# Day Lily Wine - I'm going for it!



## BigDaveK (Jun 28, 2022)

One of the few flowers I don't mind collecting from the yard since they only last a day.

Potentially a good wine so I've got enough blossoms in the freezer for another batch. Maybe I'll get more just in case.

Coincidentally, about 10 minutes from me further into the hills is our LilyFest in 2 weeks. A collection of local artisans and musicians on the grounds of a 30 acre garden. Too many tourists but I manage to survive.


----------



## BigDaveK (Jul 2, 2022)

Transferred to secondary. Nice melon color.
It has a nice "what is that fruit?!" flavor. Yes, it really is fruity! I am SO curious where this will go.

BTW, I never wash my flowers like everyone says to do. I want the pollen and nectar. The boiling water poured over them is good enough for me.


----------



## VinesnBines (Jul 2, 2022)

What kind of day lily? I have many wild day lily. Did you use Keller’s recipe?


----------



## BigDaveK (Jul 3, 2022)

VinesnBines said:


> What kind of day lily? I have many wild day lily. Did you use Keller’s recipe?


It was mostly "ditch" lily, the common variety. Must be flavor in the nectar because ants and hummingbirds like them.

Yes, I used Keller's recipe with minor tweaks - golden raisins instead of concentrate (which I'm convinced doesn't exist anymore) and I only had to use 11/2 tsp acid blend to get 3.5 pH.


----------



## Steve Wargo (Jul 3, 2022)

I'm not surprised that a wine can be made out of daylilies. As I kid I instinctively picked out and ate the pistils from the daylilies in my grandparent's home/backyard. Just a few. Some tasted sweet. Some didn't which I spit out. I've read where specific daylily variety petals are used in salads and for other dishes. Warning/disclaimer: I don't recommend eating/consuming/processing any plant, or other carbon-based matter that you haven't fully researched for its possible toxicity, and other chemical interactions.


----------



## VinesnBines (Jul 3, 2022)

I’m afraid my ditch lilies may be done for the year. Oh well, waiting for your results.


----------



## Steve Wargo (Jul 3, 2022)

BigDaveK said:


> One of the few flowers I don't mind collecting from the yard since they only last a day.
> 
> Potentially a good wine so I've got enough blossoms in the freezer for another batch. Maybe I'll get more just in case.
> 
> ...


How many or volumes of daylillies did you use per gallon of water. There are many ditch daylilies growing wild all around my area. I think I would give it a try. I think it would be a unique wine.


----------



## BigDaveK (Jul 3, 2022)

Steve Wargo said:


> I'm not surprised that a wine can be made out of daylilies. As I kid I instinctively picked out and ate the pistils from the daylilies in my grandparent's home/backyard. Just a few. Some tasted sweet. Some didn't which I spit out. I've read where specific daylily variety petals are used in salads and for other dishes. Warning/disclaimer: I don't recommend eating/consuming/processing any plant, or other carbon-based matter that you haven't fully researched for its possible toxicity, and other chemical interactions.


I agree.
Old foragers get to be old for a reason.


----------



## BigDaveK (Jul 3, 2022)

Steve Wargo said:


> How many or volumes of daylillies did you use per gallon of water. There are many ditch daylilies growing wild all around my area. I think I would give it a try. I think it would be a unique wine.


I went by the recipe and got about 4-5 qrts. Weighed in at 260 grams.

Then I decided to experiment. Today I started another batch at 500 grams. Some describe flower wines as being delicate so I thought, heck, let's double the flowers and see what we get. What a great hobby!


----------



## Steve Wargo (Jul 3, 2022)

BigDaveK said:


> I went by the recipe and got about 4-5 qrts. Weighed in at 260 grams.
> 
> Then I decided to experiment. Today I started another batch at 500 grams. Some describe flower wines as being delicate so I thought, heck, let's double the flowers and see what we get. What a great hobby!


