Share on...

Rose hip wine (medium)

• The best time to gather your rosehips, of which there are usually plenty in the hedge rows, is immediately after the first frosts.
• Wash them thoroughly, and then cut them in half or crush them with a wooden mallet or a similar tool.
• This is unnecessary with the dried rose hips.
• Put the sugar into a fermenting bucket with the crushed rose hips and pour the boiling water over them.
• Stir well to dissolve the sugar.
• When the liquor has cooled sufficiently for you to comfortably put your finger in it, add wine yeast, citric acid, pectic enzyme, and yeast nutrient.
• Leave in a warm place, cover closely, and stir daily for a fortnight.
• Strain through a sieve, or some nylon netting, into a fermentation jar (Demi John) and fit an airlock
• When the wine clears (approximately three months later), siphon it into a fresh jar and let it age for an additional three months before racking again and bottling.
• Since the only main ingredient that needs to be sourced is sugar, this is the most economical wine to produce.
• Rose hips contain a high proportion of vitamin C, making them likely beneficial as well.

Rose hips store well in a domestic freezer. Coarsely mince them and freeze them in bags containing 2 lbs each. Each bag has the correct amount of rosehips to make a gallon of wine. These make a delightful social wine if 6 ounces of chopped dried figs are included in the recipe, and the eventual wine is sweetened to taste.

Rosehip syrup, as produced for infants, was a popular ingredient for wine making. However, this product is no longer available. It is possible to make your own from fresh rose hips.

As well as dried rose hips, your local homebrew shop may be able to supply Rosehip shells. These are dried rose hips minus the seeds. Use them at 3/4 the rate quoted in recipes for dried rose hips, for example, 8 ounces of dried rose hips equals 6 ounces of rosehip shells.