MedPretzel
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(From the photo-section)
Well, flower wines are very different tasting and not to everyone's liking. Depending on what you make, how you make it, how you sweeten it, you can get very different results.
It's hard to compare a flower/petal wine to a grape wine because of the unusual-ness of them. Generally, I would say that flower wines could be seen as aperetifs, and that's it. In other words, not something you maybe want to have for dinner, but maybe as an unusual wine to enjoy before or after dinner.
I had a lavender wine that tasted like soap. I had a lilac wine that got mixed results. I have chrysanthemum wine that tastes (in my mouth, at least) pretty darn good - yet unusual. Marigold wine is quite indistinct-tasting, and probably the mildest of them all. I have made a passionflower wine that tastes like pee. My mint/lemon balm was a bust as well. Daylily wine is interesting and tastes indistinct. Hibiscus flower wine was mixed with elderberries and was pretty darn good right out of the carboy, if I do say so myself. It was more like a "fruity red" but not heavy like most red wines are.
Can you tell that they are hibiscus flowers? No. Can you say, "Ah, this is a daylily wine?" No. Can you say this is a mum wine? Yes!!! Lavender? yes! Lilac? Some said yes, some said no. Dandelion wine? nope, no one guessed it.
The most common (normal) petal wine is made from dandelions. It is a wonderful wine which reminds you of the summer. It has a white-wine flair to it, but mine turned out much heavier than, say, a Chardonnay. (Sorry, not really a white-drinker)
Rose-petals can be used too. They are on the "Okay to use" list. The taste is very bland, but you basically use them for the smell. I would certainly use them maybe in a white-concentrate that you want to make a bit more unusual. Niagara/rose-petal, for example, sounds quite good to me.
I have a gallon of Dandelion/Rose-petal mix currently bulk aging. So far, the rose-smell is quite faint (barely there, and if you didn't know it, you probably wouldn't smell it.).
My chrysanthemum wine tastes the way they smell. Pungent and strong, yet in some weird way, delicate. It's a light wine and goes very well with chicken and fish. I would liken the "heaviness" to a Zin. People who have tested my mum wine are welcome to comment.
My typical ABV is about 11-13%. I can only generalize since I top off with water, but all my wines start with 1.090 and that means they start with a potential alc level of 13.58%... Some are good wth that level, some I wish I had kept it lower.
Since I enjoy making unusual wines, I would definitely encourage you to make some. I would say, if you like the smell of a flower, please try it.
BUT!!! I must warn everyone who makes flower wines:
Make 1000% sure that they are on the edible list.
This is so very important and vital, that if you are in the slightest doubt, don't do it. If you are unsure, please err in the side of caution. If I'm not sure, I don't make it - but I do research in the library and make my decision there. This is so important, I cannot stress it enough.
Again, what I would suggest is that you try your hand at a gallon of "Chardonnay-Rose" or "Niagara-Rose" It won't be that strong as if you only made it with Rose-petals, but you get a hint of what you're making that way. Or, make different 1-gallon batches with different mixtures of your petals. As a rule of thumb, 2 quarts lightly packed petals for one gallon wine is usually pretty good. Use one can of niagara concentrate in that (to add some body).
So, I hope this helps to get you started. Again, if anyone would like to (honestly) comment on my wines that they have received, they are more than welcome to. IF you have any questions about what I've written, I welcome all discussion!
Thanks for asking,
Martina
