Chrysanthemum Phototorial

Alright, here I rant and rave about my mum wine, and duh!!! I have never posted my award winning (ooh, doesn't that sound good!) recipe. I'm not going to post the recipe just yet, but here you go:





Mums-alive!








mums picked:








mums "deflowered"











what's left over:











There are many crimson buds left! I'm very excited about that. I'm hoping more for a pinker wine this harvest than the last one.





This is last year's harvest.... Predominantly yellow and light pink mums were harvested:











Enjoy!





And why not try it?!? It has a distinct flavor and is not something you can buy in the store.

Oh yes, please don't mind the oak-bombs (as I call them) on the walkway. I promise, tomorrow I'll clean them up.





The harvest is one of the first I have done this year. I am expecting much more, since i have mums planted everywhere. That's the only thing that grew this summer, despite the drought.





I live in a very shady, urban area. I use good, but rotted, horse manure for fertilizer. Mums love it. I also cut them down (quite short) until the 6th of july this year (cutoff date is usually the 4th), and they grew this much since then.





I have others in the garden, but these are the most promising. (Shh, don't tell my husband I've been harvesting again!!!!) He thinks they should "be pretty for the neighbors!"

Oops, another update!





Just noticed that my impatients were on there too. Those are NOT edible in any way. Those are the pink flowers at the bottom of the first picture. Please do NOT harvest those!

So all you use is the petals?

Yes,





last year's batch used only petals, but more than 2 quarts/gallon. The first year's, I added some grape juice, but I am not sure if it was better or not. No one complained of either wine.

I know the sample you sent me was really good

Martinia is sending you samples?
How do you get on the mailing list?
How does she give up even the smallest portion of her precious child?

Beautiful flowers, Martina,


Ramona

Thanks Ramona!





Well, my mums are the only thing that grew this summer, even though I babied everything throughout this drought we had.





As to the mailing list...

Very pretty Martina, If my Cherry comes out good I'll swap ya bottles.


Bill

Peter...You gotta have that certain swagger and be able to walk the walk to get on Martina's mailing list

Alrighty, I've picked another 2.5 quarts of petals yesterday. That gives me a total of about 3.5-4 quarts. This is only enough for about 2 gallons of wine. (2 quarts per gallon)


I broke down and bought more mums the other day as well. I need to get up to my 6 gallons at least!!! Many plants have not yet opened their flowers yet, but it should be in it's prime by the weekend. Today, I will go out picking again, and will keep you posted.

New harvest, new pictures (and thank goodness, DSL + phone)














Deflowered:

As you can see, 2 quarts. Another gallon.





It seems as though yellow predominates.Edited by: MedPretzel

That is just unbelievable Martina. How long does it take them to ferment and what type yeast do you use?

The first year I used Montrachet yeast.





The second year I dabbled in Lalvin 72B-1122, upon Hippie's recommendation.





I liked the second year's batch a little bit better.











It takes about 6 weeks (normally) to ferment at temps of about 72* F. This will only be my 4th batch, but I think I have a good recipe. Most people just love the wine.





I will be picking more tomorrow. Hopefully enough for another gallon. That will bring me up to about 4 gallons now, but we will see. I hope to hit the 10 gallon mark by the end of fall, but I doubt I'll reach it. I'm not sure what I could blend such a strong-tasting wine with, but I'm open to suggestions.... Edited by: MedPretzel

Picked another 2.5 quarts of mums today. 1.5 more gallons, and there are more buds to pick!





Lots more pink and reds in this batch, but yellow is still predominating.





Hopefully the reds will keep producing.... Edited by: MedPretzel

Picked another gallon today.





My husband smelled the "de-petaling" process, and said, "It smells like wine!" When I told my husband I've been holding back on picking mums because of what people see in our yard, he said, "But the wine! You have to make a chrysanthemum wine with Umpf!!!! Don't do things half-a**ed!"











I'll be picking even more soon!





Predominantly pink, yellow and red mums today.





I've got now my 6 gallon benchmark. More mums must be picked.

BTW, I'm drinking a 2004 Chrysanthemum wine right now, and I can say, it's still got a bit aging needed. It's just a bit harsh initially but finishes smoothly. Clear as a bell, and not sweet, but maybe just a hint (which I like).





Edited by: MedPretzel

Well,





I'm not going to go over the 6 gallon mark this year. I am sticking with what I've got. I will most likely be starting the wine this week sometime. I haven't decided if I'm going to oak this one lightly or not.


I'm going to make it less alcoholic this year as well. The other was a bit too strong for my tastes. I also want to lightly sweeten it, but since I never really have done that, I'm a little worried. I'm a very dry-wine-lovin' kind of girl, and anything that is not dry is automatically labeled sweet in my opinion.


We shall see.