# The flower wine thread



## Rappatuz (May 13, 2020)

We've come to the time when there are flowers blooming everywhere. Some times I pass a flower, smell it and wonder if it would make a good (or great) wine.

As far as threads go I see a lot of discussion about dandelion and elderflower, and to some extent hibiscus and lilac, but there are so many flowers out there.

I'd like to know what flower wines you have made. Great if you'd rank them from favorite to least favorite. 

PS: Would be great to do a poll but can't find out how to


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## robert81650 (May 13, 2020)

I have some Hibiscus wine settling now. It is very dark and taste wonderful. I’ve wondered the same thing as you about other flowers.


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## hounddawg (May 14, 2020)

robert81650 said:


> I have some Hibiscus wine settling now. It is very dark and taste wonderful. I’ve wondered the same thing as you about other flowers.


so your flower wine is full flavor? i've read about them, but have never tried nor tasted any, 
Dawg


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## salcoco (May 14, 2020)

The Winemaking Home Page has a number of flower recipes.


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## robert81650 (May 14, 2020)

Yes Dawg, very flavorful and much better than I thought it would be. No additional flavors added, just straight Hibicus flowers, sugar, yeast and yeast additives.


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## Rappatuz (May 14, 2020)

salcoco said:


> The Winemaking Home Page has a number of flower recipes.



Absolutely! And I've visited his site quite some times. Still it would be cool to see what wines people have made from flowers, and maybe more importantly, which ones are worth making


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## hounddawg (May 14, 2020)

hum, i've never tried any flower wines, maybe i'll get it a shot sometime, i've done meads, not for me,,, i've done melomels, again not for me, but fruits and berries i love them,,,
Dawg


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## Vinobeau (May 30, 2020)

I have made a fair number of flower wine thru the years. It all started with a book that I came across in the 70's - "Flower, Leaf and Sap Wines". Made a Birch Sap Sauterne which was good, but........ back to flowers:

Wild Rose Petal - quite nice, wonderful aroma
Wild Rose Petal with Dill - nice combination
Hibiscus - excellent
Hibiscus with Dill - very nice
Hibiscus and Heather - a bit of "Green" flavor
Elderflower - very nice, Chardonnay tones
Day Lily - not very good

I would like to try Catalpa flowers but I can't determine if they are totally safe.


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## robert81650 (Jun 1, 2020)

I made a gallon of Hibiscus wine and it is wonderful................will make second batch soon.............


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## hounddawg (Jun 6, 2020)

robert81650 said:


> I made a gallon of Hibiscus wine and it is wonderful................will make second batch soon.............


what weight of flower to gallon of fluid?
Dawg


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## robert81650 (Jun 7, 2020)

Used: 2 oz. Hibiscus flowers dried, 2 lb of sugar, 128 oz of spring water, 1 & half tsp. of acid blend, 1 tsp of yeast nutrient and yeast. Make a beutiful
red wine and has a great flavor.


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## robert81650 (Jun 7, 2020)

Put flowers in a bag of some kind to help clear.


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## hounddawg (Jun 7, 2020)

robert81650 said:


> Used: 2 oz. Hibiscus flowers dried, 2 lb of sugar, 128 oz of spring water, 1 & half tsp. of acid blend, 1 tsp of yeast nutrient and yeast. Make a beutiful
> red wine and has a great flavor.


Thank you come time i think i can rob mom without her finding out, them are a solid 4 feet by 6 feet and tons of flowers so i can cut and snip here and their, 
Dawg


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## Rappatuz (Jun 8, 2020)

Vinobeau said:


> I have made a fair number of flower wine thru the years. It all started with a book that I came across in the 70's - "Flower, Leaf and Sap Wines". Made a Birch Sap Sauterne which was good, but........ back to flowers:
> 
> Wild Rose Petal - quite nice, wonderful aroma
> Wild Rose Petal with Dill - nice combination
> ...



Nice list! Surprised you haven't tried dandelion which seems to be the most popular flower wine. So I guess hibiscus is your favorite, followed by elderflower? 

Last year I made kiwi fruit wine with petals from wild rose (not really a "flower wine" but though I should mention it). It turned beautifully rosé with a wonderful gentle flavor. I'll probably make it this year but up the amount of kiwi fruit.


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## Vinobeau (Jun 8, 2020)

hounddawg said:


> Thank you come time i think i can rob mom without her finding out, them are a solid 4 feet by 6 feet and tons of flowers so i can cut and snip here and their,
> Dawg



The general amount of Hibiscus flowers is 2 oz DRIED. Fresh, you should probably a quart or more per gallon. And, as Jack Keller says: "Some species are more edible than others".


