It is incredibly windy today. The potted Cordylines on the terrace have tipped over and several gladioli have snapped; I have a very impressive vase full of stems indoors now. Luckily we picked a few ripe plums from the trees yesterday so their branches are unlikely to break. Did I say a few plums? We actually picked 9 kilograms! After a dismal start we have had a splendid harvest of plums, with only a handful containing the plum moth caterpillar.
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| lush, juicy plums |
So yesterday morning Paul and I sat down and quarterered and de-stoned the mountain of plums, while listening to Paul’s 60’s music playlist. My fingers looked like they were nicotine stained by the time we had finished.
The first batch of early plum wine (one gallon) has been siphoned off into a demi-john where it should happily bubble away for a couple of months before being bottled. The second batch (five gallons) is now in the fermenting bucket and should yield a better quality wine as the plums were bigger and riper. Fingers crossed it turns out to be a nice, drinkable wine and not vinegar.
What’s next? Well, the elderberries are just starting to look juicy and ripe…
Meanwhile Kat is just starting puzzle number five.
No air lock in the demi-john?
ReplyDeleteThere is, it's clear plastic so it doesn't show up on the photo.
DeleteMy apologies
DeleteI'll bet your wine is going to turn out great! And hey, if it ends up as vinegar...I'll bet plum vinegar could be delicious in certain recipes, too. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the shot of Rick in the last photo.
Thanks Jennifer, but I think 36 bottles of plum vinegar would be a bit excessive!
DeleteBeautiful plums. Your wine cellar will be well stocked.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure exactly where we are going to store all the bottles.
DeleteThose Plums look so good. I wish I could buy a Victoria here, our local Plums that are used mostly for Prunes are rubbish in comparison; although the Prunes are very good.
ReplyDeleteI used to love those Perigord prunes in Armagnac, they were scrumptious.
DeleteWe had a lot of wind here too. Our plums were ripening nicely but I guess that many will be down now. I will go to the bottom of the garden to check later on. Pick a bowl of brambles too.
ReplyDeleteAlmost as windy today, not good news for the village fete.
DeleteWith homemade wine years ago we never got around to putting it in bottles, the only worry was being able to pour direct from the demijohn. It took two so there was little chance of a glass on your own.
ReplyDeleteJust give me the demijohn and a long straw!
DeleteVery windy here, too, brings a slight respite for the high 30's temperatures we are enduring from dawn until dusk.
ReplyDeleteA demijohn and a long straw seem like a very satisfactory answer to the problem of where to store all the bottles!
Good to see that Rick is keeping a close eye of Kat - she'll be able to win the jigsaw puzzle World Championship!
She is jigsaw obsessed!
DeleteLooks yummy, save some for us! Kat you have so much patience well done.
ReplyDeleteIt will be months before it's ready, but if you're feeling brave...!
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