Jack creeps over the line just in time for the Wednesday guest post – –

Back when Wendy and I were first married we lived in a very small rural village in Scotland. We were surrounded by the ‘fruits of the land’ – wild raspberries, blackberries, elderberries, apples etc. So I got into making wine, some of which was tasty and some not so much. All I had was a book, a carboy, a bucket and an airlock! The best was elderflower and rice but there were others that turned out pretty well too.

Now that we’re again living in a rural area and with lots of stuff growing in our backyard it was time to get back to wine making.

But it had been so long that I struggled to remember the process. I knew I needed the aforementioned carboy, bucket and airlock, so we got that and various other bits and pieces.

I started with left over juices from the fridge that had gathered over time, put them in the bucket with sugar in water and some baker’s yeast. But nothing much happened, so I consulted with my friend and wine expert Beth and she pointed me to a source of specialist wine yeast and it was duly ordered. That didn’t make much difference so it was time to consult Dr Google and it looked like temperature might be the problem. In the end I just racked it into the carboy and hoped for the best.

Meantime I started another batch with homemade apple butter, firethorn berry juice and banana. Now that brought back memories as it started frothing and bubbling! So I combined the two in our bigger carboy and it’s bubbling just like I remember.

In a few months we might have a palatable rose – – –