Plum & Damson Wine

Getting confident

In season August to September · makes 4.5 L · target OG 1.090

Teaches safe handling of stone fruit — the amygdalin rule stated plainly — and the small art of blending sharp damson with softer plum.

Before you start. Do not crush the stones (amygdalin, as with all Prunus). Remove or strain out every stone before fermenting.

You will need

Plum
Ripe when fully coloured, slightly soft to a gentle squeeze, and easily parted from the tree; dead-ripe plums start to split and drop.
Damson
Ready when deep blue-black under the bloom and just yielding; firm damsons are underripe (and stay tart even ripe — that is normal).

1
Sanitise. Wash the fruit and, this is the lesson, deal with the STONES. Like all Prunus, plum and damson stones hold amygdalin; you must never crush or blend them into the must. Either halve the fruit and lift the stones out first, or crush gently by hand so the stones stay whole, and strain them out before fermentation.
2
Put the stoned/whole fruit in the bucket, pour on 2.5 L cooled boiled water, and add pectic enzyme.
3
Add sugar dissolved warm; top to 4.5 L (reading ~1.090); pitch yeast and nutrient.
4
Ferment on the pulp three or four days, pressing the cap down, then strain — taking care no broken stones go through — into a demijohn.
5
Damsons give more colour and tannin than dessert plums, so a blend of the two makes the best-balanced wine.
6
Rack, clear, and age at least a year. A deep, warm autumn red.

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An original MakeWine recipe.