Does anyone have a tried and tested recipe for hibiscus wine

[BernardSmith]

I found two recipes for hibiscus wine - the first at the Jack Keller site that suggests about 2 oz dried flowers per gallon and the second at the Winepress site which suggests 3.5 Cups of dried flowers for 5 gallons plus 1/3 C of dried elderberries. But does anyone here have a tried and true rule of thumb for the quantity of dried flowers per gallon they use. I use about 1 oz of elderflowers per gallon when I make elderflower wine but I keep them in the must until I rack into the secondary so I am just wondering if 2 oz would be overkill - or not enough?

 

[Stressbaby]

Bernard,

I now have 4 gal of hibiscus-ginger wine in secondaries. I'm pretty new at this, so take these comments with a grain of salt, but I'll say that the hibiscus-ginger is looking like it will be one of my better wines.

Keller says to use H. sabdariffa. I don't have H. sabdariffa but I have three pretty big H. rosa-sinensis in pots, so that is what I used. Keller calls for 1-2oz of dried flowers/gal, and I went with 2oz/gal. I added 1.5tsp of ginger paste/gallon, and otherwise I pretty much followed the Keller recipe. I pick my flowers and freeze them without completely drying them, because it's just easier for me to count flowers than it is to completely dry them and weigh them out. However, I did that to a small quantity so I would know how many dried flowers/ounce. For me, the dried flowers number 80 flowers/ounce, so I'm using 160 flowers/gallon. I cut out the pistil/stamen structure before using them.

What I've found is that this wine ferments fairly slowly; when removing the straining bag, as you squeeze the bag you first get watery must, but as you squeeze it harder you get this stringy clear stuff that has the character and quality of glycerin. I have to think that helps with the body. The wine has a wonderful floral smell that is entirely absent from the fresh flowers. And it already tastes good, so it looks to be drinkable very young. I'm trying to be patient, though. I can post pics if you want.

 

[BernardSmith]

Thanks Stressbaby, This is useful. How long did you let the flowers steep in the primary? I see from reading recipes where people use hibiscus to make tea that the longer the steep time more bitter flavors are extracted. You say that your wine tastes fine. Did you steep the bag of flowers until you racked into the secondary or for less time? If the fermentation is slow, how long did you keep the bag of flowers in the primary?

 

[Stressbaby]

I put the flowers in the bag, poured the boiling sugar water over the flowers, let it cool, and removed the bag. I didn't have the flowers in the primary any longer than 12 hours and it could have been more like six.

My first 1 gal batch went from 1.090 to 1.017 in three days with K1-V1116 back in August when it was warmer; but the second 3 gal batch took a full 7 days to go from 1.090 to 1.024. For logistical reasons I had to get it in the secondary at that point and even then, with the head space you see, it foamed into the airlock for 3-4 days.

I would be interested in your thoughts on better yeasts.

 

[BernardSmith]

Did you determine the 6 - 12 hours was the best time or was this based on how you handle other flowers or your experience with hibiscus tea?
I really have no experience with a variety of yeasts. The only ones I use are Red Star Champagne yeast for most of my wines and Lalvin 71B-1122 for mead.
I really don't know how people choose the variety of yeast to use. I do understand that certain yeasts handle acidity better and others bring out certain flavors better. My goal for 2013 is to experiment with yeast varieties to see what differences they make... but that is another story
Did you measure the pH and TA of the wine. I would be curious to know how acidic hibiscus must is.

 

[Stressbaby]

As far as the time the flowers were in the primary, I was just following Keller's recipe.
Sorry, I didn't get a pH or TA on either batch...which is odd, I generally do. I generally double check all of Keller's recipes for pH and TA because I've found that they often require tweaking.

 

[deboard]

I have not made a straight hibiscus, but I have made a wine with some hibiscus flowers in it that turned out nice.

If you plan on backsweetening, I like to use a hibiscus simple syrup, which is the same as simple syrup, but instead of plain water you use hibiscus tea. This will get you back the hibiscus flavor that probably was diminished quite a bit by fermentation.

 

[Sacalait]

I've made it with dried flowers from Mexico. I used 1.2# mixed with 5 frozen containers of white niagra concentrate for a 5gal batch and it turned out to be over kill. Half as much flowers would have been closer to what I was looking for... it was overpowering.

 

[BernardSmith]

Sacalait. 1.2 # of hibiscus in 5 gallons is close to 4 oz per gallon, I think which is about twice what Keller recommends, and what you say was twice what you needed. I just got a lb of hibiscus and so I think I will steep about 2 oz for every gallon.

 

[Stressbaby]

We drank our first bottle over the weekend. OG was 1.090, final SG 0.990. I didn't backsweeten it. It was very good, but the ABV was 13.1% which I think is a bit too high for this wine. Backsweetening smoothed it out a bit. I have 3 more gal to bottle, and I may slightly backsweeten that batch, then next time I'll start with an OG of 1.075-1.80.

 

[Johnhumphrey]

I have now made 4 batches with differing amounts over the last year and have settled on the following which makes a very drinkable rose wine (1 gal). In fact it is now my staple wine.

30g (1 oz.) of dried Hibiscus
1 pack of sugar (1 kilo)
125ml white wine concentrate
1.5 tsp. citric acid
1 tsp. tannin
2 tsp. nutrient
Yeast

I infuse the hibiscus for 10 minutes in a muslin bag, rinse through once with cold water and the top up with water.

Simple and cheap.

It is drinkable in 3 months from making, better in 6months

 

[saramc]

The 1 oz dried hibiscus per gallon does make a great wine. It is a staple here too, my chosen recipe is pretty close to John's with the exception being I use 1 can of either red or white grape concentrate per gallon. I also like to always bottle some which has been backsweetened with orange hibiscus simple syrup, I love the flavor of hibiscus + orange. Ginger is nice too.

 

[Stressbaby]

John,
Any idea what the pH is with this recipe?
I've been tinkering with several batches of hibiscus and found that it needs a lot of acid to keep it from tasting flabby.
I haven't arrived at my final recipe but it is tending toward 1t citric and 1.5t acid blend for a preferment pH in the 3.4-3.45 range.

 

[winetortoise]

Steeping Hibiscus Flowers

Hibiscus should be steeped for a long period, at least fifteen to twenty minutes. Where one might get the bitterness from is fully boiling and overcooking the delicate, and as you put it, subtly scented flowers. You don't want to cook out the bitterness into your infusion, but you also want the flowers to steep sufficiently for the juicy, full-bodied product.

Pour the cold water onto the flowers and carefully bring to a simmer or light boil together, and then reduce the heat to low, low. Allow the flowers to steep for 15 to 20 minutes. Notice the lack of bitterness, deep red color, strong tangy aftertaste and the bubbly, frothy liquor. This is real hibiscus tea and should make a rich, flavorful wine I believe.

I was staring into the frothy bubbles in the cup of cooled hibiscus infusion from last night, and it occurred to me that flower wine from hibiscus juice would be a flavorful and full-bodied substitute from grape/blueberry wines. I like the qualities of grape and blueberry wine but the acid is harmful to me. I can't wait to try making some after the apple wine is finished.