percival
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i thought that our little patch at the end of the garden would stand no chance of surviving winter. and i found various recipes for mint wine online. It seems its a pretty common one. I reckon i have enough to make 1/2 a gallon, which isn't my usual quantity, but hey i got nothing fermenting at the moment, and plenty of capacity. Leaving it for a year means it'll be a nice treat when it is ready and by then the mint should have spread loads, as is its reputation.
here's the recipe. any thoughts, tips, comments most welcome, escpecially if you have experience of making it, or just drinking it.
I heard that mint is an invasive plant, so I knew it would spread when I planted it last summer. I was still unprepared for the sheer quantity of mint that grew this year. This is one of my solutions.
Ingredients
Age all wines one year or more.
* 4 cups mint leaves, tightly packed
* 6 cups granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup lemon juice
* 2 green tea bags
* 1 teaspoon yeast nutrients
* 1 campden tablet
* 1 gallon water
* 1 package wine yeast or champagne yeast
Rinse mint leaves in cold water. Place clean leaves in a pot and cover with boiling water. Let sit 1 hour. Strain liquid into primary fermentor and lightly squeeze the pulp. Place pulp back in pot, and again cover with boiling water. Let sit 1 hour. Squeeze all liquid from the pulp. Discard pulp. Add water to make up to 1 gallon. Add sugar, nutrients, lemon juice and campden tablets. Stir to dissolve sugar. Let sit overnight.
Next day, Specific Gravity should be 1.090 - 1.100. Stir in yeast. Stir daily for 2 or 3 days until frothing ceases. Siphon into secondary fermentor and attach airlock.
For a dry wine, rack in six weeks, and every three months for one year. Bottle.
For a sweet wine, rack at six weeks. Add 1/2 cup sugar dissolved in 1 cup wine. Stir gently, and place back into secondary fermentor. Repeat process every six weeks until fermentation does not restart with the addition of sugar. Rack every three months until one year old. Bottle.
think i'll aim for a sweet variety and serve it very cold in chilled glasses.
here's the recipe. any thoughts, tips, comments most welcome, escpecially if you have experience of making it, or just drinking it.
I heard that mint is an invasive plant, so I knew it would spread when I planted it last summer. I was still unprepared for the sheer quantity of mint that grew this year. This is one of my solutions.
Ingredients
Age all wines one year or more.
* 4 cups mint leaves, tightly packed
* 6 cups granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup lemon juice
* 2 green tea bags
* 1 teaspoon yeast nutrients
* 1 campden tablet
* 1 gallon water
* 1 package wine yeast or champagne yeast
Rinse mint leaves in cold water. Place clean leaves in a pot and cover with boiling water. Let sit 1 hour. Strain liquid into primary fermentor and lightly squeeze the pulp. Place pulp back in pot, and again cover with boiling water. Let sit 1 hour. Squeeze all liquid from the pulp. Discard pulp. Add water to make up to 1 gallon. Add sugar, nutrients, lemon juice and campden tablets. Stir to dissolve sugar. Let sit overnight.
Next day, Specific Gravity should be 1.090 - 1.100. Stir in yeast. Stir daily for 2 or 3 days until frothing ceases. Siphon into secondary fermentor and attach airlock.
For a dry wine, rack in six weeks, and every three months for one year. Bottle.
For a sweet wine, rack at six weeks. Add 1/2 cup sugar dissolved in 1 cup wine. Stir gently, and place back into secondary fermentor. Repeat process every six weeks until fermentation does not restart with the addition of sugar. Rack every three months until one year old. Bottle.
think i'll aim for a sweet variety and serve it very cold in chilled glasses.