Eastern Redbud - I'm going for it!

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@Rice_Guy I picked all mine from a small tree (4-5 yrs old) that sprouted by my front door. (I wonder if age affects flavor?) Pic taken after harvesting.
I grabbed a branch loosely and ran my hand down, container close underneath, and it took me less than 5 minutes. My trees are done now, about 75% of the flowers are on the ground.

20230425_143841.jpg
 
Never found time to make redbud jelly, darn it, but the wine turned into another shocker.

The flowers were tart. Must be some kind of acid there. Some flavor, not much, so I went to Test #2 and made tea. What a transformation! Very slight floral aroma but the flavor shocked me - no doubt about it, RASPBERRY! Not a pathetic hint of raspberry, no. More like "Ooh, that's good raspberry!" Oh yeah, we're making wine.

This was my first country wine where the ingredients were collected 15 ft from my front door. It grows like a weed and I have dozens on the property.

View attachment 100532

I used 4 pints (320 gr), 71B, and since it tasted like raspberry I went with citric acid. Before adding sugar it had an SG of 1.020 and a pH of 3.9. With that SG I added sugar to start at 1.100.

View attachment 100533

Transferred this morning at 1.020. Very slight magenta color and I'm curious how it will clear. Incredibly, it still tastes like raspberry!!
Happy so far! Naturally I now have more vac sealed and frozen.


View attachment 100534
Never found time to make redbud jelly, darn it, but the wine turned into another shocker.

The flowers were tart. Must be some kind of acid there. Some flavor, not much, so I went to Test #2 and made tea. What a transformation! Very slight floral aroma but the flavor shocked me - no doubt about it, RASPBERRY! Not a pathetic hint of raspberry, no. More like "Ooh, that's good raspberry!" Oh yeah, we're making wine.

This was my first country wine where the ingredients were collected 15 ft from my front door. It grows like a weed and I have dozens on the property.

View attachment 100532

I used 4 pints (320 gr), 71B, and since it tasted like raspberry I went with citric acid. Before adding sugar it had an SG of 1.020 and a pH of 3.9. With that SG I added sugar to start at 1.100.

View attachment 100533

Transferred this morning at 1.020. Very slight magenta color and I'm curious how it will clear. Incredibly, it still tastes like raspberry!!
Happy so far! Naturally I now have more vac sealed and frozen.


View attachment 100534
As I read about the Magnolias I was going to ask if you had used Red Buds… but you are miles ahead of my thoughts!!! 🤪
 
As I read about the Magnolias I was going to ask if you had used Red Buds… but you are miles ahead of my thoughts!!! 🤪
My wine planning starts with looking out the window.😃
Next step is making 100% sure that it's edible.

I had quite a few edible spring wildflowers in the yard and some had surprising flavor. Unfortunately harvesting would have been even more time consuming than dandelions.
 
My wine planning starts with looking out the window.😃
Next step is making 100% sure that it's edible.

I had quite a few edible spring wildflowers in the yard and some had surprising flavor. Unfortunately harvesting would have been even more time consuming than dandelions.
You are blessed with flowering trees! Making sure it is edible is important!! ☺️
I love Dandelions sautéed in a bit of butter with eggs:) Have you tried making the Dandelion wine with the bits of green and calling it “tannin”?? Might need some correcting..but
it could be healthier.? 🤔
 
You are blessed with flowering trees! Making sure it is edible is important!! ☺️
I love Dandelions sautéed in a bit of butter with eggs:) Have you tried making the Dandelion wine with the bits of green and calling it “tannin”?? Might need some correcting..but
it could be healthier.? 🤔
Jack Keller said the green bits add a "je ne sais quoi"
 
You are blessed with flowering trees! Making sure it is edible is important!! ☺️
I love Dandelions sautéed in a bit of butter with eggs:) Have you tried making the Dandelion wine with the bits of green and calling it “tannin”?? Might need some correcting..but
it could be healthier.? 🤔
Yes I am blessed to have so many wine ingredients in the yard! Old house in the country so Mother Nature has had time to do Her Magic.

I have so many recipes for dandelions but it seems all I do is add the greens to salads and make wine. I need to try some recipes with the roots.
 
Racked from secondary this morning.
Very glad I oversize batches a little. There was a surprising amount of gross lees.
Picture is disappointing because the color is beautiful.
A very nice slight floral aroma. (Walking in a garden aroma rather than soap.)
Unknown fruit flavor very briefly and then unmistakable raspberry flavor. I'm shocked the flavor held up through fermentation. Not as strong as actual raspberries but definitely identifiable.
Alcohol not noticeable but I felt it 10-15 minutes later. It helped that I had 2 full glasses leftover. The first I drank dry - very nice but something was missing. Syrup was used on the second glass - that's what it needed! When the time comes I'll have to decide how sweet to go.
Preliminary opinion, I would absolutely make this again.

redbud 4.jpg
 
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I was looking forward to this. Bottled this morning.

