Blackberry & Apple Wine

You will need

• Blackberries1.0 kg
• Apples, sharp1.0 kg
• Sugar1.1 kg
• Pectic enzymeper dose
• Red wine yeast + nutrient1 sachet
• Waterto 4.5 L

Picking it at the right moment

• Blackberry

  Ripe when deep matt black (not shiny), plump, and they come away with only the gentlest tug — a berry that resists is not ready.

• Apple

  Ripe when the fruit parts from the tree with a gentle upward twist rather than a pull, and the pips inside have turned brown.

Method

1. 1

   Sanitise. The classic autumn pairing: blackberry for flavour and colour, apple for acid, pectin and a fresh backbone.

2. 2

   Crush the blackberries and the chopped apples under 2.5 L cooled boiled water; add pectic enzyme when cool.

3. 3

   Add the sugar dissolved warm; top to 4.5 L (reading ~1.088); pitch the yeast and nutrient.

4. 4

   Ferment on the pulp three days, pressing the cap down, then strain.

5. 5

   Rack when it clears, and age most of a year.

6. 6

   A rounded, hedgerow-and-orchard red that neither fruit makes as well alone.