How to Make Blackberry Wine

Preparation

Crush berries by hand in a sterile plastic bucket. Pour in 2 US pints (950 ml) of cooled distilled water and mix well. Leave mixture for two hours.

Boil one third of the sugar with 3 US pints (1,000 ml) water for one minute. Allow syrup to cool.

Add yeast to 4 oz of warm (not boiling) water and stand for 10 minutes.

Pour the cooled syrup into the berries. Add the yeast. Make sure the mixture has properly cooled, as a hot temperature will kill the yeast.

Cover the bucket with a clean cloth and leave in a warm place for seven days.

After 7 Days

Strain pulp through fine muslin or another fine straining device, wringing the material dry. Use the pulp as compost.

Pour the strained liquid into a gallon jug.

Boil a second 1/3 of the sugar in 1 US-pint (470 ml) water. Allow it to cool before adding it to the jug.

Plug the top of jug with cotton wool and stretch a pin-pricked balloon to the neck. This allows CO2 to escape and to protects the wine from oxidization and outside contamination.

Let the wine sit for ten days.

After 10 Days

Siphon or rack the wine to a container. Sterilize the jug, then return the wine.

Boil the remaining 1/3 sugar in the last pint of water, allowing to cool before adding to the wine.

Plug the jug with the cotton wool and balloon and leave until the wine has stopped fermenting. The wine will stop bubbling when fermentation has stopped.

After Fermentation

Siphon the wine as before.

Sterilize the wine bottles and add a funnel.

Pour the wine into the bottles, filling each bottle to the neck.

Cork and store the bottles.