Thanks for the insight. The Daylilies will be in bloom very soon in my area


----------



## RevA (Jul 4, 2022)

BigDaveK said:


> I went by the recipe and got about 4-5 qrts. Weighed in at 260 grams.
> 
> Then I decided to experiment. Today I started another batch at 500 grams. Some describe flower wines as being delicate so I thought, heck, let's double the flowers and see what we get. What a great hobby!


Can't wait to read the results.


----------



## Clover (Jul 4, 2022)

BigDaveK said:


> I went by the recipe and got about 4-5 qrts. Weighed in at 260 grams.
> 
> Then I decided to experiment. Today I started another batch at 500 grams. Some describe flower wines as being delicate so I thought, heck, let's double the flowers and see what we get. What a great hobby!


I am inspired by this! I have probably 20 varieties of day lilies and they are still blooming but just past their peak. I'd love to try this this week.

I have a lot of the double oranges, and google says they're edible too. The deer especially think they're edible.  Did you use a ton of different colors? I have fragrant, non fragrant, and a rainbow of colors...


----------



## BigDaveK (Jul 4, 2022)

Yes, the deer love them. I deliberately didn't spray Liquid Fence this year because of the wine plans.

I used about 75% ditch lilies in both my batches.

I've been harvesting every day. BTW, they freeze well. I may have to get another freezer for food - seems like they're full of berries and flowers for wine.


----------



## Clover (Jul 5, 2022)

BigDaveK said:


> Yes, the deer love them. I deliberately didn't spray Liquid Fence this year because of the wine plans.
> 
> I used about 75% ditch lilies in both my batches.
> 
> I've been harvesting every day. BTW, they freeze well. I may have to get another freezer for food - seems like they're full of berries and flowers for wine.



Well, you ignited the wine fever in me. I remembered I sprayed capsaicin animal repellent on all of mine as they were developing, and my heart sank - no wine this year. Then I remembered my best friend has a a ton of oranges - in fact, she gave me mine - and she doesn't spray since she lives in the city and has a fenced yard. So I went to her house yesterday and announced I was taking all that were in bloom. She said no, and I reminded her they'd be back today. She relented, I was ruthless picking lol, and the yeast was pitched at 1am this morning.

So glad to know they freeze well! That will make collection an easier task for next year. My freezer is full of blackberries and dandelions I'm still trying to collect, and I'm headed to a peach orchard today... my husband is a tolerant man.

I can't wait to see how this turns out. And btw I have the best best friend in the world.... and luckily she loves my wines nearly as much as she loves her flowers - and me.


----------



## BigDaveK (Jul 5, 2022)

I transferred my 2nd batch of day lily wine early this morning.
In the first batch I used ec1118 only because I had an open packet in the fridge.

This batch used 71B. The quantity of flowers was doubled from 260 gr to 500 gr. Or in other words 9-10 qrts from 4-5. Not much difference in color, perhaps a bit darker. The first batch was fruity and good. This one? STRAWBERRY! Absolutely tastes like strawberry! I'm shocked and very pleased. I am SO glad I tried this! I'll probably increase the quantity of flowers in all my flower wines to see what happens.

What this means for me is that I'm going to take my ziploc-ed bags of day lilies from the freezer and vac seal into 500 gr pouches.


----------



## BigDaveK (Jul 5, 2022)

Clover said:


> Well, you ignited the wine fever in me. I remembered I sprayed capsaicin animal repellent on all of mine as they were developing, and my heart sank - no wine this year. Then I remembered my best friend has a a ton of oranges - in fact, she gave me mine - and she doesn't spray since she lives in the city and has a fenced yard. So I went to her house yesterday and announced I was taking all that were in bloom. She said no, and I reminded her they'd be back today. She relented, I was ruthless picking lol, and the yeast was pitched at 1am this morning.
> 
> So glad to know they freeze well! That will make collection an easier task for next year. My freezer is full of blackberries and dandelions I'm still trying to collect, and I'm headed to a peach orchard today... my husband is a tolerant man.
> 
> I can't wait to see how this turns out. And btw I have the best best friend in the world.... and luckily she loves my wines nearly as much as she loves her flowers - and me.


