Making Herbal Wine

Wine making is easy and you don't need all the fancy equipment to make a really yummy home-made wine.  If I'm making a big batch of wine, I use a 5 gallon crock and if I'm making smaller batches then sometimes I'll use a really big mason jar.  You can pretty much use any fruit of your choice.  Traditionally, I make elderberry wine every fall and dandelion wine with oranges and grapefruit in the spring.

But this year, I thought I would try something different and make an herbal wine with grapes.  I had spent all winter reading a book comprised herbal lore and remedies of Hildegard of Bingen.  Most of her herbal remedies were added to wine and administered as a drink.  So I thought I would try this only instead of adding the herbs to the already made wine, I 've added them to the wine right from the beginning so they are actually part of the fermenting process.

I took the grapes off their vine and placed them in a pot filled with water to just barely covering the grapes.  I then let them boil while I helped to mash them and break their skins.  After they cooked for awhile, I strained out the grapes and measured the remaining juice.  I added about the same amount, maybe a bit less, of honey and stirred til it was dissolved.  Then while it was still hot, I added yarrow and echinacea flower petals and leaves, stirred and let cool a bit.  While it was still warm, but not hot, I added some wine maker's yeast.  (you don't want to add the yeast when it's still really hot or it will kill the yeast.)  I've been stirring it every day and it's a very alive culture of goodness!  The fermenting process will last for weeks before it's ready for a second straining and bottling.  Usually when I put it in wine bottles, I cover the tops with balloons and let sit for a bit longer.  This way I can tell if it's still fermenting, because it will make the balloons stand on end.  And trust me, you don't want to bottle and cork your wine before it's done fermenting. 

So get creative this fall, and make some wine with your favorite fruit, herbs and even roots!