Martina’s Lavender Wine

[MedPretzel]

Martina's Lavender Wine



This wine might not be to everyone's taste and treat it as an aperitif.


Ingredients:


½ cup dried lavender flowers (oldtimeherbs.com, 0.5oz)
½ tsp acid blend
1 lbs light brown sugar
4 cups white granulated sugar
1/4 tsp tannin
½ tsp pectic enzyme
½ tsp yeast energizer
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 Campden tablet
water - to make 1 gallon of wine
Method:


Dissolve 1 lb of light brown sugar in 1 gallon of water. Pour 1 gallon boiling water onto the dried flowers.
Allow to sit, covered. Let cool. Add the rest of the ingredients when cool. Stir. The SG is a little high at 1.110 This could be tweaked in further recipes.


Transfer to secondary when SG hits 1.040. Fit fermenting lock and ferment until finished and clear topping up with water when initial phase has calmed down.



Note - this made a very unusual tasting wine. The Lavender taste came out more and more over time and became a zesty fresh flavour. This must age at least a year before becoming drinkable.

 

[Hippie]

Sounds very exotic. Mythinking is it will be great after bottle aging for a couple years.

 

[MedPretzel]

First tasting was last week.





Shows a lot of promise, that's for sure.

 

[Hippie]

Do you find your flower wines regain alot of floral bouquet after being in the bottle a while, like Gewurtztraminer or Piesporter?

 

[MedPretzel]

Actually, they never lose it. They actually seem to mellow out and blend perfectly with the taste. It's hard to describe. I have a chrysanthemum that is now approaching 2 years. The last time I tasted it, I felt that the bouquet was perfect.





At the time of bottling, it was downright obnoxious.

 

[Hippie]

That's what I am asking, how well they recover that floral taste and bouquet after being bottled a while.

 

[MedPretzel]

I think you could say "it's appropriate for the type of wine". The mum wine really developed into something great.





I'm unfortuantely one of those types of people: "If I made it myself, it tastes great" so, my 2 cents on this one is sort of biased.

 

[Hippie]

Of course. It is your wine, why should anyone else say it isn't good.

 

[MedPretzel]

Well, since i give a lot of my wines away, I'd like to make ones that OTHER people might even like!

 

[Hippie]

Well here noone says they don't like anything I make, they are a bunch of lushes and are afraid they won't get any more.

 

[MedPretzel]

Yes, but the lavender smell is very strong. Almost too strong, but at least it's toning down a little.

 

[Hippie]

Sometines a Piesporter or Gewurtztraminer has a highly perfumed bouquet that takes me by surprise and mellows alot in the glass, some ice wines also.

 

[MedPretzel]

It mellows in the glass? You mean you let it sit open for a while?

 

[Hippie]

Yes, I always let the bottle breath for 15-30 minutes, then pour and let the glass breath for maybe 15 minutes, after a first sip of course. I chill every bottle before opening. I don't know why, cause the wine is always better after it warms up in the glass.

 

[MedPretzel]

Interesting. I thought "cellar temp" was good enough. You live and learn.

 

[Hippie]

Cellar temp. would be warmer than my fridge temp.


Read my post again.

 

[MedPretzel]

Yes, and I thought cellar temp was sufficient for all wine.





But I guess I see what you're doing.

 

[Hippie]

It's just that my wines taste better a little warmer than my fridge temp. Get it now?

 

[MedPretzel]

Yep, I get it. Sorry, sometimes it's slow going with me.

 

[Hippie]

There is a song in that somewhere, or maybe I listen to too much music.