Has anyone made honeysuckle wine?

[FlamingoEmporium]

On a semi related note the plumeria wine is starting to taste a little off.

 

[BigDaveK]

On a semi related note the plumeria wine is starting to taste a little off.

Bummer.
Gonna try to put a positive spin - maybe less sugar and more alcohol are affecting the perception of the flavor? Perhaps when the time comes some back sweetening will work.

 

[vinny]

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.

If it's a boring wine, that just means as the wine maker you are not done done yet. You have learned that it does not make a great wine, but is it a decent base to add something to? I am pretty sure it was VinesnBines that said wine is ready when it tastes good. You can tweak it even after it has been bottled. Make it what you want it to be.

You have an alcoholic wine base. Play with it. Add all those weird flavors you want to add to seconday, but don't know what they will do. Anise, jalapeno, pepper, coffee, chocolate, cardamom? fruits and rinds? Juices? Berries?I dunno, but it seems like a good place to play to me

Just 'cause it's boring doesn't mean all the learning is done.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Bummer.
Gonna try to put a positive spin - maybe less sugar and more alcohol are affecting the perception of the flavor? Perhaps when the time comes some back sweetening will work.

Yeah. I’ll take a bigger sample later this week.

 

[BigDaveK]

If it's a boring wine, that just means as the wine maker you are not done done yet. You have learned that it does not make a great wine, but is it a decent base to add something to? I am pretty sure it was VinesnBines that said wine is ready when it tastes good. You can tweak it even after it has been bottled. Make it what you want it to be.

You have an alcoholic wine base. Play with it. Add all those weird flavors you want to add to seconday, but don't know what they will do. Anise, jalapeno, pepper, coffee, chocolate, cardamom? fruits and rinds? Juices? Berries?I dunno, but it seems like a good place to play to me

Just 'cause it's boring doesn't mean all the learning is done.

HOLEY MOLEY I'M SLACKING!

I've been curious about star anise, coffee grounds, and dutch process cocoa. Pepper comes later - I have 16 varieties in the garden, super sweet to super hot. Dammit, sometimes the brain just doesn't work. You're absolutely right - I have a good neutral wine (that means boring) to use as a blank canvas.

Thanks @vinny!!!!!!!!!!

 

[vinny]

Dammit, sometimes the brain just doesn't work. You're absolutely right - I have a good neutral wine (that means boring) to use as a blank canvas.

Sometimes you just need to change perspective to see there's still a win there. This is why I'm trying so much, I can always make it something else.

Thanks @vinny!!!!!!!!!

You are welcome, but it's not purely selfless. I am sure you will have some interesting findings to report back.

 

[BigDaveK]

Ok, @vinny - I did it.
About 2 weeks ago I split the boring wine into quart jars and used peppercorns, star anise, dutch process cocoa, and coffee grounds. I tried to estimate how much I'd use in a gallon then divided by 4. And I have a small unflavored as a control.

I still want to play with cardamom, clove, caraway, and vanilla.

Thanks, again. Great suggestion. I'm still PO'd that I didn't think of it.

 

[BigDaveK]

Racked this morning, Honeysuckle #2.
This is the one where the flowers were included in primary.
Clearing very nicely and it's delicious! Fruity. Will benefit from back sweetening.
I will definitely make this again. I'll probably increase the amount of flowers and try EC1118. I'm wondering if I should stop using 71B for my flower wines because I loved the result in my day lily wine. I'll find out!

 

[vinny]

Ok, @vinny - I did it.
About 2 weeks ago I split the boring wine into quart jars and used peppercorns, star anise, dutch process cocoa, and coffee grounds. I tried to estimate how much I'd use in a gallon then divided by 4. And I have a small unflavored as a control.

I still want to play with cardamom, clove, caraway, and vanilla.

Thanks, again. Great suggestion. I'm still PO'd that I didn't think of it.

View attachment 91310

Somehow I completely missed this post! WTH?

I love it! 3 months later... Have you got any tasting notes?

The beauty of doing this is going to be adding the same ingredients to primary to see how fermentation changes the end flavor compared to infusing in secondary. It will also give you an idea of whether you even want it anywhere near your wine before proceeding!

Exciting stuff.

 

[BigDaveK]

Somehow I completely missed this post! WTH?

I love it! 3 months later... Have you got any tasting notes?

The beauty of doing this is going to be adding the same ingredients to primary to see how fermentation changes the end flavor compared to infusing in secondary. It will also give you an idea of whether you even want it anywhere near your wine before proceeding!

Exciting stuff.

I agree, I'm really curious about the differences between infusing and fermenting. My gut feeling is fermenting would have the most affect. A good or bad affect, I don't know. On my list...

I used 1 star anise and a tablespoon of each of the others.
I like anise but was disappointed with the star anise. My anise hyssop had much better flavor. I may have to try anise seeds instead.
There was varying color extraction with the others. The coffee grounds gave a "mocha" kind of flavor which has possibilities. The cocoa added virtually nothing. The peppercorns added a subtle "spiciness". I think the relatively small quantities had a role. I'll have to try it again in the future, increasing quantities and variety of spices.

Here's something extra - I currently have a 3-gallon pear dessert in primary and added cloves. I read here to be careful with cloves so I only added 3 per gallon. Wow, those little guys are potent! So far the flavor is perfect for me but I can see how they would easily overpower if you're not careful.

