Mixed Flower & Nettle Wine - First Bottle (3), 30th May 2021

I had expected this wine to be one of my failed experiments. From its ingredients we have nicknamed it 'Compost Wine'. On the basis that it was likely to be horrid I took it to Newcastle so that we could share the pain. It is with some surprise, therefore, that I can report that this was Quite Good. It has a smoother taste than pure dandelion. Sooz said it was akin to sherry that is not Croft Original (the only sherry permitted in the Taylor household) - so not a total success. Andrew and I had the lion's share.

Sunday was an excellent day, starting with a visit to the South Tyneside coast. It was shrouded in mist whilst the rest of the country enjoyed blazing sunshine. In the late afternoon I went on a sunnier walk with Judith over the Town Moor and in the evening we feasted.

The South Tyneside Coast on a misty day

If you want to see how I made this wine, click here.

Elderflower, Mint & Rhubarb Wine 2019 - Fourth Bottle (4), 29th May 2021

We have just returned from a fabulous weekend in Newcastle, and this wine was one of our Saturday bottles. Judith was effusive in her praise and rightly so! Elderflower, rhubarb and mint is a delight.

Much of Saturday had been spent driving on the hottest, sunniest day of the year so far in a car where both the fan and the air conditioning were broken. As First World Problems go, it isn't the worst. We had a lovely evening, however, with Bob, Judith & Sooz. It is so good to spend time together again.

Spending quality time with the in-laws

Spiced Beetroot Wine 2021 - The Making Of...

I last made Spiced Beetroot Wine ten years ago. 2011 seems like a foreign country: they did things differently there. It is worth revisiting this flavour from time to time, not least because of its alarming colour. Also, on the whole my reds are better than my whites - and whilst this is not a traditional red (what with it being made from beetroot) it has the appeal of the unusual.

Not quite enough beetroot

I came home from Chapel Allerton on Saturday noon with not quite enough beetroot. Claire wanted two for her 'Beetroot, Goat's Cheese and Caraway' Bread, leaving me with 2½ lbs rather than the 3 lbs set out in my recipe. However, the bread was superb and I was deviating from my recipe in other ways, so this was no sacrifice at all.

Beetroot, Goats' Cheese and Caraway Bread

I began my wine-making on Easter Sunday, 4th April. Often at Easter we are in Newcastle or hosting Claire's siblings here but those options were impossible for obvious reasons. Instead I spent most the day in the kitchen baking (peanut butter cookies and lemon meringue pie, thank you for asking) and making wine to Classic FM's Top 300 Countdown. I chopped the beetroot into small-ish chunks and put these in my biggest pan with 6 pints of water. This was brought up to the boil and left simmering for 35 minutes.

Chopped Beetroot

Meanwhile, I sliced 2 oz of ginger thinly and put this, the juice of one lemon, 2 lbs 12 oz sugar, 8 oz minced sultanas and 2 pints of cold water into my bucket. Adding sultanas is new - and has been done to give the wine additional body. I put in six or seven shards of clove - some bits looked like really tny cloves - and this is certainly less clove than I have used on past occasions. I also added less than half a teaspooon each of ground cinnamon and mixed allspice. When the beetroot had finished boiling I poured in the water and discarded the vegetable.

Monday morning I added a teaspoon of nutrient and pectolase. I started a teaspoon of yeast in half a pint of sugary lukewarm water and once that was going put that in too.

Fermenting Beetroot Wine

After stirring once a day, I put the wine into its demijohn on Friday, 9th April whilst listening to the extensive coverage of Prince Philip's death. It was a quick job (the wine, not the death) (though that might have been too) and the wine is a pleasing colour. I have wrapped the demijohn in newspaper, however, so that the colour does not deteriorate (which apparently happens with beetroot wine).

A pleasing colour
(NB - I haven't altered the wine colour, just 
removed the green grass from the photo)

Elderberry Wine 2020 - The Making Of...

Sunday 6th September, despite being earlier than previous years, was really my only opportunity to forage for elderberries. Next weekend we are in Newcastle (before Leeds is put into quarantine) and the weekend after that would be too late. I had planned to go in the morning, but we were entertaining Jayne in the garden instead. Here I use 'entertaining' to mean 'making polite conversation and enjoying each other's company' rather than juggling fruit and eating fire.

