Recipe; Elderflower Blush Quickie 2012

This is the second 5 gallon batch of Elderflower wine I'm making this year. The first of this year's batches is here. I think I first made an Elderflower blush simply because I couldn't lay my hands on enough white grape juice when I went shopping (you can find that recipe here). It turned out to be a happy outcome. The colour is beautiful. So I'm making more. However this year I'm making it with a little difference, the timing worked out fine to start this batch on the lees of this year's Elderflower Quickie, the yeast still being viable.

Recipe for 5 Gallons

5 Litres Red Grape Juice (Rio D'Oro)
5 Litres Apple Juice (4 Vitafit, 1 Rio D'Oro)
3.5 Kg Sugar
5 Teaspoons Pectolase
5 Teaspoons Tartaric Acid
5 Teaspoons Nutrient (Tronozymol)
Yeast (Lees from previous brew, Gervin D, malic acid reducing)

OG 1079

and of course, heaps of elderflowers

Method

The method is pretty much exactly the same as for Elderflower Quickie 2012 so I'm not going to repeat the description. Just click the link and follow those instructions - with 2 exceptions! When I made the quickie brew I carefully decanted (poured) the wine into the secondary vessel when the primary fermentation was over. This left behind a little sediment, the lees, which contains live yeast. This is absolutely suitable for using again, and that's what I've done. So ...

1. Don't add crushed campden tablets, you'll stun the yeast and the fermentation may be tricky or slow to get started. Make sure to add the cold/cool ingredients to the fermenting bin first, if you add the hot dissolved sugar solution first then you'll kill the yeast in the fermentation bin.
2. Don't add any more yeast.

Discussion

If you're starting this brew from scratch then just follow the method instructions in Elderflower Quickie 2012 (but add crushed campden tablets and your choice of yeast) or the blush recipe and method from last year's wine.

You'll maybe also notice that the yeast nutrient is different. I ran out of the old one, and this new one came recommended. It smells much stronger, that B vitamin smell that you'll know well from marmite (or vegemite if you're from Australia). Don't worry tho, the yeast gobbles it all up and your wine won't taste like marmite.