Tree leaf wines

Stumbled into some recipes for oak and beech leaf wine a few months ago, and decided to modify them a bit and try them this past spring. I did two 1-gallon batches, one using beech leaves and maple syrup, and the other using oak leaves and black birch tea. Not sure how these will work, as I've never had tree-leaf wine before. Anyway, the recipes and details are here: http://amongthestatelytrees.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/wine-from-the-forest/

I'd love any feedback from folks that have tried these sort of wines before.

Here are the two recipes I used, in case you don't want to follow the external link:


Oak and Black Birch Wine
1 gallon fresh, young oak leaves (Quercus spp.)
5 cups sugar
0.5 cups chopped, golden raisins
0.25 tsp acid blend
1 lemon
2 oranges
1 tsp yeast nutrient
0.5 tsp yeast energizer
Yeast (Lavin EC-1118)
5 cups of homemade black birch tea (~1 cup per bottle of finished wine)
Campden tablet(s)

American Beech and Sugar Maple Wine
1 gallon fresh, young american beech (***us grandifolia) leaves
32 ounces pure maple syrup
0.75 cups sugar
0.5 cups chopped, golden raisins
0.75 tsp acid blend
1 lemon
1 orange
1 tsp yeast nutrient
0.5 tsp yeast energizer
0.5 tsp Yeast (Lavin EC-1118)
Campden tablet(s)

Interesting. Keep us posted.
I like the blog!

I started the oak leaf wine in may. No raisins. It stopped fermenting is sitting on 1.032 and very sweet. Maybe should have used LavinEC-111 like you did. I am going to see if I can restart. With a new yeast and nutrient. I hope to fix it.

Hopefully you can get it going again. Did you measure pH?



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No I need to get a kit

Ok so I added k1-v1116 yeast and yeast ingredient several days ago to my oak leaf wine. no fermentation. Checked SG no change still 1.032. Today I added a campton tab. Should I try the yeast again that was my thinking kinda start over.

I suppose. I'm relatively new at this, and have not yet experienced a stuck fermentation with any of my batches.


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Yesterday I started the jack keller fix. I took 1/2 cup warm water and 1/4 cup sweet wine. Added yeast nutrient and yeast. Today I'll add another 1/4 wine 8 hours later more wine.Then add it back if it seems to be working. If not than maybe it has a high enough alcohol content with a lot of sugar. learning as I go. I tried my acid test kit. I believe it was about .80.

Give it a stirr. Yeast needs a little air to start. Did you make a yeast starter with the yeast first, or just dump in the dry yeast? The campton will slow down, or prevent the new yeast from starting to ferment. Give it a few days for the campton to disapate some. ( Will not bother an active ferment however What was your starting sg? Is the wine currently under airlock or a bucket?


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It started way to high 1.13 it fermented to about 1.032. seems sweet and syrupy like. So I wanted to ferment it dry. Couldn't get get it going so I was trying again. I tried just putting yeast in dry didn't work so then I tried after a camton tab and 24 hours I added warm water and 1/4 cup of the wine in a different container next day added more of the wine to that container it just had a towel on it. I then added that back in to the jug. Stirred it has a towel on top of it to. Nothing is happening. Maybe it has a high alcohol and it's killing the yeast. Oh I I used yeast ingredient also. I'm very frustrated with this wine. I won't ever start that high again.

Hmm. Even starting with such a high sg 1118 yeast should have taken it dry. Sometimes it takes a large starter to restart a stuck ferment. Large as in get it almost half the size of your batch before adding it to the stalled wine. Or start a second batch of wine with a lowish sg and when it is about half done fermenting add the stalled wine to it. Or when the new wine is done fermenting, rack it off the lees, leaving behind a fair amount, and dump your stalled wine in it. That is how skeeter pee is made.
Yeast ingrediants, you mean nutriants? You will need to add some if you have not already. Its ok to add them after most of the ferment is done. Whatever the yeast does not eat will just settle to the bottom. No off flavors will happen. Right now your yeast needs the help!

If all attempts to restart fail, use it as a blending wine. Better then dumping it! Or make a second batch the same way, with a low sg, ferment dry and then blend.

Good luck!


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Also make sure the temp is high enough for the yeast to start. 70's. stuborn yeast may need to be in the uper 70's to start.


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Thanks for all the great advise I'm starting another with banana blue berries and rhubarb on wed. Maybe I'll add it to that when it is done. Like you said skeeter pee? How much is a good bit when you leave it on bottom? Before I add the wine to it. As for now Ill just put more yeast nutrient. Would adding some raisins do anything or other fruit help with nutrients.Temp is 70 ' s. I will read up on skeeter pee.
Thanks again! Spunk

spunk said:

Thanks for all the great advise I'm starting another with banana blue berries and rhubarb on wed. Maybe I'll add it to that when it is done. Like you said skeeter pee? How much is a good bit when you leave it on bottom? Before I add the wine to it. As for now Ill just put more yeast nutrient. Would adding some raisins do anything or other fruit help with nutrients.Temp is 70 ' s. I will read up on skeeter pee.
Thanks again! Spunk

Click to expand...

I would leave 2-4" of wine/sludge. The more you leave the better off you will be. Even 1/2" would help.

Adding raisons or fresh fruit would add more suger (small amount), and flavor, as well as wild yeast. I have had good luck using wild yeast. Apples and grapes are loaded with them. Washing does not remove the yeast either Grapes (and raisons) are yeast prefured food. Not nutriants per say, but raisons have been added for that reason. I never have so I can't really say how effective they are. Worth a try.

Skeeter pee is a good read. There is a very very long post on it. Lots of advise for stuck or hard to start ferments. Its basicaly a lemom-aid wine.


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I added the sweet syrupy wine to my wine/sludge and white grape juice yesterday and yeast ingredient I see bubbles slow formentation or just co2. Also I add several cups to a raspberry ginger beer that tasted weak. Figured maybe they will help each other. Any how it was fun. Looking forward to taste my mixes.

Vitis how how are your leave wines turning out?

Early (leaf)

Hi spunk. I bottled both a couple weeks ago, after just a little back-sweetening about a month before that. Both wines need more aging, and I don't plan to touch them until spring. I'll update then!

Ok.looking foward for updates mine has been very challenging ending up mixing it with two other mixes to get to forment to finish. Starting to clear now. The ginger one I think going to be good. Other needs lots of time. I added more acid blend and some oak chips to it. Ph too high dont seem to want to go down.