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)

Orange Wine 2021 - The Making Of...

One of the 'First World Problems' caused by Covid 19 is the sheer amount of queuing that it creates. Whilst one might point to the 120,000 deaths in the UK, the mental health crisis, the vast unemployment and the failure to see loved ones, it was the time spent standing in lines that annoyed me most on Saturday, 6th March. The greengrocer, the butcher and the post office all had long, slow-moving queues and by the time that I got home Claire had to calm me down with cake.

A crate of 24 oranges

Making things better, though, the greengrocer had set aside a box of 24 oranges for me - large Spanish oranges looking like they had been plucked from their tree mere hours ago. 

I started making my wine that afternoon by thinly peeling half of the oranges and covering the peel in two pints of boiling water. This is always the most tedious bit of making orange wine and this year I separated it out of the process by making it my first task, leaving the orange peel to percolate in its water for 24 hours. I did a particularly poor job of avoiding the pith and if this wine turns out too bitter, that will be the explanation. 

A particularly poor job of avoiding the pith

On Sunday afternoon, 7th March, I squeezed all 24 oranges - changing hands every three oranges so as to avoid a painful and overused shoulder. This is a sticky job and required frequent handwashing.

Some of the oranges with outer skin removed

With the oranges being larger than most years I got far more juice - 6 pints (including all the bits of flesh). I added 6¾ pints of cold water and the two pints of water that had been covering the peel. Into this I poured 5½ lbs of sugar and gave it a good stir. I then started 2 teaspoons of yeast fermenting in half a pint of water with a teaspoon of sugar and put this into the mix once fermentation had begun. I added a teaspoon of pectolase and 1½ teaspoons of nutrient. Though my usual timetable would have me putting the wine into its demijohn on Friday, it was Book Group that night (Grownups by Marian Keyes - hated by some, loved by others) so I did this all on Saturday 13th March instead. There was little to sieve out so the process was quick. I am left with two demijohns of pure sunshine.

Two demijohns of sunshine

Rose Petal Wine 2018 - Ninth Bottle (A2), 17th-18th February 2021

When Claire asked what bottle of wine was next on the list to get rid of, I chose Rose Petal - a flavour that we drink slower than we might if it were better! This bottle was actually fine and I may make Rose Petal Wine again one day.

There was nothing exciting about either day on which we drank it, save that we watched The Death of Stalin on Thursday, which had a fabulous cast and managed to be both brutal and funny. Not a light comedy, and it explored the nature of power with a satirical eye. Recommended.

Taken on 18th February - A Study in Circles.

Orange Wine 2016 - Final Bottle (A1), 26th-27th January 2021

Orange wine is not one that becomes steadily better with age. This was not an awful bottle but was distinctly mid-week. It had that hint of fortified wine that older bottles often acquire. On a personal level very little happened of any note on the two days that we drank this. I made a fabulous beetroot & goat's cheese risotto but that was about it. On a national level, the UK passed 100,000 deaths from Corona Virus. That is about the population of York.

A Hellebore flowering in our garden

Orange Wine 2018 - Tenth Bottle (A5), 10th-11th November 2020

Hurrah! I'm not dying. My blood tests came back on Wednesday and everything is normal. The weight loss is down to additional exercise and no additional food. Therefore I need to eat more. That is my kind of remedy! I could pretend that we opened this bottle in celebration, but it was opened on Tuesday to accompany The Great British Bake Off - which is now in its closing stages. So, instead, we finished it in celebration - and I am relieved that I no longer have to take my blood pressure twice a day.

Taken on 10 November

Blackcurrant Wine 2017 - Eleventh Bottle (B3), 16th-17th October 2020

Reading about previous bottles of this vintage, and on the strength of this bottle, I am surprised that I waxed lyrical about 2017's blackcurrant wine. This particular bottle has acquired that sherry taste that old bottles of home made wine can get. For some flavours this is a bonus. Blackcurrant is not one of those flavours. We still drank it though - grumbling as we went. 

Friday was my final day of a week's holiday and it hasn't been the best - what with Kato dying and all. Still, I managed a pleasant walk from Otley and along the Chevin and it was not a bad day.

Views over Wharfedale from the Chevin

Orange Wine 2018 - Ninth Bottle (B4), 14th -15th October 2020

We drank the majority of this bottle with a Chinese Takeaway from G-Wu, and very fine Chinese food it was too. A chilled orange wine feels like the right one to have in these circumstances. The day itself was not my best day of holiday ever. In the morning we buried Kato (grave digging, even for a cat, is hard work) and in the afternoon I went for a rubbish walk round semi-industrial areas of Batley.

Thursday was better: it was the 25th anniversary of Claire and my first kiss, and we celebrated by walking the Malham Round. You can't beat a good bit of limestone pavement.

