Ichor

Cider brews slowly, without fuss. The darker wines - sloes, blackberries and elderberry, are more ferocious. The yeast engages the bloody sugar like two armies of yeomen. Deep red gore sprays around the glass. The wine-tops remind me of some over-stimulated zombie movie, the little decayed faces of the berries chewing at the glass. The smell of young wine fills the kitchen. Watching the cider brew brings slow satisfaction. Watching the sloe wine brew makes my mouth water.