Slight but noticeable floral aroma.

It maintained a reddish color in the gallon jug but became red/amber in the smaller bottles.

Astonishing flavor! The raspberry flavor held up extremely well, unmistakably obvious. And with time others have joined the party - pineapple comes in second, and I'd swear mandarin orange is tagging along in third place. I'm shocked - how the hell can this be a flower wine?!

Yet another foraged country wine that could easily make the annual to-do list.

redbud.jpg
 
I was looking forward to this. Bottled this morning.

Slight but noticeable floral aroma.

It maintained a reddish color in the gallon jug but became red/amber in the smaller bottles.

Astonishing flavor! The raspberry flavor held up extremely well, unmistakably obvious. And with time others have joined the party - pineapple comes in second, and I'd swear mandarin orange is tagging along in third place. I'm shocked - how the hell can this be a flower wine?!

Yet another foraged country wine that could easily make the annual to-do list.

View attachment 108107
I can’t wait to try this next year!
 
I can’t wait to try this next year!
I don't think you'll be disappointed!

I suggest tasting the flowers first. I harvested from a tree at the front door that gets considerable sun. Others that got less sun didn't seem as flavor-able to me. Maybe it's my imagination

I can't think of any obvious tweaks since I'm happy with the result. I might start at 1.090ish instead of 1.100. I like making dessert wines (more flavor ingredient, step feeding) so maybe I'll try that.
 
Best raspberry wine I ever tasted was Hosmer Winery (Cayuga Lake) “Raspberry Rhapsody with Cayuga white grapes and fresh raspberries. It was obviously heavy backsweetened but some day when raspberries go on sale I’ll try to make some since redbuds don’t grow down here. We will be making Roselle Hibiscus wine this fall if the plants keep growing well.
I live an hour and a half away from there, I'll have to pay them a visit
 
I was looking forward to this. Bottled this morning.

Slight but noticeable floral aroma.

It maintained a reddish color in the gallon jug but became red/amber in the smaller bottles.

Astonishing flavor! The raspberry flavor held up extremely well, unmistakably obvious. And with time others have joined the party - pineapple comes in second, and I'd swear mandarin orange is tagging along in third place. I'm shocked - how the hell can this be a flower wine?!

Yet another foraged country wine that could easily make the annual to-do list.

View attachment 108107
I was looking forward to this. Bottled this morning.

Slight but noticeable floral aroma.

It maintained a reddish color in the gallon jug but became red/amber in the smaller bottles.

Astonishing flavor! The raspberry flavor held up extremely well, unmistakably obvious. And with time others have joined the party - pineapple comes in second, and I'd swear mandarin orange is tagging along in third place. I'm shocked - how the hell can this be a flower wine?!

Yet another foraged country wine that could easily make the annual to-do list

I’m happy the Red Bud is a success for you!
This photo is absolutely stunning!
I hope you use it for labels - or enlarge and frame it?!
I would like this artwork in my home.
( Oh?.. maybe for your book cover?! ☺️)
Thanks for sharing your adventures with us!
 
I’m happy the Red Bud is a success for you!
This photo is absolutely stunning!
I hope you use it for labels - or enlarge and frame it?!
I would like this artwork in my home.
( Oh?.. maybe for your book cover?! ☺️)
Thanks for sharing your adventures with us!
Thank you for the kind words for the wine and the photo.
Photography is a long time hobby that I've neglected for a couple years. I'll try to integrate it more with wine making and we'll see what happens.
 
Thank you for the kind words for the wine and the photo.
Photography is a long time hobby that I've neglected for a couple years. I'll try to integrate it more with wine making and we'll see what happens.
Ah, I recognized that eye for composition.!
I did real photography back in the “ dark ages” ( lol- pun!) but now I’m just an iPhone warrior with extra icloud to support my visual habit!🤣
That photo is stunning. Thanks for sharing it - and all of your wine discoveries!
 
@BigDaveK, Redbuds are blooming at my location. I am thinking about trying this. Have you tried this recently? Would you make it again, any changes?
Is it best to pick flowers when they are in bud or fully opened.
You're ahead of me. Mine are just beginning to form.
I think it's delicious! Would I make it again? Absolutely! Will I make it this year? I don't know - I have too much wine!😆
Tweaks? Maybe more flowers. Maybe a slightly lower OG. And like @Rice_Guy said, taste the flowers. I have dozens of trees and incredibly the flavor varies. Soil? Sun exposure? I don't know. And to me fully opened flowers taste better than buds.
I've made a number of flower wines and using fresh flowers is a priority. No big rush with redbuds, easily a couple days to harvest. On the other end of the spectrum, for example, with honeysuckle it's one day.
 
Did you add hot water to the flowers or cold? I assume you added K Meta and waited 24 hrs prior to pitching? What do you think about adding about a pound of sugar and KMeta to the flowers and letting them macerate for 24 hours prior to adding the water and starting the ferment? Would that extract more flavor?
 

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