Deer seem to know. It's spooky.
I have ninja deer. Usually they take foliage and flowers and leave footprints before I get outside. Except when the apples are on the trees. Then they'll hang out for hours.
Day Lily Wine - I'm going for it!
- Thread starter BigDaveK
- Start date
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I have ninja deer. Usually they take foliage and flowers and leave footprints before I get outside. Except when the apples are on the trees. Then they'll hang out for hours.
Something was bugging me when I started this wine. Couldn't put my finger on it.
Then it hit me - checked my cookbooks, I have one for day lilies. Told you they're delicious!
Then it hit me - checked my cookbooks, I have one for day lilies. Told you they're delicious!
Dave, thanks for all the information about this process with your Day Lily wine, I started a batch today. I used 500g as recommended and will use raisins as well. How much did you use as a substitute for the concentrate?
I've never used concentrate, always raisins - I could never find concentrate! That's ok, I like using raisins.
Dave, I'm still a novice at this so do what you think is best. I only use a cup of raisins.
If there's hot water involved, I'll chop and add. No hot water, I'll soak and chop, saving the soak water of course!
I'll be playing with the day lilies in the future for sure. Been harvesting and freezing.
Oh, and you're welcome! I enjoy sharing some of my less common wines. That's what this forum is about!
Last edited:
FlamingoEmporium
Senior Member
im thinking the raisins I used in my plumeria wine really helped the flavor.
Dave, thank you… a cup of chopped raisins it is. It’s good to have a starting point especially if someone else has the experience already! I *may* have a bit more than 500g also. I got a little carried away...
Many flower wines have been described as "delicate". My thought is, why do they have to be delicate? Personally, I want flavor. Not punch in the face flavor. I'm aiming for "Mmmm, what is that?" The frustrating aspect is that the experiments take so long.
Well. I learned something from this wine.
Racked this morning.
To recap, Lily #1 had 250 gr of flowers and Lily #2 had 500 gr. I thought more flowers would translate to more flavor but it really wasn't the case. They're both fruity, the strong strawberry flavor from earlier is almost gone, and when the time comes some back sweetening is definitely called for.
But this is what really interested me -the recipes are identical except Lily #1, less flowers and EC1118 and Lily #2, more flowers but 71B. I prefer the flavor of Lily #1! Guess I'll be exploring different yeasts in the future.
Racked this morning.
To recap, Lily #1 had 250 gr of flowers and Lily #2 had 500 gr. I thought more flowers would translate to more flavor but it really wasn't the case. They're both fruity, the strong strawberry flavor from earlier is almost gone, and when the time comes some back sweetening is definitely called for.
But this is what really interested me -the recipes are identical except Lily #1, less flowers and EC1118 and Lily #2, more flowers but 71B. I prefer the flavor of Lily #1! Guess I'll be exploring different yeasts in the future.
Bottling day.
Lily #1 on the left, Lily #2 right.
Disappointing that much of the color disappeared, #2 with more flowers has a slightly deeper hue.
Both have a fresh "garden" smell but not quit "floral".
And the flavor flip-flopped - #1 has the slight flavor of a mystery fruit while #2 definitely has a hint of strawberry and/or banana.
Both turned out to be good ordinary wines but #2 is certainly "gooder".
Recipe tweaks to #2 would kick it up a notch or two. It's not on my must-do-again list right now but we'll see how it ages. It's good to know that I have ingredients if I need them.
This is my 4th flower wine to bottle and honeysuckle and anise hyssop are still my favorites.
Lily #1 on the left, Lily #2 right.
Disappointing that much of the color disappeared, #2 with more flowers has a slightly deeper hue.
Both have a fresh "garden" smell but not quit "floral".
And the flavor flip-flopped - #1 has the slight flavor of a mystery fruit while #2 definitely has a hint of strawberry and/or banana.
Both turned out to be good ordinary wines but #2 is certainly "gooder".
Recipe tweaks to #2 would kick it up a notch or two. It's not on my must-do-again list right now but we'll see how it ages. It's good to know that I have ingredients if I need them.
This is my 4th flower wine to bottle and honeysuckle and anise hyssop are still my favorites.
winemanden
Senior Member
You may be right! It's the same with grape juice in the supermarket. I can get cartons of red grape juice, but no white. I haven't seen any for over a year. Golden raisins it is, then!