A good bit of limestone pavement

Xmas Tutti Fruti 2018 - Ninth Bottle (B4), 13th October 2020

Kato died today. Earlier in the afternoon he let out two howls and I found him lying awkwardly in the dining room. Then, in the evening immediately before Bake Off, he raised his head to the sky, gave a long low cry and died.

Kato was just a fabulous cat - probably my favourite ever - and I mourn his passing. We have only shared his life for three years - less - but I would not have been without him. I wish, though, that we had had more time. And now there is a Kato-shaped hole in our house.

This bottle was already open when Kato died and we finished it between us without tasting any of it.

Me and Kato - not great of either of us!

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 2018 - Sixth Bottle (B6), 17th July 2020

Ian Ward has died. I heard from Paul on Monday that he was dangerously ill, and by Friday he was dead. It wasn't Covid 19 and I'm not quite clear what it was. Paul, being in Canada, cannot come over without quarantining for a fortnight. It is a miserable position to be in. And I am hugely sad at Ian's loss - he was a fine and good man - so much more than my best friend's dad. We opened this bottle and toasted Ian from the glasses given to us by Paul and Allie for our wedding.

An Edwardian Post Box taken on 17 July

Elderberry Wine 2018 - Second Bottle (A3), 19th July 2020

This elderberry wine is still too young. It retains a vaguely metallic taste and has yet to attain a proper depth. It is drinkable, nonetheless, and we did not struggle to finish the bottle.

The day's most notable feature was a long conversation with Paul. I don't think that I have spoken to him for about six years, but we carried on as if it was only yesterday. The circumstances - Ian's death - were tragic, but Paul was philosophical and surprisingly good humoured. He can't get to the funeral, of course, but will come to a future memorial service.

The years fell away as we spoke - as if we were still teenagers, still sitting next to each other in Maths. He (along with Bridget) is the best friend that I have ever had.

Taken on 19 July

Inca Berry & Raisin Wine - Fourth Bottle (1), 14th-15th May 2020

Whilst it was not an act of responsibility to open a second bottle on Thursday, this is what I did. Claire was low, water is dripping from our ceiling and I had just been told of Renate's death. So not an evening to drink in moderation. 

The wine is an odd one - it is basically alcoholic raisins but not those soaked in brandy that appear at Christmas. Claire summed this bottle up as reminiscent of slightly rank sherry.

I took this on 15 May - and it gives some 

indication of what I do at work.

Orange Wine 2016 - Eleventh Bottle (A3), 14th May 2020

Thursday was not a good day. There is water dripping through our kitchen ceiling and I found out that Eric from Brooke North's post room and Renate have both died. Eric was killed by prostate cancer and Renate by a weak heart. She died alone and in November, and that makes me sad. A genealogist is trying to find out if there are any relatives, but I will not be able to shed any light on that. Anyway, we had finished the orange wine by the time I was rung by Mike about Renate, so I did not raise a glass to her. Next bottle, though ...

In memory of a fellow bassoonist

And here we both are, about 7 years ago

Rhubarb, Elderflower & Mint Wine 2020 - The Making Of...

It is with this wine that I say Adieu to my forties. They have mostly been very kind to me. At their start I was just finishing off my MA in Medieval Studies and now at their close I am in a job that I enjoy and I feel settled in my life. The decade has seen two redundancies, a published book, moving house, a dear friend dead, two new cats, a strange and frightening world order, two nephews and the current pandemic. Put like that, my forties sound far more traumatic than they, in fact, were. They have certainly not been uneventful. What better way to mark their close than (or, alternatively, as I had a free Saturday, how else should I spend it except by) making Rhubarb, Elderflower and Mint wine?

Our rhubarb is very much past its best, so I sent a message to Liz to find out if she had any spare. Happily she had plenty and brought round 2 lbs. I managed to get a further pound from our plants to obtain the 3 lbs required for the recipe.

About half the elderflowers came from the elder tree growing in the Synagogue hanging over our back fence; the rest came from trees on Bentcliffe Drive and the elder in Allerton Grange Field. Stripping these to get a pint of flowers was always going to be the dullest part of making this wine, but was enlivened by listening to Mark Steel's in Town on BBC Sounds.

Over the past few years my 'handful of mint' used in this wine has been getting larger and Claire thinks that this is to the wine's detriment. Therefore this year I have only picked a small handful - and mostly spearmint (rejecting those leaves with cuckoo spit on them).

I chopped the rhubarb into thin pieces and put this, the elderflowers and the chopped mint into my bucket with 3 lbs of sugar. I poured over 6½ pints of boiling water and left this overnight. On Sunday morning, 14th June (my 50th birthday), I put in a teaspoon of yeast, nutrient and pectolase.

I meant to put all this into its demijohn on Friday night, but instead had a Zoom meeting with Rachel and Duncan, where we drank a gin and tonic and then a bottle of (real) red wine. Doing anything productive after that was not going to happen. Instead, the wine went into its demijohn on Saturday morning, 20th June. It is a light pink and fermenting as it should.

