yr]

Love the videos How long do we must our 5 gallon pail of Blackberries before we add our yeast and sugar ?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Take a look at our blackberry port video - it covers our blackberry wine method kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaO0YpyBia11p5Y

[@robjamessolo]

Hi sir - can you explain about degassing - I see other KZbinrs stirring wine or shaking the demijohn to get rid of the carbon dioxide - is it necessary ?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@robjamessolo It's a good thing to do. Degassing removes dissolved CO2. That CO2 can make the wine acid & prevent clearing

[@SteveW1985]

Have you ever used bentonite ?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Not in wine making, I have in soap

[@SteveW1985]

@@EnglishCountryLife fair enough. It looks like it gives really good clearing results. I think I'll probably stick to your method as it's my first ever try at it.

[@acrewoodapiary4741]

Would you recommend pectin in mead. I also didn’t use tea or lemon juice but I did use the yeast nutrient, it’s my first brew so I am beginning to think I may have messed up.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

When you say that you would recommend pectin in mead, do you mean pectin enzyme? Mead is a very slow drink to ferment but quite forgiving.

[@acrewoodapiary4741]

@@EnglishCountryLife sorry I was asking if you recommend it, to clear it.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@acrewoodapiary4741 I understand. There is almost no pectin in honey so unless you have added fruit to the recipe, pectic enzyme will not help to clear mead. Finings are the wat to go.

[@acrewoodapiary4741]

@@EnglishCountryLife I see, thank you.

[@Coxeysbodgering]

A little bit of information missing and some concerns. Not all sugars are fermentable, but register in the specific gravity. To stop risk of bottle bombs and to know fermentation is complete don't rely on the number of bubbles in the airlock use hydrometer (lots of information on web on how to use one correctly) Also other gases are produced in fermentation and these are trapped in the wine and naturally disperse after the fermentation has stopped. Airlocks don't just stop contamination they also stop oxidation (sherry is an oxidised wine) so cotton wool will not stop this, balloons have coatings inside that can be toxic so should also not be used. If you prefer high street shopping then Wilko's have a home brew section . This is not a dig most of the information is great but things I've mentioned above should be observed. Take care and stay safe, regards Mike

[@EnglishCountryLife]

The hydrometer point is covered in part 2 Mike 😉. As for the balloon and cotton wool, you are right, they aren't airlocks but not everyone can afford airlocks (or have access to homebrew shops in some places)

[@ClaraLarson-e5e]

It would be really nice if you made how to make the various country wine as per the seasons.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Hi Clara, we do have a number of Country wine recipes in our playlist (and a new one coming out tomorrow). I'm not quite sure how to organise them by season though? kzbin.info/aero/PLDluIIoNPsldQZSpsDMKrT2ORoGMURQ-F&si=hhgKRJxwF_RReqks