Grapefruit Wine: Step 1

We made use of our bumper crop of grapefruits to make wine again this year. The first step, once we'd harvested the fruit, was to get all the equipment ready.

If you want to make fruit wine, you'll need the following equipment -

1. Glugger, spoon (for stirring in the sugar) and fermenting vessel - all sterilised
   
2. Campden tablets and citric acid, clean washing up brush and shower attachment for sterilising
3. Outside drain for disposing of the sterilising solution without poisoning yourself

Sterilisation is the first stage - and arguably the most important stage - of wine-making. Otherwise you risk ending up with vinegar rather than wine.

Just crush four Campden tablets and mix them into a pint of cold water with a teaspoon of citric acid. Put all your equipment into your fermenting vessel, pour in the sterilising solution, put the lid on and swill it all round together.

Take great care not to inhale the sterilising solution, otherwise you'll be coughing for hours.