Elderberries that made it into my bag

I drove to my usual parking spot and walked down Kennels Lane, noticing that there was little fruit in the hedgerows on either side. When I got to the field I always use, I discovered that it had been gated: the right of way has been diverted elsewhere. This, though, was not going to stop me! I climbed over the gate and picked the few elderberries there were along the previous right of way. My haul was clearly insufficient, so I wandered along the field side adjoining Kennels Lane, which was far more successful. Every now and again I head a tractor in a nearby field and I kept my eyes open for irate farmers, but my surreptitious plucking remained undetected.

A view across the field 

As usual I came away with two plastic bags three-quarters full, and this translated into 7 lbs of elderberries. It took a very long time to translate them, though - over 2 hours. During this time I listened to many episodes of Punt P.I., learning about Emile Zola's death and a mysterious low hum that certain people hear constantly. Separating elderberries from their stalks is a dull job.

7 lbs of elderberries, successfully stripped

I put 6 lbs of elderberries into my bucket and mashed them with the potato masher. These were covered with 5 lbs 8 oz (which is nearly exactly 2.5 kg) of sugar and 12 pints of boiling water. Next morning I added a teaspoon and a half of nutrient and a teaspoon each of yeast and pectolase.

Putting this into its demijohns was a Friday lunchtime job, so that we could drive to Newcastle in the early evening. I had limited time and was as efficient as possible. Including sterilising my equipment, it took about half an hour. The wine is as dark as ever and is bubbling enthusiastically.

Elderberry wine in its demijohns

Xmas Tutti Fruti 2019 - First Bottle (B3), 12th September 2020

I have broken tradition with this bottle but at Claire's suggestion. Covid 19 makes it near certain that we will not be able to celebrate Christmas with others. Therefore, we decided to mark the event three months early in Newcastle instead - as well as celebrating all the birthdays missed (which includes Bob's 80th and my 50th). We had just the best evening at 3 The Alders with all the Taylors in attendance. The food was excellent and the wine rather too plentiful. For an evening we forgot about pestilence and enjoyed each other's company.

As an aside, this wine is rather good. I think blackcurrant is the dominant flavour, which is remarkably odd, given that in the ingredients there is not a single blackcurrant!

The Taylor siblings

If you want to see how this wine was made, click here.

Rose Petal & Orange Wine 2019 - Second Bottle (2), 11th September 2020

We are in Newcastle! This is the first time that we have stayed away from home since late March, but we thought spending time with Claire's family before an inevitable second Lockdown occurs was important. I brought one of my best wines with me and we drank it to a take-out curry. This flavour was possibly overpowered by the spices and heat of the food, but still excellent with its buttery smoothness. It was just lovely sitting round the table with Bob & Judith - and tomorrow Sooz and Andrew will be with us too.

The entrance to Gipton Woods, taken on 11th September

Elderberry Wine 2017 - Tenth Bottle (B6), 6th September 2020

This was a fabulous bottle of elderberry wine. It was as smooth and rounded as I have ever had, with the rich earthy tones that elderberry does best. I had spent the afternoon picking elderberries and then stripping them from their stalks, so the evening's bottle was always going to be this flavour. We drank it to a chicken and prune casserole, which was also delicious, and started planning our trip to Newcastle next weekend - to be taken before Leeds goes into a localised lockdown.

Taken whilst picking elderberries

With this post, I have caught up entirely on my diary since the winter hiatus. Therefore, I am unlikely to be posting daily from now on.

Ginger Wine 2019 - Second Bottle (2), 11th January 2020

Claire has blue hair. It is really very blue indeed. Pretty much the colour of the Tardis. She has been planning this for over a year as a way to mark her 50th birthday. I shrieked when I saw it and then laughed and then decided that it looks fabulous.

Once she had come back from the hairdressers we went up to Newcastle where this ginger wine was the first bottle of the evening and enjoyed by all. Claire's family reacted to her blue hair as one would expect. Andrew asked if she was having a mid-life crisis and Claire replied that now was the time to have it.

