Chrissy Symmons, left, and Emma Kasprzak with their winemaking kit

When economic times are tough, even a visit to the supermarket can be a scary experience. So I’m all for saving money whenever and wherever I can.

Special offers for cinema tickets and having a go at making a curry instead of ordering a takeaway are good penny savers, but even better than saving money is getting something for free . . . or, almost free.

This, in my mind, is where foraging comes in. Last autumn a walk in the countryside led to me picking enough elderberries to make my own cordial.

While I was using the internet to find out how to make cordial I came across a lot of recipes for elderberry wine and the seed, or berry, of an idea was sown.

Making my own wine seemed like a great idea. I would have cheap plonk to take round to friends, I could give my wine as gifts, but most importantly I could save money while being a bit creative.

Best of all, once I mastered the basics with a kit I could start to make wine with low-cost fruit and veg, or even better, stuff I’d picked from nature for free.

Inspired by this thought I asked my dad for a wine-making kit for Christmas. This gave him the chance to tell me about when he made his own wine back in the 70s. I think he was inspired by the TV show The Good Life. Anyway, luckily for me he knew what I would need and headed off to a home-brew shop.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I was quite excited to see it resembled a chemistry set, which sort of appealed to my inner geek.

It also looked confusing and the accompanying leaflet seemed as bewildering as flat-pack furniture instructions. I decided I needed assistance so called on fellow Shropshire journalist Chrissy Symmons.

Step one was to sterilise the container, or demijohn, along with everything else we would be using.

Next we opened the bag of grape juice and poured it into the container before topping it up with water.

We took a hydrometer reading to check the wine was the right specific gravity (no I don’t know what that means either) then shook the container and left it to settle before taking a second reading. We must have been doing something right because it was spot on 1075, which is what the kit said we were aiming for.

Next up we added a packet of oak chippings to enhance the flavour followed by the yeast to start the fermentation process.

We fixed an airlock filled with clean water to the top and stood the container on a catalogue in my hall. The catalogue was a bit of improvisation to keep the container off the tiled floor which I thought might chill the mixture.

Because I don’t have an airing cupboard, I borrowed a heated belt off a friend of a family who used to make home-brew. This should keep the wine at room temperature and allow it to ferment.

We now face a 15 to 20-day wait before the next step, which is to add stabiliser. The wine has already begun to hiss as little bubbles escape and as an interesting side effect my home smells like a brewery.

It’s worth noting fermentation didn’t seem to start until after 24 hours. I’d expected it to bubble straightaway, but after checking on a few home-brew websites I was reassured it can take between 24 and 48 hours. Even then it is a better guide to look for condensation in the airlock as the bubbling stage might not happen until a few days have passed.

If everything goes according to plan we should end up with six bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon which will have cost around £1.60 each in terms of ingredients.

So far, the whole wine-making process has been an enjoyable way to spend an evening, and waiting to see what we end up with is definitely part of the fun. Fingers crossed it will be drinkable and inspire us to try some different kits before attempting our own recipe.

• Do you make your own wine? If so, why not share some of your experiences and recipe tips with Shropshire Star readers in the comment box below