Natural Winemaking Blend

How to make natural wine at home

The Moonfull Winemaking Blend is a sachet of organic ingredients, specifically formulated for making natural wine at home.

You can use the Blend to create different flavours of wine by adding various herbs, fruits, and vegetables to the blend.

What you'll need:

Demijohn with an Airlock
Funnel
1kg Sugar
4 Litres of Water
Chosen Ingredients
Moonfull Winemaking Blend

Here are the basic steps to use the Moonfull Winemaking Blend:

1. Sterilise your equipment and clean your ingredients. You can use any herbs, fruits, or vegetables you like to flavour your wine.

2. Dissolve 1kg of sugar in 4 litres of warm water in a demijohn. Then let it cool down to room temperature.

3. Add the Moonfull Winemaking Blend to the sugar water. Shake well to dissolve the Blend to activate the yeast.

4. Add your chosen herbs, fruits, or vegetables to the demijohn. You can use the recipes provided by Moonfull or experiment with your own combinations. (Some examples are plum, elderflower, rosemary, blackberry, apple, elderberry, etc. We love to use foraged fruits)

5. Add more water to the demijohn. Leave 10cm of space at the top.

6. Attach the airlock to the demijohn, and add water to the airlock. This will prevent oxygen from entering the demijohn and allow carbon dioxide to escape.

7. Place the demijohn in a dark and warm place (around 20°C) for about two weeks. You can use a hydrometer to measure the specific gravity of the wine and check its progress. The wine is ready when the specific gravity is below 1.000.

8. Empty the wine into clean wine bottles using a funnel. Avoid disturbing the sediment at the bottom of the demijohn. You should get approximately 5-6 bottles of wine from a demijohn.

9. Enjoy your homemade natural wine!

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Homemade wine

Making your own natural wine from foraged fruits or flowers can be a rewarding and enjoyable hobby. Unleash your creativity, experiment with ingredients and even use homegrown fruit or veg.

You can use a demijohn, which is a large glass bottle with a narrow neck, to ferment and store your natural wine.

What you'll need

First, you need to gather your ingredients. You can use any edible fruits or flowers that you can find in nature, such as blackberries, elderberries, dandelions, rose petals, etc.

You will also need sugar, water, and a packet of Moonfull Natural Winemaking Blend.

Prepare

Next, you need to clean and sterilise your demijohn and any other equipment you will use.

You can use a sterilising solution or boiling water to kill bacteria or wild yeasts that could spoil your natural wine.

Add your sugar and water to the demijohn, this needs to cool to room tempreture.

Next, you need to add the Natural Winemaking Blend. You can use the full 30g sachet for a 5-litre demijohn.

The yeast nutrient in the packet will provide the yeast with essential vitamins and minerals to help them ferment the sugar into alcohol. The tannins will balance the flavour to give it depth and help it age.

Your blend

Then, you need to prepare your fruit or flower juice. You can do this by washing and chopping your fruits or flowers.

Alternatively, you can use a juicer or a blender to extract the juice from your fruits or flowers, and then add sugar and water to adjust the sweetness and volume of your natural wine.

We prefer to freeze then thaw ingredients, this helps to break down the cell walls.

After that, you need to strain your juice into the demijohn using a funnel and a sieve. You can also squeeze the pulp to get more juice out of it.

You can also check the specific gravity of your juice with a hydrometer to measure the potential alcohol content of your natural wine.

You should fill the demijohn to just below the neck, leaving some space for the fermentation process.

Fermentation

Then, you need to seal the demijohn with an airlock filled with cooled boiled water.

The airlock will allow the carbon dioxide gas produced by the fermentation to escape while preventing oxygen and contaminants from entering the demijohn.

You should place the demijohn in a warm and dark place for about 6 months or until the fermentation is complete.

Bottling

Finally, you need to rack and bottle your natural wine.

Racking means transferring your wine from one demijohn to another using a syphon tube, leaving behind the sediment (called lees) at the bottom of the first demijohn. This will help clarify and improve the quality of your wine.

You should rack your wine at least once before bottling it. Bottling means filling clean and sterilised wine bottles with your wine using a syphon tube and a bottling wand.

You should also cork your bottles with new corks and store them on their side and in a cool and dark place before drinking them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is natural wine?

Natural wine is a term that refers to a movement of winemakers who produce wine using simple or traditional methods, without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or additives. Natural wine is made from fruit or veg that are grown organically, biodynamically, or with permaculture.

Natural wine is not filtered or fined, which means it may have a cloudy appearance and a funky, yeasty, or sour taste. Some people consider natural wine to be more authentic, healthy, and environmentally friendly than conventional wine.

Different natural wine producers may have different philosophies and practices, and the quality and style of natural wine may vary widely. Some common types of natural wine are orange wine, which is a white wine made like a red wine with skin contact; pétillant naturel, which is a sparkling wine made with the ancient method of bottling the wine before fermentation is complete; and col fondo prosecco, which is an unfiltered version of the popular Italian bubbly.

