Winemaking recipe: Nettle Wine
A great olde English sweet wine that’s dead easy to make…. Unless you have toughened skin a light pair of gloves are recommended whilst picking nettles though!
Ingredients:
The following ingredient quantities are based on 1 gallon(s) of wine being made.
| Item |
Quantity |
Comment |
| Ginger root |
10 gram(s) |
Bruised |
| lemons |
2 fruit(s) |
|
| Nettles |
2 litre(s) |
|
| sugar |
1750 gram(s) |
|
| Water |
4.5 litre(s) |
|
Instructions
- Try to pick only the tops of the nettles, these tend to be a little sweeter.
- Wash the nettles thoroughly and drain off before use.
- Bruise the ginger then add it to a pan along with the nettles, lemon peel (excluding and bitter white pith), add water and then simmer for 50 minutes.
- Strain and transfer to a bucket then add the sugar, stirring until dissolved.
- Then add more water to bring up to the one gallon, wait until the temperature falls to 21 degrees centigrade before adding the yeast.
- Cover the bucket and put in a warm place for four days before thoroughly stirring.
- Now add to a fermentation vessel, fitting an airlock as usual leave to stand for two months until clear. Rack and restand as necessary, bottling after 3-4 months.
Winemaking equipment
See our detailed list of wine making equipment (covers basic essentials and more advanced equipment for the experienced homebrewer).