Easy Gooseberry Wine Recipe – 25p a bottle

Whether you are an experienced brewer or you are completely new to winemaking this recipe has easy to follow instructions, basic ingredients and will create a fabulous tasting white wine. Costing as little as 25p a bottle this is a budget friendly recipe.

Gooseberry Wine (Easy recipe from Start to Finish)

due to the high acid level in the gooseberries this recipe will provide you with a full bodied crisp white wine.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time365 days
Course: Drinks
Servings: 6 Bottles
Author: Erica
Cost: 25p a bottle (ish)

Equipment

  • 2 large Saucepans
  • 1 Sieve
  • 1 Muslin Cloth (Pillowcase or Tea Towel)
  • 1 Potato Masher
  • 1 Ladle
  • 1 Funnel
  • 1 4.5ltr Demijohn (or fermenting bucket)

Ingredients

  • 1 kg Gooseberries
  • 1.2 kg Sugar
  • 1 tsp Wine Yeast

Instructions

  • Add the gooseberries and 4 litres of water to the pan.
  • Slowly bring the pan to the boil, once boiling, turn it down and let it simmer. 
  • Once the gooseberries have been simmering for about 5 minutes you can start using the masher to gently mash the ingredients in the water for a minute or so, this will help the juices infuse with the water. (Be careful with this step, the water is boiling and over enthusiastic mashing will cause splashes of hot liquid!)
  • Turn off the heat and put a lid over the pan (or tea towel). Leave the the liquid to cool to room temperature. (If you have plenty of time you could leave this overnight, helping it to develop a stronger flavour)
  • Once the liquid has cooled you can start filtering it into a clean saucepan using the sieve, muslin and ladle. (Be careful not to squash the juice through the cloth, this will cause unwanted particles to be pushed through and take much longer for your wine to clear)
  • Bring the liquid back to the boil quickly, then carefully add the sugar to the pan while gently stirring it. Once the sugar has dissolved you can turn the heat off. This process just ensures that that all liquid is completely sterile when going into your Demijohn. 
  • If your saucepan has a lid, put it on and leave the pan to cool for about an hour.
  • Once the liquid has cooled enough for you to able to easily handle it without gloves, you can add the liquid to you Demijohn using your sterilised funnel. Once filled put your sterilised Airlock on straight away. (Don't try and add boiling water to the Demijohn as this can cause it to smash)
  • Add the yeast, use the quantity stated on the packaging. (To work successfully yeasts need to be added when the liquid is between 20 – 25 centigrade)
  • Now your wine can start fermenting! For best results keep it in a warm dark place without fluctuating temperatures like an airing cupboard. 

Racking

  • I recommend the first rack is done at around day 10, again at 3 weeks, and then a rack after another 6 weeks and then I did one final rack (and added stabiliser) once it had stopped fermenting.

Bottling

  • You can bottle the wine once it has cleared and finished fermenting, usually after at least 3 months. I like to wait to between 6 and 12 months personally. 
    If you bottle before it has finished fermenting then it can explode in the bottles, if you are new to winemaking I would suggest you use a stabiliser which will kill off any active yeast.
    If the wine still has a lot of sediment in it at the bottling stage you may find it can make an off flavour in your wine. 
    You can start drinking this as soon as it goes in the bottle but for best results you should least it to mature for about 3 months.

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