The wine and Kato

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

Blackberry Wine 2017 - Twelfth Bottle (A2), 1st December 2019

I shouldn't leave it five days before writing up a bottle of wine, because I can never remember what I was doing the day I drank it and certainly there is no recollection of its taste.

I spent the morning exploring Beckett Street Cemetery, opposite Jimmy's Hospital. There are some fabulous gravestones there. The Victorians were very good at Death. The evening escapes me, though it obviously involved a bottle of blackberry wine. In other news, I am spending much energy worrying about a breach of copyright demand for several thousand pounds. I have employed solicitors.

Rose Petal Wine 2015 - Final Bottle (C2), 7th-12th September 2019

The night that I opened this, Kato brought a dead wren into the house. The night I finished it, he presented me with a dead rat. This is the largest (and bloodiest) kill he has had and, of course, Claire was away. Our division of labour is that I deal with spiders and she removes anything that that cats catch. I had to be very brave on this occasion! Anyway, probably a good job that I had drunk a large glass of relatively poor rose petal wine.

The Actual Dead Rat

Blackberry Wine 2019 - The Making Of...

Last year I learnt that sometimes Blackberry Wine is not exclusively to be made in September. I do not plan to make that mistake twice.

Fruit has generally been early to ripen this year, so Claire and I first visited York Victorian Cemetery to inspect blackberries on Sunday 11 August. Whilst it was clear that blackberry season had only just begun, the berries that were ready were the largest, most luscious blackberries that I have encountered. After only about half an hour's foraging we had more than 3 lbs between us.

The following Sunday we were in York again, making sure that Pop was alright in Mom's absence now Keith and Jaki had returned up north. He was fine and all three of us went to the cemetery to gather blackberries. This time we got nearly 7 lbs. For a triple batch I need 12 lbs of blackberries, so we went a third time on 25th August, making it a hat-trick of weekends in York - this time the excuse was to see Mom, freshly back from her 60th High School Reunion in Nebraska. It was a hot day and Pop and I went to the cemetery ourselves to finish the job. This was idyllic - the sun beat down and the place was full of birdsong. I had a lovely hour with my father, chatting about this and that, discussing blackberries and getting nettle-stung.

My father, picking blackberries

(I love this photo of him)

The graves I must mention are (as always) Thomas Douthwaite - though his patch is so overgrown you can no longer see his grave -; Margaret Ann, Corporal W and John Doughty Pratt; Dorothy and John William Dobson; George Carlill (a slater); and Walter & Annabel Chambers. Claire picked from Dorothy Akers, who was only 9 when she died, and possibly Fanny Taylor, the beloved wife of Alfred Watson (solicitor of this town).

On Monday morning, 26th August, I mashed the blackberries and added 8 lbs sugar and 16 pints of boiling water. This cooled over the (hot and humid) day and I added a teaspoon each of yeast and pectolase, and two teaspoons of nutrient that evening. By Saturday night, 31st August, the liquid was ready for the demijohns. This went without a hitch and I now have three demijohns full of potentially delicious blackberry wine.

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

Rose Petal Wine 2016 - Fourteenth Bottle (B6), 17th-18th April 2019

On Wednesday I did my best to rescue a hedgehog. Walking from work to the car, I saw an extremely ill-looking hedgehog with flies landing on its eyes. After ringing 'hedgehog rescue' I wrapped it in my coat and drove it to the vet. In the waiting room were two rats, a snake and a tortoise. I handed the hedgehog over, left my number and was rung a couple of hours later to be told that it had been put down, which is what I had expected - at least it died in a painless and clinical way, rather than starving to death whilst being consumed by maggots. Still sad, though. Claire and I raised a glass of rose petal wine in its memory. It is what the hedgehog would have wanted.

Whitecurrant Wine - Final Bottle (3), 17th November 2018

This bottle did not even reach an average score of 1 at my Wine Party. It got 0.48, and my specific instructions were to rate each bottle 1-5. Whitecurrant wine, though, did not come last. I see from previous posts about Whitecurrant that I opened a bottle for my Wine Party in 2014, and this proves that Whitecurrant wine is one best drunk young.

One person (and I do not know who) wrote "Startling! Kerosene, Creosote, Vinegar" and awarded it a 0. Sooz could not even bring herself to rate it and wrote "The death of angels."

W is for Worst (but for Zucchini)

Blackcurrant and Raspberry Wine - Eighth Bottle (A4), 10th November 2018

I thought that a bottle of wine closely associated with Julia would be a suitable one for a Rydal committee meeting at our house. It is strange that she died four and a half years ago - it seems like both so much more recently and so much longer at once. We raised our glasses to her and got on with the business of the evening - which was idle gossip and laughter. In theory, Matt, Jane, Jayne, Nick and I were meeting to plan Rydal 2019 and discuss issues arising from that. In practice we did little of the sort (though not none). It was a fabulous evening and this bottle emptied quickly.