If you are curious about natural wine, you may want to explore making your own at home, our Natural Winemaking Kit is a great place to start for beginners and experts alike.

Which fruits can I use to make natural wine at home?

You can make wine from almost any type of fruit (or veg if you're feeling experimental) as long as you add enough sugar and juice to ferment. However, some fruits are more suitable for winemaking than others, depending on their flavour, acidity, and aroma.

Grapes are the most common and traditional fruit for making wine, because they have a balanced ratio of sugar, acid, and water, and a complex flavour profile. Grapes also contain natural tannins, which give wine structure and body. Unfortunately for us, high-quality grapes are difficult to grow in small spaces and in cold climates.

Therefore, we choose to use other fruits that grow wild and in abundance across the UK such as:

• Berries: Berries are a great choice for making wine, because they have a rich colour and a fruity and aromatic flavour. Berries can also be mixed with other fruits or herbs to create unique wines. Some examples of berry wines are blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, and elderberry wines

• Plums: Plums are a delicious fruit for making wine because they have a sweet and juicy flavour and a pleasant aroma. Plums can be used to make light and refreshing wines that are perfect for summer. Plums can also be combined with other fruits or flowers to enhance their flavour.

• Apples: Apples are another popular fruit for making wine because they have a high sugar content and a crisp and refreshing flavour. Apples can be used to make dry or sweet wines, depending on the amount of sugar added. Apple wine can also be blended with other fruits or spices to create different flavours.

Can I make natural wine from vegetables or herbs?

Yes, you can make wine from vegetables or herbs, although it may not be as common as making wine from fruits. Wine is essentially fermented juice that contains sugar, yeast, and water. Vegetables and herbs usually have less sugar and juice than fruits, so you may need to add more sugar and water to the mixture to achieve the desired alcohol level and flavour.

Some examples of vegetables and herbs that can be used to make wine are:

• Carrots: Carrots have a natural sweetness and a bright orange color that can make an interesting wine. You can use fresh or canned carrots, or even carrot juice, to make carrot wine. Carrot wine can take several months to ferment and age, and it may have a dry or sweet flavor depending on the amount of sugar added.

• Parsnips: Parsnips are similar to carrots, but they have a more earthy and nutty flavor. You can use fresh or frozen parsnips, or even parsnip puree, to make parsnip wine. You will need to add sugar, water, lemon juice, yeast, and optionally some ginger or nutmeg to the mixture. Parsnip wine can take several months to ferment and age, and it may have a light or dark color depending on the type of sugar added.

• Tomatoes: Tomatoes are technically fruits, but they are often used as vegetables in cooking. You can use fresh or canned tomatoes, or even tomato juice, to make tomato wine. You will need to add sugar, water, lemon juice, yeast, and optionally some basil or oregano to the mixture. Tomato wine can take several weeks to ferment and age, and it may have a tangy or savory flavor depending on the type of tomatoes used.

• Dandelions: Dandelions are edible weeds that have a bitter and floral flavor. You can use fresh or dried dandelion flowers, leaves, or roots to make dandelion wine. You will need to add sugar, water, lemon juice, yeast, and optionally some raisins or orange peel to the mixture. Dandelion wine can take several months to ferment and age, and it may have a golden or amber color depending on the part of the plant used.

• Mint: Mint is a refreshing herb that has a cooling and aromatic flavor. You can use fresh or dried mint leaves to make mint wine. You will need to add sugar, water, lemon juice, yeast, and optionally some honey or apple juice to the mixture. Mint wine can take several weeks to ferment and age, and it may have a green or clear color depending on the amount of mint used.

What will the alcohol content be of my homemade natural wine?

The alcohol content of homemade wine can vary depending on several factors, such as the type of fruit, the amount of sugar, the type of yeast, and the fermentation and ageing process. Generally speaking, homemade wine can have an alcohol content ranging from 10% to 20% by volume (ABV), with most wines falling between 10% to 15%.

To measure the alcohol content of homemade wine, you will need a device called a hydrometer, which is a glass tube that floats in the liquid and indicates its specific gravity. Specific gravity is a measure of how dense the liquid is compared to water. By taking the specific gravity readings before and after fermentation, you can calculate the alcohol content using a simple formula.

The formula is:

ABV = (Original Gravity - Final Gravity) x 131.25

For example, if your wine had an original gravity of 1.090 and a final gravity of 0.990, then the alcohol content would be:

ABV = (1.090 - 0.990) x 131.25

ABV = 0.100 x 131.25

ABV = 13.125%

This means your wine has 13.125% alcohol by volume.

Is the Natural Winemaking Blend vegan-friendly?

Yes, it is vegan-friendly and 100% organic.

Where can I buy a sachet of Natural Winemaking Blend from?

You can purchase a sachet of Moonfull Natural Winemaking Blend from our Etsy shop.

Click here.