Claire's blue hair - yes, really that blue

Blackcurrant Wine 2018 - Seventh Bottle (A4), 28th March 2020

This social distancing and lockdown regime does mean that one has to be more inventive with both communication and entertainment. I opened a bottle of blackcurrant wine during a virtual drinks party, where three of my colleagues and I appeared on my phone screen using WhatsApp. Whilst not a perfect success, it was entertaining. Lots of laughter. Then Claire and I finished the bottle whilst watching a concert put together by suggestions from our Newcastle friends, using YouTube. There was a collective enjoyment (though I fell asleep during Shostakovich 5). Despite the circumstances, a good day.

A photo I took on 28th March - it is a good book.

Elderberry Wine - Eighth Bottle (A6), 26th-29th May 2019

Bob and Judith stopped in Leeds on Sunday night as a staging post between Wiltshire and Newcastle. This provided an excuse for several cocktails, a vegetarian moussaka and a couple of bottles of wine, of which this elderberry was one. Elderberry 2016 is a fine vintage: dark and rich and smoother than the previous year's. Due to the large amount of alcohol already consumed, we did not finish the bottle but left that particular task for Tuesday night.

Something else which is dark and rich and smooth

Xmas Tutti Fruti 2018 - The Making Of...

Though I pretend not to, and despite being distinctly grumpy at work, I do enjoy Christmas. More accurately, I enjoy the feasting, the friends and family, and the sheer laziness of it. Today, Sunday 23rd December, has emphasized the last of these. I got up late and, other than a jaunt out to pick up provisions from Harehills, I have done very little. Or 'very little' unless one counts wine-making, which personally I don't. A hobby does not fall into the category of 'chore' (though rinsing and sterilising equipment is never exciting).

This afternoon I began my Christmas Tutti Fruti, though this has only consisted of digging fruit out of the freezer, weighing it and putting it into my bucket to defrost. In total I have 8 lbs and ¾ oz of fruit, which is enough for a double batch. Taking the fruit in the order that I added it I have:

Quince - ¾ oz

• Elderberries - 6 ¾ oz
• Blackberries - 7 ½ oz
• Strawberries - 10 ½ oz
• Rosehips - ¾ oz
• Sloes - 12 ½ oz
• Blackcurrants - 3 lbs, 3½ oz
• Redcurrants - ½ oz
• Raspberries - 4 oz
• Gooseberries - 1 lb 6½ oz
• Apple - 9 oz
• Satsuma - One (weighing in at 2 oz)

I left the fruit overnight to defrost. That evening, my Christmas started in earnest with Christmas carolling round the neighbourhood, organised by Angie for St Gemma
's Hospice. This is the event which marks the beginning of Yuletide for me - it is a pleasure to sing carols half-remembered from my youth, in a group where virtually everyone else can sing in four-part harmony.

The crushed fruit, with sugar added

On Christmas Eve I waited until 3 p.m. and the strains of Once in Royal David's City from King's College, Cambridge before mashing the fruit. I added 5½ lbs sugar and 12 pints of boiling water and gave it all a good stir, crushing any whole gooseberries I found with the back of the wooden spoon. The yeast, nutrient, pectolase and a small quantity of tannin went in on Christmas Day.

The fruit, fermenting in its bucket

I left the wine mostly unstirred (on account of being in Newcastle and York) until Sunday, 30th December, when I put the wine into demijohns. The wine has the most sludge that I can remember and made the process long and sticky. The following morning I weighed the discarded fruit. From the original 8 lbs, it now weighs 3½. The rest must be juice.

Xmas Tutti Fruti - First Bottle (A5), 25th December 2018

After a couple of Christmas Day cocktails (only one of which involved a Brussel Sprout garnish) I opened my first bottle of 2017's Xmas Tutti Fruti, serving it between all Taylors and me. I am pleased with this vintage. Whilst it does not reach the heady heights of 2014, it is still rather good. There is a slight fizz and it is both dry and fruity. On occasion, Tutti Fruti can be thin, but that is not apparent in this bottle. By the time we sat down to eat, this wine was a distant memory.

Rhubarb, Mint & Elderflower Wine - The Making Of ...

Quiet weekends are a marvellous thing. Whereas last weekend was a whistle-stop tour of Newcastle and family, this weekend has had nothing specific planned. A perfect opportunity to indulge in some wine-making. And, in fact, Rhubarb, Mint & Elderflower is one of those wines which requires much of the day to be set aside. I didn't help myself by also deciding to bottle 3 demijohns of blackberry wine. Rinsing and sterilising 18 bottles is perhaps not the speediest or most interesting aspect of the wine-making process.

