I've made some presents this year
And I'm not talking about some shite hand-carved statutes or collages made from dead ladybirds. Nope, I've made around sixty bottles of wine from grapes, elderberries and plums which are maturing nicely and will be rather tasty by the time Christmas comes around (judging from the *ahem* quality control samples *ahem*).

I cheated with the proper (i.e. grape) wine and bought a kit with which to make it and this works out at about £1.20 per bottle. The plum wine and the eldeberry wine was even cheaper as all I had to buy was 5 kilograms of sugar because I picked the fruit myself.

The best part is that whilst it is a little labour intensive, it certainly isn't difficult to create some really nice tasting, present-grade wine. There are plenty recipes on the internet and kits available that talk you through every step for the less confident

I'm going to have some serious difficulty giving up the elderberry and the plum wine is bordering on rocket fuel....

All I can say is thank god every member my family drinks like a fish.
(Angio can smell your fear just by looking at you., Fri 27 Nov 2009, 15:36, 2 replies)

Apple and Sultana is nice
So is Plum Melomel (a bit like mead - plums and honey mmmmmmmm).

Bramble wine is good too, but picking the brambles is a bastard.
( MatJ LOOK, Fri 27 Nov 2009, 17:27, closed)

My mum has made wine from all-sorts
The absolute best (if you're alcoholic) was parsnip, tasted like and had the same effect as vodka.
( stopmeandslapme Cometh the hour, cometh your mum, Sat 28 Nov 2009, 21:28, closed)