Inspiration to help you fill your wine racks and homebars this season. These also make great presents!

Bullace (Prunus domestica) is a wild variety of the plum; you can find them growing in hedgerows. They ripen in October / November and make a tasty wine. You can also use them to make beer or a fruit mead. Look online for a full recipe, or in your trusty homebrewing books. You can mix bullaces with sloes or elderberries (if you have any in the freezer) to add more complexity, or to make up volumes.  

Bullace Gin: Add around 300g bullaces to a preserving jar (min 1L in volume). Add 60g sugar and 750ml gin. Seal the jar, give it a shake and store in a cool and dark place. Shake it up once a day for the first few days to help ensure the sugar dissolves. After 3 months, strain off the bullaces and bottle the gin. You can make a boozy jam with the spent bullaces!

Sloes (Prunus spinosa) - another hedgerow jewel, which can be picked between the end of September to December. You’ll have heard of sloe gin, but did you know you can make sloe whisky and sloe brandy? They are made the same way as slow gin, infusing the bought spirit with sloes and sugar. Try using 450g sloes and 125g sugar per 1L whisky/brandy. Freeze the sloes for at least 24 hours before infusing to allow the fruit cells to work their magic. 

From the garden: beetroot, parsnips and carrots are ready to harvest at this time of year and can all be used to make wine. If you don’t have a garden or an allotment, you can simply buy these inexpensive and tasty root veggies for your wine. Again, you can easily find recipes for these online and in brewing books.