And elder tree in bloom

On Saturday, 9th June, early afternoon, I set out to Allerton Grange fields with plastic bag in hand. The elderflowers are a week earlier than usual and gave off more pollen than I remember seeing before as I picked them. I concentrated on the blooms with a hint of citrus yellow and only took a few per tree. This bit of the elderflower process takes no time at all and I came away with less than half a bag full.

Not quite a pint of elderflowers and rhubarb sticks

It was the next bit that was tedious in the extreme; stripping the flowers from their stalks. I did this outside so that the tiny flies could roam free (and not end up covering our windows) and it took me over an hour. Even at the start I was not particularly careful about avoiding the thinnest bit of the stalks, and by the end I cared not a jot. This produced a little less than a pint of flowers, which is Good Enough.

Spear mint from our garden

I plucked just over 3 lbs of rhubarb stalks from our garden, sliced these up - they are starting to get woody - and put these in the bucket. I added the elderflowers and a medium sized handful of mint - both pepper and spear (but not water-mint which is unpleasantly bitter) - which I shredded.

The main ingredients in the bucket

I poured in 3 lbs of sugar and 6½ pints of boiling water, gave it all a stir and left it over night. On Sunday morning I added the yeast and a teaspoon each of pectolase & nutrient.

I put this into the demijohn on my birthday (Thursday) whilst drinking pink champagne. The wine will not be suitable for vegans. It has a number of black specks, which I assume are tiny drowned flies. Still, it is a pretty pink colour.

The end result

Rose Petal Wine - Eighth Bottle (C3), 30th March 2018

Bob & Judith's boiler has packed up - so this was an ideal time to visit them for a weekend. We took plenty of clothes and decided that washing would be an unnecessary luxury. In the evening, after visiting Keith, Jaki and Ellis (who I hadn't seen since June, which is far, far too long) I opened a bottle of rose petal wine. It was the only bottle we drank between the four of us, which is unusual, but it was a good one. Chilled, of course.

Rhubarb Wine - Ninth Bottle (C4), 9th-12th November 2017

On Thursday night, while on a train from London to Leeds, my phone buzzed. A text from Claire read "I have opened a bottle of wine". I sent one back suggesting that she may have chosen Peach & Banana, but was informed that it was 'nice', thus ruling out that flavour. When I returned, several glasses of wine ahead (travelling First Class is marvellous), I found this bottle of rhubarb in the fridge - so poured Claire and I another half glass each. Claire was right; it is a good bottle of wine.

We left the remainder in the fridge whilst we spent the weekend in Newcastle, celebrating Bob & Judith and Richard & Dianne's 50th Wedding Anniversaries. This involved a Barn Dance and lots of beer. I dosy-doed, swung and stripped the willow like a good 'in, driving back to Leeds on Sunday morning with a headache. Half a bottle of wine between us on Sunday was plenty.

Rhubarb Wine - Eighth Bottle (B4), 19th October 2017

While on the motorway, heading for Newcastle, in the dark and the rain, Claire said she was feeling peckish. I replied that I hadn't had sufficient brainpower to even think about food. "I have thought plenty about alcohol, though." It was some relief that we arrived safely and I did not give the wine any cooling time at all before opening it.

We were in Newcastle as a half-way stopover before Jennifer's funeral on Friday, which was in East Lothian. She was buried in a forest on a beautiful autumn day in which dappled sunlight filtered through the beech trees. Her send-off was a strangely lovely and moving experience.

Xmas Tutti Fruti 2016 - The Making Of...

Work has been exceptionally busy as of late. This year we will have sold 71 houses: 24 of them completed the week before Christmas. That is over a third of the year's total in one week. No wonder I have been at least two of the seven dwarves (hint: one of them is not Happy).

On Friday 23rd December the office closed early and I got home at four. This gave me time to remove fruit from the freezer and with it before dashing off to sing Christmas carols round the neighbourhood (which is always the first enjoyable Christmas event for me). I pulled the following from the freezer:

• 2 lbs 6¾ oz elderberries
• 2 lbs rhubarb
• 1 lb 6½ oz blackberries
• 9 oz raspberries (red)
• 7½ oz blackcurrants
• 7¼ oz gooseberries
• 3¼ oz rose petals
• 2½ oz rosehips
• 2 oz redcurrants
• 1¾ oz raspberries (golden)
• 1½ oz blueberries; and
• 1¼ oz figs

I calculate that this makes 8 lbs 1¼ oz fruit. These defrosted in the bucket overnight.

