Dave I’m interested to see how you do those… maybe one in the boiling water tea and the other just in the primary to see if there’s a big difference…
Has anyone made honeysuckle wine?
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My annual removal-athon is concentrated around the house and gardens. In other areas it will cover trees.
It's far too early to get an idea, of course, but the fresh flower batch smells wonderful. The tea seems to have lost the floral fragrance.
Interesting…. Hmmm…
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When I had made elderflower wine, during fermentation those smells seemed to go away as well, but often came back. Do be extra careful with oxidation chances and avoid them. Those delicate wines seem to have particular issues with that.
Honeysuckle took over the farm in Missouri after we sold the cattle. I used to think it was nice!
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Amazing how fast it grows.
Near the house and gardens I'll pull it from the roots - which seem to be every 8 inches! Other parts of the property I'll just cut at ground level to give the trees a chance. Seems like weed killer makes them play dead.
Napalm!
And as I recall you suggested buckshot for spiders. I like the way you think.
Actually, I have a recipe I've been itching to try. Crazy easy to make.
FlamingoEmporium
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Weed killer, (undiluted) directly on the fresh cut stem will kill it.
but I’m anxious to see how the napalm experiment goes.
but I’m anxious to see how the napalm experiment goes.
I agree undiluted weed killer works great. I've even used it on small unwelcome trees with a taproot.Weed killer, (undiluted) directly on the fresh cut stem will kill it.
but I’m anxious to see how the napalm experiment goes.
Unfortunately, the honeysuckle is very similar to strawberries - sends out runners, they root and send out runners, and so on.
It's interesting in one part of the property - the honeysuckle is covering multiflora rose, another aggressive invasive plant. I'm going to let them duke it out.
Need one more common item for my experiment. I love copycat recipes.
Both in secondary.
Tea version on left. Flowers in primary on right, also has 1/2 cup raisins. (I haven't seen golden raisins in a while.)
Both taste good at this point. I'll make a larger batch next year of the winner.
Tea version on left. Flowers in primary on right, also has 1/2 cup raisins. (I haven't seen golden raisins in a while.)
Both taste good at this point. I'll make a larger batch next year of the winner.
Dave, I’m curious about what direction you’re going in making flower wines now… making a tea or fermenting the flowers in primary. Have you tasted the two different versions of your honeysuckle? It’s probably too early… just wondering which way you’ve decided to go.
I tasted them when I transferred to secondary and they were both good but that was way to early to get an idea. First racking is in the near future and that should give a better indication.
I'm evolving and using a hybrid method.
I don't wash my flowers. Seems to me there should be some flavor in the pollen and nectar - at least I hope so. Now I pour hot not boiling water (200F) on the flowers AND leave them in primary. That temp is easily hot enough to kill things. I like doing it so far but time will tell.
I like your idea... there's a lot of goodness in the blooms, very much like the idea of raw honey vs. pasteurized. Very cool - can't wait to see how it's turning out. I think I'm going to try a lily wine based on your experience. Thank you for all the updates they are great ~
Racked!
Clearing nicely!
Flavors changing. At this point the tea version tastes like wine. Best way to describe it. Nothing special. Maybe chardonnay if I wanted to be VERY generous. Will not use this method again.
The other has so much flavor! Very happy! Fruity. Couldn't taste as much as I wanted because I was concerned about head space.
Clearing nicely!
Flavors changing. At this point the tea version tastes like wine. Best way to describe it. Nothing special. Maybe chardonnay if I wanted to be VERY generous. Will not use this method again.
The other has so much flavor! Very happy! Fruity. Couldn't taste as much as I wanted because I was concerned about head space.
Excellent experiment! I made elderberry wine last year and still don’t really like it. And every commercial elderberry gets the same reaction… “ehh”. Maybe I’m just not an elderberry fan. I hear good things about elderberry flower wine though. And I’m seeing bushes everywhere now. Maybe next year I’ll give it a go.
Dave, great stuff… thank you for the update! I am at the end of primary fermentation on a lily wine based on the hybrid tea and leave in method. I imagine it works well for some things but it may be too much for others. Great to hear you really like the second one, and that the first one is at least drinkable!
I made these just before I started experimenting with increased flavor element quantities. Perhaps increasing the flowers for the tea wine would help. Possibly/probably. At this point I have no desire to find out - other things to do. I'll call it a success because I learned something and I made wine. Unfortunately it's a boring wine.
I'd like to try elderberry and elder flower. I've had one bush near the pond for 10 years. It's not spreading - somebody's slacking.
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