Dave Knapp’s Strawberry Wine

I put the BBQ back in the garage about two weeks ago, pretty sure that it would not be needed again this summer. I was therefore as surprised as anyone to be witnessing the weather take a turn for the better over the last couple of days annd more than keen to take advantage by having one last ‘sizzle-up’ before the passing English Summer disappears like a cold pint of Haymaker on a warm day.

As I am still off the beer  (the big run is on Sunday) this gave me the opportunity to crack open a bottle of homemade wine that I was given earlier this year. The craftsman is Dave Knapp, my Uncle, who is going into his fourth year as a winemaker. Dave’s story is an interesting one, having been diagnised a coeliac Dave found that most of the literature told him he would no longer be able to drink beers and lagers. Already a keen vegetable gardener Dave decided to turn his hand to winemaking, using his own produce as one way of getting around his new drinking restrictions.

Subsequent research has shown that, in fact, many real ales are suitable for coeliacs however, after enjoying both the winemaking and wine drinking process, Dave has stuck to his task and continues to turn some of his home grown produce into wine.

The bottle I was drinking tonight was a Strawberry wine, bottled in September 2008. I am generally fond of fruit wines but am always cautious as they can end up being stronger than intended (an effect of the additional sweetness I believe?).  I knew from the immediate taste that this wine was not going to be as strong as the Rhubarb wine that had been in the last bottle passed to me by Dave. There was a little sediment in the bottle but, after standing for a few minutes, it poured clear and crisp, with the appearance of a Rosé (as can be seen in the picture). The Strawberry flavour was evident in the intial taste which then blends towards a more typical, dry, white flavour.

With recent news of the increase in micro breweries in the UK it is a pleasure to be able to step back evn further and taste the produce of a guy who is experimenting and making wines for his own purposes. It seems that there are very few people who do not know someone who has tried homebrewing or winemaking and this illustrates the ‘have a go yourself’ tradition in thos country which is the foundation on which the recent successes of the micro breweries has been built upon.

I have never myself tried Homebrewing, however our very own Sam Lanes has been working on a number of prototypes of a brew that him and one of his friends have been trying to create. Who knows, under his guidance, at some point we might be able to create a ‘Real Ale Reviews Brew’.