Birch Sap Wine
This is a wine that, intriguing in its novelty, is also excellent in its own right. It
is likely of Baltic origin, and during the last century, it became a popular drink
in Russia, to the extent that on occasion, whole forests of young birch trees
were destroyed by peasants who tapped them too enthusiastically, so one
should be cautious of that mistake. No harm will come to a tree from the loss
of a gallon of sap in the spring (about the first fortnight in March), but the hole
must subsequently be plugged with a wooden plug and can be used again
the following year.
It said that Birch wine was a favourite with Albert the Prince consort, who
doubtlessly had plenty of trees at his disposal!
The main precautions to observe are that you do not tap a very young tree –
it should be at least 9 inches in diameter – that you bore only far enough into
the tree for your tap or tube to be held securely (go just beyond the inside of
the bark where the sap rises, not into the dead wood at the centre of the
trunk), that you do not take more than a gallon of sap from one tree, and that
you plug the hole afterwards. Neglecting any of these points may harm the
tree.
| Ingredients | Metric | Brtitish | USA |
| Birch Sap | 4.5L | 1 gallon | 1 gallon |
| Lemons | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Sweet Oranges | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| White wine concentrate | 280ml | 1/2 pint | 1/2 pint |
| Sugar | 1.5 kg | 3 lb | 21/4 lb |
| Seville orange | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Nutrient | |||
| Yeast |
Acquire a wooden or wine barrel tap or a segment of glass or plastic tubing
secured in a bung or cork. Using a brace and bit that fits the diameter of the
tap or bung, bore a hole into the tree trunk just beyond the inner bark and
insert the tube, which should slope slightly downwards to facilitate the free
flow of sap. In March, when the sap rises, it should be possible to collect a
gallon of liquor in just two or three days. Seal the hole afterward.
1.Peel the oranges and lemons, discarding all the white pith, and boil the peel
in the sap for 20 minutes.
2. Add enough water to restore the volume to 1 gallon, then pour the mixture
into a fermenting bucket containing the sugar and concentrate.
3. Stir until the sugar is dissolved
4. When the liquor has cooled to 21°C, add the fruit juice and yeast.
5. Cover the bucket with a lid and keep it in a warm place until fermentation
has quietened.
6. Strain the mixture into a fermenting jar and fit an airlock.
7. Allow fermentation to complete, then add a crushed Campden tablet and a
level teaspoon of potassium sorbate or a stabilising tablet.
8. Rack and bottle the liquid.
9. Store the bottles on their side for at least an additional six months before
sampling.
10. Sycamore and walnut sap wines can be made in the same manner, and
reducing the sugar to 1 lb produces an excellent beer.
Birch Sap Wine Equipment & Ingredients
