‘Traditional country wines and beers; a bit of Christmas fizz

Strawberries, cherries and an angel’s kiss in spring

My summer wine is really made from all these things’

Nancy Sinatra

Actually, I do not include a recipe for Nancy’s Summer Wine but I will describe in this workshop just how you would go about making it. More than individual recipes it will be about demonstrating simple processes to make cheap and tasty wines. As well as wines, we will consider ‘long drinks’ such as cider, ginger beer, and lemon beer and a method of turning wines into fruit vinegars. Making country wines is a very old tradition – you may recall the vet’s experience with parsnip wine in ‘All Things Great and Small’. The wines and drinks I make are from fruit, vegetables, and flowers from our garden or that are found locally. We use what is in excess or what might otherwise, be discarded – guava pulp for example. I can demonstrate the use of the hydrometer and the arithmetic of sugar – bring your pocket calculator if you wish. We will go through the gear needed, sample recipes and additions that make good wine. This may lead to consideration of what to plant to supply stock. I shall make some simple cider (bring a two-litre plastic bottle of cheap apple juice – not from the refrigerator section but from the shelves in the supermarket – preservative free) and we will turn it into cider.

For summer quaffing I shall explain and demonstrate how to make beers – lemon beer and hibiscus delight (a Yandina speciality). After the workshop participants will have a good grasp of the fundamental processes of Traditional Country Winemaking, and a knowledge of the equipment and ingredients needed (as well as cheap substitutes) that they will be able to apply this to a variety of material.

Click here to book for this winemaking workshop

About The Presenter

Leaving his job as Headmaster of a boys boarding school in NSW, Phillip Richards took his family to carve out a farm on a 40 ha bush block of regrowth on sandy degraded granite outside Childers. Gaining organic certification (BFA) they sold vegetables through an organic produce agent in Brisbane as well as into the Sydney and Melbourne markets. Cows, pigs, goats all sorts of poultry helped increase the fertility and caused constant mayhem. They have been on the Sunshine Coast for many years and have 1.7 ha along the South Maroochy river and are self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables and have recently begun growing grains (maize, millet & sorghum) for both chook food and for our consumption.

Phillip writes for Grass Roots (in the past for Earth Garden) as well as G magazine, Owner Builder, and lately in PIP Journal (article on coffee) and Australasian Poultry (grains and sprouts for chooks). He was formally the organic editor for suite 101 a now defunct ezine.