Too bad about the capsaicin. I've never had much luck with those repellents. Liquid Fence is the only one that works for me for raccoons, ground hogs, and deer. There are copycat homemade recipes for it that involve curdled milk and rotten eggs.


----------



## papabearRN (Jul 5, 2022)

BigDaveK said:


> Transferred to secondary. Nice melon color.
> It has a nice "what is that fruit?!" flavor. Yes, it really is fruity! I am SO curious where this will go.
> 
> BTW, I never wash my flowers like everyone says to do. I want the pollen and nectar. The boiling water poured over them is good enough for me.
> ...


What was your OG? I'd like to try a mead. Sounds interesting, and they're just about ready!!!!!


----------



## Steve Wargo (Jul 5, 2022)

BigDaveK said:


> I transferred my 2nd batch of day lily wine early this morning.
> In the first batch I used ec1118 only because I had an open packet in the fridge.
> 
> This batch used 71B. The quantity of flowers was doubled from 260 gr to 500 gr. Or in other words 9-10 qrts from 4-5. Not much difference in color, perhaps a bit darker. The first batch was fruity and good. This one? STRAWBERRY! Absolutely tastes like strawberry! I'm shocked and very pleased. I am SO glad I tried this! I'll probably increase the quantity of flowers in all my flower wines to see what happens.
> ...


Wow it looks great. Plus the wine is not found in any store I know about.


----------



## BigDaveK (Jul 5, 2022)

papabearRN said:


> What was your OG? I'd like to try a mead. Sounds interesting, and they're just about ready!!!!!


I now make most of my wines a bit under 1.090. I noticed I don't care for a higher ABV. But...there are times when I plan for a higher ABV.


----------



## Clover (Jul 6, 2022)

BigDaveK said:


> Too bad about the capsaicin. I've never had much luck with those repellents. Liquid Fence is the only one that works for me for raccoons, ground hogs, and deer. There are copycat homemade recipes for it that involve curdled milk and rotten eggs.


The spray I get at Lowe's works when sprayed on the buds and flowers. This year a particularly aggressive doe, who won't even run from my dog and me working together, ate buds ready to flower, even leaving the pistil behind one one of them! Argh. The thing about the spray, though, is you have to remember to respray after rain or a few heavy dews... which I didn't, evidently, do frequently enough. It's supposed to be ok to use on things you eat, but I'd rather not risk residue in my wine. Can't scrub a flower clean.

Speaking of deer, I think the best deterrent is a paint ball gun. You have to be completely exasperated, dig out your son's old paint ball gun, drive 60 miles to the Nearest place that will fill a CO2 tank, get blaze orange colored paint balls for the sake of irony, and set the gun on a table by the door. The deer, evidently, instinctively know that you are ready to sting their butts if they venture into the yard.

Translation - I went through the torture and expense of getting the gun ready for them, and haven't seen a single deer since. Not sure if I find satisfaction in that or not.


----------



## BigDaveK (Jul 6, 2022)

Clover said:


> Translation - I went through the torture and expense of getting the gun ready for them, and haven't seen a single deer since. Not sure if I find satisfaction in that or not.


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.


----------



## BigDaveK (Jul 11, 2022)

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!


----------



## David Violante (Jul 16, 2022)

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?


----------



## BigDaveK (Jul 16, 2022)

David Violante said:


> 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!


----------



## FlamingoEmporium (Jul 16, 2022)

im thinking the raisins I used in my plumeria wine really helped the flavor.


----------



## David Violante (Jul 17, 2022)

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...


----------



## BigDaveK (Jul 17, 2022)

David Violante said:


> 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.


----------



## BigDaveK (Nov 2, 2022)

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.


----------