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## Vinobeau (Jun 8, 2020)

Rappatuz said:


> Nice list! Surprised you haven't tried dandelion which seems to be the most popular flower wine. So I guess hibiscus is your favorite, followed by elderflower?
> 
> Last year I made kiwi fruit wine with petals from wild rose (not really a "flower wine" but though I should mention it). It turned beautifully rosé with a wonderful gentle flavor. I'll probably make it this year but up the amount of kiwi fruit.



I've thought about the Dandelion, but the Rose Petal just has such a wonderful aroma and they are a LOT easier to harvest, I've just stuck with them. No problem removing all the green, the petals just fall off.


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## BernardSmith (Jun 8, 2020)

Actually dandelions are not hard to harvest, though the season is short. The secret is not to pull the petals from the flower but to snip them with scissors. You can harvest a gallon of flowers in about an hour.


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## Rappatuz (Jun 8, 2020)

BernardSmith said:


> Actually dandelions are not hard to harvest, though the season is short. The secret is not to pull the petals from the flower but to snip them with scissors. You can harvest a gallon of flowers in about an hour.



A gallon of petals per hour? 

My method is to pick them after they've started closing up (when it starts getting darker at night). They don't need to be all closed up, just a bit will do. I'll collect all petals and hold on to them with my left hand and pinch the bottom/base with my right hand until they come off. This takes a lot of time, though, and I'll end up with just about a liter (quart) an hour. The advantage is that I end up with yellow petals only.


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## hounddawg (Jun 8, 2020)

Vinobeau said:


> The general amount of Hibiscus flowers is 2 oz DRIED. Fresh, you should probably a quart or more per gallon. And, as Jack Keller says: "Some species are more edible than others".


um like hemlock?
Dawg


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## DizzyIzzy (Jun 10, 2020)

robert81650 said:


> Used: 2 oz. Hibiscus flowers dried, 2 lb of sugar, 128 oz of spring water, 1 & half tsp. of acid blend, 1 tsp of yeast nutrient and yeast. Make a beutiful
> red wine and has a great flavor.


Thanks for the receipe. A friend brought me some dried hibiscus from Central America, and other than making tea, I was wondering what I could do with them. You have given me a great idea. I will start it up today.


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## Sally Scheibner (Jun 11, 2020)

robert81650 said:


> I have some Hibiscus wine settling now. It is very dark and taste wonderful. I’ve wondered the same thing as you about other flowers.


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## BernardSmith (Jun 12, 2020)

Hope I am not hijacking this thread but has anyone here made day-lily wine? I am looking for a tried and true idea about the amount of petals I need to make a gallon. Jack Keller's recipe suggests 2.5 quarts which is about the same as I would use to make a dandelion wine. Does that work for day lilies too? I am thinking about making this a mead - and so using honey to replace the grape juice and sugar. Thoughts? Thanks


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## Vinobeau (Jun 13, 2020)

BernardSmith said:


> Hope I am not hijacking this thread but has anyone here made day-lily wine? I am looking for a tried and true idea about the amount of petals I need to make a gallon. Jack Keller's recipe suggests 2.5 quarts which is about the same as I would use to make a dandelion wine. Does that work for day lilies too? I am thinking about making this a mead - and so using honey to replace the grape juice and sugar. Thoughts? Thanks


I made Day Lily wine in 2009 and I used 3 qts per gallon. I added some Welch's white grape concentrate. I did not care for it, as I recall, it tasted a bit "green". I backed sweetened to 1.02.


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## BernardSmith (Jun 14, 2020)

Thanks Vinobeau. When you say that it tasted "a bit green", did you mean that it tasted too young to enjoy or did you mean by green that it tasted vegetative and if the latter was that because you included any of the non petal parts of the flower?


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## Vinobeau (Jun 14, 2020)

It tasted vegetative. I only used the petals - but the are long and the ends are white and that part could have been the culprit. I never ate one of the petals to taste the different parts! Now, I must admit that I managed to drink ALL of the bottles - it wasn't bad enough to toss them!


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## BigDaveK (Jan 19, 2022)

Hibiscus? I have quite a few mature plants in the yard. Well that's just swell......ANOTHER wine I HAVE to make!!

I also have quite a few anise hyssops - good tea, great jelly, really good liqueur. Might have to try that, too.


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## FlamingoEmporium (Feb 13, 2022)

There’s a regular hibiscus flower and then there’s Roselle, a wild form of hibiscus that actually has a type of fruit behind the flower. Roselle is what they make hibiscus (zinger) tea from. I used to have roselle growing here. I would use that before regular hibiscus flower I suppose.


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