Last year I made a blackberry “port” to create a strongly alcoholic but flavour packed wine I could drink as a digestif rather than as a table wine like all my other recipes. Making it was an organic process using observation and hope as a guide as opposed to a strict recipe. As I try to refine my recipes, techniques and understanding the wines I make are becoming more about measurements and planning. Alternatively the blackberry port relied of gut instinct with a whole load of fruit thrown together to get the maximum taste and alcohol and then the ageing, oaking and sometimes ingredients were decided on a whim.

CLIECK HERE FOR THE BLACKBERRY PORT RECIPE

…AND THE TASTING

…AND THIS YEARS ELDERBERRY PORT

This year I have repeated the port with elderberries which looks to be a winner and also decided to go totally off piste with a “white port” that may well turn out to be a fiery plane crash of stupidity and wasted time and effort.

My good friend Chopper had an abundant drop… crop of greengages from an over hanging tree into his garden. I used as many of them as I could supplemented by shop bought plums. To get the most flavour out the fruit I used VR21 yeast but this introduced a problem as it only ferments to 15% ABV as opposed to the 18/19% I managed last year. To get a full fat high alcohol drink I need to change the style of recipe to more of a a traditional “port” and to fortify it with a brandy – in this case Slivovitz plum brandy to match the taste -though maybe I could have used a plum grappa…

Pushing the VR21 yeast to the maximum alcohol needs stepped feeding of sugar so that the yeast does not get inhibited by an initially high sugar content. The original starting gravity was 1.09 with only 600 or 700 or so grams of sugar needed to be added to the 4.5kg of fruit used. As the fermentation continued a further 400ish grams of sugar was added in 2 additions to gradually feed the yeast until it died due to inebriation.

The blackberry port although high in alcohol was not fortified and used a light malt to ape a port taste. The greengage port is truly fortified with a planned 600ml of a 40% plum brandy added. The first was added to top up after fermentation stopped and it was racked off the lees. The remainder will be added when it is racked off the oak that was added to boost tanin and complexity. If any more is needed it will be just as it gets bottled. The oak has be halved from 20g per UK gallon in the berry port to a still sizable 10g that will be present for three months or more. The overall flavour profile will not be as sweet though certainly sweetened. Both wines use tea to provide tannin but extra body is not provided by a mix of light malt, raisins and grape extract but simply banana water for a neutral rounded taste with their polysaccharides hopefully adding extra mouth feel.

Ageing should take at least two years though I imagine it could continue for longer. I initially had a little snifter of the blackberry port at one year then at 16 months and the taste had matured with tannins receding but a luxuriously rich and dark deep fruit flavour taking its place. If the greengages can come even close to this with hopefully a nutty or caramel depth I will be more than pleased. When racked the taste was full and plummy with really good aroma which was a pleasant surprise for a rough and ready experiment though if this doesn’t strip floor varnish I will pleased and if it mkes a delicous drink I will be extactic!

GREENGAGE PORT – 4.5 litres

4.5kg greengages

3 litres of water

2 over ripe bananas

1kg-ish sugar (Add 700g for a starting gravity of 1.09)

Strong cup of tea

Acid to .6 (the juice of a lemon if you cannot test acidity)

half tsp pectic enzyme

600ml plum brandy or grappa

METHOD

Rinse, stone and remove and bumps and blemishes from the greengages roughly slice into quarters and drop into your fermentation bucket.

Mash (or squeeze with your hands!) and top up with 2.5 litres of boiled and cooled water. Stir in a campden tablet and pectic enzyme and leave for 24 hours.

At the same time use the other litre of water and boil 2 very ripe bananas for 15 minutes then add a tea bag for tannin at the end. Leave it all to cool.

Once the pectic enzyme has had 24 hours to work drain the banana water into the greengages sifting the tea bag and banana flesh out as you do so.

Add sugar to 1.09SG and adjust the acidity or add the juice of a lemon then stir in the yeast.

Allow to ferment stirring 3 or 4 times a day. Add yeast nutrient at about day four to keep the yeast happy. Monitor the taste and as sweetness drops add sugar at about 200g every day or every other day.

Once fermentation stops pour through a sterilised muslin and squeeze out ever drop of juice you can.

Leave for sediment to drop for 5 weeks then rack again and top up with as much brandy as you can with 10g of oak chips too. Repeat this again 8 weeks later and leave to age for 6 to 12 months. Mix the remaining brandy, back sweeten to taste and bottle.

Leave for a couple of years and who knows!