Red Wine Jelly

This amazing Bordeaux Red Wine Jelly recipe is super easy and so very delightful on your toast or with a cheeseboard.  I made this red wine jelly for Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas TV show when I was a finalist.

Any of my friends will tell you that I appreciate a nice glass of red, hell I’ve been known to hoover up many a not-so-nice red as well. We’re talking red wine here folks of course…

One’s red wine consumption is of course curtailed to the socially accepted wine times of the day. If out and about with friends one can sometimes enjoy a glass with lunch and then when the sun goes over the proverbial yardarm the clock strikes wine and all is well with the world.

Red wine in the kitchen…

Like most folks who play with food in the kitchen I cook with wine, you can get the great grape into many a meal from gravy to sorbet, I’ve tried them all.

But how can one legitimately enjoy the odd bit of Bordeaux at breakfast without having the health and addictions police battering at your door?

Why jelly of course, red wine jelly!

Red wine jelly puts a whole new spin on the old PBJ sandwich, it livens up the humblest slice of toast and doesn’t even bother if you are crass enough to introduce it to sliced white instead of the preferred baguette. Not just grape jelly, red wine grape jelly!

Ingredients for Red Wine Jelly

Grapes – I’m using red grapes for my red wine jelly, go for black grapes or a mix of both for a deeper colour if you like.

Wine – I call this my Bordeaux Jelly as that’s the wine I used and it was a Scottish/French theme for Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas so I went all out French. Any red wine you have will do just fine.

Apples and lemon juice – These give you the set to your red wine jelly which means you don’t need to add any pectin to this grape jelly recipe.

Sugar – Use plain white sugar for this easy red grape jelly, if you use brown sugar you will get too much of a caramel taste and this would swamp the flavour of the grapes and wine.

The complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this recipe can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to make red wine jelly

This is an overnight drip job so have a bit of patience please. You have to simmer the grapes and apples and mash them down a bit. Then leave them in a jelly bag to drip out their gorgeous juice.

Next day make the juice that has dripped into your jug up to 500ml with red wine (doesn’t really have to be Bordeaux of course. Any red wine will do). Then add the required sugar and boil to a set.

How much Bordeaux jelly does this make?

I only had a few grapes in the fruit bowl so only made one jar of this gorgeous red wine jelly. Want more Bordeaux jelly? Then just double up the recipes to make as much as you like.

Serving ideas

This red wine jelly goes just as well with savouries and fairly dances on to a cheese board to shimmy with the brie.

I’ve even served my red wine jelly slightly warmed and drizzled over seriously good plain vanilla ice-cream. Give it a swirl and you have a grown up ripple to rock the senses and give Hagen Daas a run for their money any day.

You can also use this red grape jelly to liven up Game or beef stews, just stir in a couple of tablespoons to add a bit more depth of flavour.

Maybe try this as a glaze on baked ham too.

Finally, you can thin it out with a little more red wine and use as a luxurious topping on really good vanilla ice cream.

The inspiration

I came up with this recipe really as an experiment to use up a bunch of red grapes that just weren’t  going to get finished. I hate wasting food so will make jams and jellies out of a very small amount of fruit. Grapes in this case.

Not wanting just to make grape jam I decided to throw in some red wine and go for a real red wine jelly instead.

Bordeaux Jelly on TV

I made this gorgeous red wine jelly for my Auld Alliance (the famous friendship between Scotland and France) Christmas hamper. I was a finalist of Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas in 2017 and this jelly was loved by Kirstie and the judge.

This recipe makes a great foodie gift, so why not check out my post on how to make Christmas hampers.

Here are the other recipes I made on Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas TV show;

Oat and almond crumble crackers

Scotch Mist liqueur (homemade Drambuie)

Scottish minty macaroons

Labneh cheese preserved in herb oil

This is a delightful jelly that looks as good as it tastes, simply stunning and the best possible way to enjoy your favourite tipple any time anywhere straight from the jar!

This Bordeaux Jelly also features in my great Ebook Naughty & Nice Edible Gifts For Christmas. There are over 50 great recipes in there for you to try. So no excuses at all when it comes to Christmas prezzies!

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.

Photos And Tips AboveMost of my recipes have step by step photos and useful tips plus videos too, see above.

Bordeaux Red Wine Jelly

Karon Grieve

Easy to make and super tasty this is a grown up jelly that both looks and tastes fabulous. Perfect on toast, stirred into stews, with a cheeseboard and in a toasted sandwich too.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course preserves

Cuisine French

Servings 1 jar

Calories 2052 kcal

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

• ▢ 500 g grapes red grapes
• ▢ 500 g apples
• ▢ 1/2 cup water
• ▢ 300 ml red wine
• ▢ 1 lemon juice only
• ▢ 300 g sugar

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

 

• Place the grapes and roughly chopped apples (don’t bother to peel or core them) into a pan and add water.
• Simmer the fruit until tender and mash with a potato masher.
• Pour this mash into a jelly bag (muslin lined sieve) and set aside to drip into a jug overnight. Resist any temptation to squeeze the bag to get more out, if you do this you’ll make the jelly cloudy)
• Make the juice in the jug up to 500ml by adding the wine.
• Pour this into a pan and add the lemon juice and sugar and heat gently till sugar dissolved.
• Raise the heat to boiling point for approximately 20 mins until you have reached the setting point (see jelly making page).
• Carefully pour into a sterilised jar and pop on the lid.

Notes

Serve with a cheeseboard, game, pate or as a glaze for roasting meats and chicken.

Nutrition

Calories: 2052kcalCarbohydrates: 477gProtein: 6gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 38mgPotassium: 2026mgFiber: 20gSugar: 433gVitamin A: 630IUVitamin C: 96mgCalcium: 139mgIron: 5mg

My Top Tips*Always read the full recipe first. *Assemble all your ingredients and everything you need before you start. *For baking check the size of tins I’m using as this makes a big difference to your cakes. * I use medium sized eggs unless otherwise stated. * I use extra virgin olive oil unless otherwise stated. * I use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated. * Check out My Preserving Kit!

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