How to Make Herb Wine
By Ruth Cracknell

The town and city dweller (and countryman, too, for that matter) may make all the old favorite wines of Granny's day for next to nothing. Practically no work is involved because, unlike fresh fruits which have to be gathered and roots that have to be scrubbed, grated and boiled, suitable packets of herbs are available ready for use in the making of herb wine.

The following method is suitable for all following recipes.

Lemons and oranges should be peeled, the fruit broken up and added and the peel discarded.

When using recipes calling for wheat and raisins, it must be borne in mind that these must be sterilized before being added to the 'must'.

Method
Put all the ingredients (except sugar and yeast) in a polythene pail and pour on half a gallon of boiling water. Leave covered for two to three hours covered. The top of the vessel should be covered with a sheet of polythene with no holes in it. This should be pulled down all round and then secured with thin strong string or a tightly fitting elastic band.

Then boil half the sugar in a quart of water for two minutes and add this to the rest while still boiling. Mix well, and when cool enough add the yeast and nutrient. Cover again and ferment in a pail in a warm place for ten days, stirring daily and covering again at once.

After ten days, strain out the solids and wring out as dry as you can, and put the strained liquor into a gallon glass bottle. Boil the other half of the sugar in the remaining quart of water for two minutes and when cool add this to the rest. Fit fermentation lock and continue to ferment in a warm place until all fermentation has ceased.

BALM WINE
2 oz. dried balm leaves, 2 lemons, 3 lb. sugar, 1 gal. water, yeast and nutrient.

PARSLEY WINE
2 oz. Dried parsley, 1 oz. Dried mint (or 1/2 oz. fresh mint), 1/2 oz. Dried sage (red), 1 gal. Water, 2 oranges, 2 lemons, 3 lb. sugar (or 3 3/4 lb. invert), yeast and nutrient.

This is a herb wine which you will be sure to enjoy.

BROOM WINE
2 oz. Dried broom flowers, 2 lemons, 1 lb. raisins, 2 1/2 lb. sugar (or 3 1/4 lb. invert), yeast and nutrient.

DAMIKOLA WINE
2 oz. Dried damiana leaves, 1 oz. Kola nuts, 1/2 oz. Dried red sage, 1 lb. raisins, 3 lb. sugar (or 3 3/4 lb. invert), 2 lemons, 1 gal. Water, yeast nutrient.

SAGE WINE
3 oz. Dried sage, 1 lb. raisins, 1 oz. Dried mint, 1 lb. wheat, 2 lemons, 2 1/2 lb. sugar (or 3 1/4 lb. invert), yeast and nutrient.

YARROW WINE
2 to 3 oz. Of dried yarrow flowers, 2 lemons, 2 oranges, 3 lb. sugar (or 3 3/4 lb. invert),. 1 gal. Water, yeast and nutrient.

CLARY WINE
3 to 4 oz. Clary flowers, 1 lb. raisins, 2 lemons, 3 lb. sugar (or 3 3/4 lb. invert), 1 gal. Water, yeast and nutrient.

BURNET WINE
3 oz. Burnet herb, 1 lb. raisins, 1 lb. wheat, 2 oranges, 2 lemons, 3 lb. sugar (or 3 3/4 lb. invert), 1 gal. Water, yeast and nutrient.

I do strongly advise you to experiment with half-gallon lots of these wines and to add tiny amounts of aniseed or liquor ice as fermentation nears completion. If you do this with varying amounts of herbs you must not let the total weight of the herbs exceed four ounces to the gallon of wine being made. I realize, of course, that a beginner cannot have any definite plan for blending because he will not be familiar with the flavors given to the wines by the various herbs.

If you accidentally spoil the flavor of a wine by trying to improve it, you may dilute with sugar-water, and while fermentation is still going on, add other herbs to get the flavor you are aiming at. If you happen to find that the flavor is not quite strong enough you may suspend a bag of herbs in the fermenting 'must' until you get the strength of flavor you want. And this may be tested at few-day intervals by tasting.

Enjoy the herb wine!

Learn How To Make The Best Homemade Wine Using
Dandelion Herbs!
Visit: http://www.makingwine.net

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