Earl,
No, I have never done a pine needle wine. It should be loaded with Vitamin C, though. But.... You need to make 1000% sure what kind of pine you have. Some are poisonous, some are not. It's critical...
My most exotic wine is hard to say. I make purely "exotic" wines in most people's viewpoint. Chrysanthemum, for example, has become a staple in this house. My mother is planting marigolds this year because she wants the marigold wine again.
She's also definitely told me to pick her daylilies this year because she wants another batch of that one too.
I can only list what I have made thus far, in no particular order. You can pick what the most exotic of it is:
<UL>
<LI>Daylily</LI>
<LI>Lilac/Apple</LI>
<LI>Rose-hip</LI>
<LI>Chrysanthemum</LI>
<LI>Basil</LI>
<LI>Tomato</LI>
<LI>Tomato-Basil</LI>
<LI>Rosemary Nutmeg</LI>
<LI>Anise-Banana-Elderberry</LI>
<LI>Pumpkin-Spice</LI>
<LI>Marigold - both yellow and orange and a mix of both</LI>
<LI>Red Clover</LI>
<LI>Passion flower</LI>
<LI>Juniper Berry</LI>
<LI>Elderberry</LI>
<LI>Onion</LI>
<LI>Chamomile</LI>
<LI>Beet</LI>
<LI>Sage</LI>
<LI>Squash-Caraway</LI>
<LI>Hibiscus</LI>
<LI>Chocolate Mint</LI>
<LI>Mint-Lemon Balm</LI>
<LI>Green/String Bean</LI>
<LI>Carrot</LI>
<LI>Potato</LI>
<LI>Dandelion</LI>
<LI>Cabbage</LI>
<LI>Coffee</LI>
<LI>Ginseng-Yarrow-Mullein (GYM)</LI>[/list]
I am currently making a "hibiscus-clover-honey" (half honey, half sugar), and a basil-dill wine, along with the chickweed wine. About a month ago, I started a Caribbean Port - Blueberry-Hibiscus....
Some turned out extremely good (Sage, Choco-Mint, Dandelion) and some turned out putrid (GYM wine, Cabbage, Coffee). I have also made various fruit wines - blueberry, peach, plum, apple, melon-mix, banana-cinnamon, strawberry, and probably some others. To varying success.
I'm dabbling a little with spices now, and I hope I find a good middle-ground. I also am intrigued by some medicinal properties of certain herbs/spices/berries, and it is a challenge for me to find the "perfect" dose -- not to induce abortion, for example (ginger), or to have the perfect good-tasting antidepressant (passionflower - but that's still up in the air). Very risky, and I don't make much of those types of wines, but it's such a challenge which I enjoy. Rose-hips, for example are loaded with vitamin-c, and the fermentation process does not impair the goodness of it, as far as I know. Caraway, for example is a great digestif - perfect for after a meal, because it helps digest fats. Garlic is great for the circulation, so it's probably even better in wine. Ginseng is good for circulation as well.
But the emphasis is getting the dosage right. I do not suggest anyone makes those types of wines without properly consulting homeopathic/herbal medicine books.
I opened up a cab-sav kit wine, however, tonight. I bought it about a year ago from George, and I have to say, yummmmmmmy after a year.
I still love "normal" wines!!!!
M.
