Fennel Flower Wine - I'm Going For It!

[BigDaveK]

Such a delicious plant! Early in the season I nibbled on the wonderful leaves while in the garden. Incredible anise-licorice flavor. Mine is non-bulbing, coming back every year, bigger. My oldest at 4 years is hitting 8 ft.



My intention early in the year was to use leaves and flowers but like so many herbs, once it flowered the leaves had a bitter quality. Oh well. Next time I may harvest and freeze the leaves for later use.

I used a combination of flowers and the newly forming and still soft seeds. About 3 quarts (160 gr).



I was surprised at the intense volatility of the aromatic compounds - my basement smelled like anise for 3 days. I naturally wondered if there would be anything left for the wine. My worry was for naught, fortunately.

Transferred to secondary.
Wonderful anise aroma!
Flavor? Wonderful! Probably not for everybody - strong anise-licorice but not overpowering. At this point it almost has a candy quality. I'm very curious where this will go and the effect of back sweetening.
The only downside - I'm getting tired of yellow wines.

 

[ChuckD]

I’m not much for desert wines but a licorice flavored sipping wine might be enjoyable. I would go for high alcohol… like a liquor.

 

[BigDaveK]

Bottling day!

Incredibly aromatic. Removing the stopper and airlock I instantly smelled fennel. And it's delicious! Good, deep licorice flavor, very similar to Sambuca. I back sweetened slightly. Sweetening more and this would almost be a licorice candy wine.
To me the fennel flowers tasted exactly like fennel seeds, soooo........I'll see if I can get similar results using fennel seeds.



Forgot to mention - this has become one of my favorite flower wines.

 

[Rice_Guy]

only downside - I'm getting tired of yellow wines.

If you have aronia (choke berry) about 1% would make a nice red or 1/2% a rose. I use black raspberry up to 5% for color. Mulberry is an intense color better than raspberry.

 

[Raptor99]

Thanks for sharing this. I have some anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), which despite the name is neither anise nor hyssop. It has a licorice like flavor. Maybe I need to make some wine with the leaves and/or flowers?

I found out that @BigDaveK has already tried this: https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/anise-hyssop-im-going-for-it.76047/ It's a challenge to find something he has not tried!

 

[BigDaveK]

If you have aronia (choke berry) about 1% would make a nice red or 1/2% a rose. I use black raspberry up to 5% for color. Mulberry is an intense color better than raspberry.

No aronia but it's on my planting list!
Good harvest year so I have a couple choices for coloring agents. 30 lbs black raspberry, a favorite. Last year was my first for elderberries and only got 1.5 lbs. This year I'm at 9 lbs so far, bit more to go. And of course there's hibiscus.