Four Pounds (2 kg) of knotweed stems, leaves cut off and cut into chunks.

Three pounds (1.5kg) sugar

1 tsp yeast nutrient

Juice of one orange

Wine yeast (all purpose will do, but champagne yeast would probably work very well).

Enough water to make up to 1 gallon (4.5l)

 

Put the knotweed into a straining bag, and put that into a sterilised bucket. Get the water, sugar, orange juice and yeast nutrient to the boil and pour onto the knotweed. Let it stand, covered, till cool, and pitch in the activated yeast. Keep it in the covered bucket for around a week, till he fermentation dies down a little, and decant into a demi jon. Treat as for other wines from this point, but if you manage to retain a vibrant pink colour then don't stabilise when bottling as the sulfite makes the colour vanish.

 

Be VERY careful what to do with the knotweed trimmings; trim it on site when you pick it, as you don't want to be dropping ANY knotweed ANYWHERE ELSE. It's a voracious weed; don't even THINK about composting it.