I waited until the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve before mashing the fruit. Claire waited until the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve before starting her viola practice. I grumbled a bit, but with judicious shutting of doors the carols were louder than the viola. King's College choir sang my favourite carol - Harold Darke's In the Bleak Midwinter, which was pleasing. At this point I added a satsuma into the mix.

I made my wish while mashing the fruit (but I always forget what I wished for from year to year - I don't think I wished for Brexit or a Trump presidency last year). It is easy to lose concentration when measuring sugar and whilst I think I put in 5½ lbs, there is a possibility that the wine got an extra pound. I added 12 pints of boiling water - definitely.

On Christmas morning I added the yeast, nutrient and pectolase, Claire gave the wine a stir, making her wish, and we got into the car and drove to Newcastle.

I put this wine into its two demijohns on Friday night, 30th December, after a day in the office which I will claim back on Tuesday. I should have put in a pint less water when making the wine, but it is bubbling away happily and is its usual dark purple.

If you want to see how this wine turned out, click here

Xmas Tutti Fruti - First Bottle (A2), 25th December 2016

This wine suffered in comparison to Tutti Fruti 2014. It is thinner and sharper, whereas the older vintage has greater depth and more obvious berry flavours. However, I think this is still a good wine - and more akin to a rosé. Dianne said that it would work chilled and I think she is right.

Christmas has been spent in Newcastle this year and the day was lots of fun. We had a present Lucky Dip (nothing cost more than a fiver) followed by good company, excellent food and sufficient booze. It is the way Christmas should be spent.

If you want to see how I made this wine, click here

Xmas Tutti Fruti - Tenth Bottle (A1), 25th December 2016

I have broken a tradition. After many years of drinking the last bottle of one batch of Tutti Fruti and the first bottle of the most recent batch on Christmas Day, I find myself having drunk only the tenth bottle of the older batch instead. I'm obviously not drinking enough.

I shared this bottle between ten at 3 The Alders as a pre-dinner drink and everyone thought it was excellent - which of course, it was. Claire's Uncle Richard said "Surprisingly good". I get that quite a lot.

Blackberry Wine 2016 - The Making Of...

Driving back from Newcastle on 4th September, we made a diversion to York to make sure all was sound with my parents' house while they are away. The fact that there were ripening figs to be harvested did not cross my mind. With the lavender pruned and a bowl of figs collected, we made our way to York Victorian Cemetery, arriving half an hour before it closed. Even at my most efficient, this did not give us time to pick the 12 lbs of blackberries that I wanted, so Claire and I returned the following Sunday morning, 11th September, armed with baskets and plastic bags.

It was a beautiful day - we are experiencing the warmest and longest Indian Summer that I can remember - and picking blackberries was a pleasure. I tried an area of the cemetery where I have not been before: one that began to be populated with graves in the 1950s. Generally I try to avoid tombstones younger than a century, but the fruit was so luscious and large that I made an exception. The names to whom I will raise a glass when I first taste this wine are Frank Roberts, George Zimmerman, Elijah and Rose Copley and (in particular) Ethel Metcalfe. Thank you all.

In two hours I managed to pick over 7 lbs of blackberries and Claire got more than 5 lbs, so my goal was achieved: a triple batch of blackberry wine.

Back at home I did not wash the fruit, it being so ripe (another week would have been too late) and I only rescued one woodlouse, so I suspect the wine will not be truly vegan. I crushed the fruit in my bucket with a potato masher, added 7 lbs 12 oz of sugar and poured over 14 pints of boiling water. This is less water than in previous years but then the blackberries produced more liquid. (In fact, I could have had another pint and a half of water in there.)

On Monday morning I added the yeast and (only) one teaspoon each of nutrient and pectolase. I put the wine into its three demihohns on Friday night, 16th September. This took about forty minutes and by the end the liquid was more of a thick gravy than a free-flowing wine. It is fermenting well and is a lovely vibrant aubergine colour. Aubergine wine - now there's an idea!

If you want to see how this wine turned out, click here.