 

[BigDaveK]

Bottling day!
This is my #2 honey suckle. #1, made with Keller's procedure, will not be made again.
Delicious! Fruity and crisp, a bit astringent so we'll see where this goes in a few months.
Bench testing for back sweetening was shocking. Bone dry it's delicious. Semi-sweet it's delicious. Sweet it's delicious. The sugar didn't improve the wine, it made different wines! I never had that happen before. I made it off-dry and bottled. This year I'll definitely make a larger batch and bottle to three different sweetness levels.

 

[winemaker81]

The sugar didn't improve the wine, it made different wines!

THAT is interesting. Did you bottle at all levels? It will be interesting to see your reaction in 6 or 12 months.

 

[BigDaveK]

THAT is interesting. Did you bottle at all levels? It will be interesting to see your reaction in 6 or 12 months.

Very interesting for sure. Never experienced that before. I only had one gallon so I bottled all off dry. I took consolation knowing I could ramp up to 10-20 gallons if I want. Seriously. I can harvest enough for 1 gallon in under 5 minutes. Lordy, do I have honey suckle!

 

[Clover]

Bottling day!
This is my #2 honey suckle. #1, made with Keller's procedure, will not be made again.
Delicious! Fruity and crisp, a bit astringent so we'll see where this goes in a few months.
Bench testing for back sweetening was shocking. Bone dry it's delicious. Semi-sweet it's delicious. Sweet it's delicious. The sugar didn't improve the wine, it made different wines! I never had that happen before. I made it off-dry and bottled. This year I'll definitely make a larger batch and bottle to three different sweetness levels.

View attachment 99113

BigDave did you use a clearing agent? I made one last May using Keller's recipe in his book, and it will not clear. Cold crashing did nothing, nor did racking afterwards. I'm afraid a clearing agent will strip some of that delicate flavor, but really don't want to bottle cloudy wine. I used Premiere Cuvee yeast. I haven't tried taste-testing sweeteners yet, but am definitely going to give honey a taste test - I don't think it will need much help to be delicious regardless of what I choose.

 

[BigDaveK]

BigDave did you use a clearing agent? I made one last May using Keller's recipe in his book, and it will not clear. Cold crashing did nothing, nor did racking afterwards. I'm afraid a clearing agent will strip some of that delicate flavor, but really don't want to bottle cloudy wine. I used Premiere Cuvee yeast. I haven't tried taste-testing sweeteners yet, but am definitely going to give honey a taste test - I don't think it will need much help to be delicious regardless of what I choose.

I did not use a clearing agent.

I checked my notes. I made two honeysuckle wines last year. My #1, using Keller's recipe, was one of my last wines where I strictly followed a recipe. My #2 was made with bits and pieces of information gathered from this site and it had the addition of pectic enzyme. My #2 is superior to #1, no doubt about it.

I try to avoid clearing agents, preferring to keep my wines as "pure" as possible, letting time do the job. Degassing may help your wine clear. If a quick shake of the carboy or jug releases bubbles I think that's an indication. Still, I'm beginning to think that some wines might need a clearing agent. Still (always) learning.
Good luck!

 

[Clover]

I did not use a clearing agent.

I checked my notes. I made two honeysuckle wines last year. My #1, using Keller's recipe, was one of my last wines where I strictly followed a recipe. My #2 was made with bits and pieces of information gathered from this site and it had the addition of pectic enzyme. My #2 is superior to #1, no doubt about it.

I try to avoid clearing agents, preferring to keep my wines as "pure" as possible, letting time do the job. Degassing may help your wine clear. If a quick shake of the carboy or jug releases bubbles I think that's an indication. Still, I'm beginning to think that some wines might need a clearing agent. Still (always) learning.
Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. I may drop some pectic enzyme in this weekend then, even though it had no fruit anything added to it, maybe the flowers have pectin in them? I'll try that before I try sparkoloid. I like to let wines clear naturally, too, but after 9 months it should be clearer. I forgot to mention that I tried degassing after the post cold crash racking, and saw very little gas come out (I use a wine bottle vacuum pump thingy and vacuumed the heck out of it). I'd love to see the recipe you used for your second batch. I don't have much honeysuckle on my property, but know where two good patches are - I will definitely try another batch this summer.

 

[BigDaveK]

Thanks for the reply. I may drop some pectic enzyme in this weekend then, even though it had no fruit anything added to it, maybe the flowers have pectin in them? I'll try that before I try sparkoloid. I like to let wines clear naturally, too, but after 9 months it should be clearer. I forgot to mention that I tried degassing after the post cold crash racking, and saw very little gas come out (I use a wine bottle vacuum pump thingy and vacuumed the heck out of it). I'd love to see the recipe you used for your second batch. I don't have much honeysuckle on my property, but know where two good patches are - I will definitely try another batch this summer.

Glad to share.
I think I have Japanese honeysuckle growing everywhere, very invasive, white flowers. I planted a non-invasive variety years ago, reddish flowers, pretty but tastes awful!
Couple points - taste the honeysuckle. Seriously. The first day (maybe two) they are delicious. Mine are white. When they start to turn a little yellow they become bitter. Taste those, too! And flowers can be frozen! If you don't collect enough at one time, throw them in the freezer.
Also, Keller makes a tea and then strains the flowers. I poured hot water (about 190F) over the flowers, let it cool overnight, and fermented with the flowers. I didn't add a Campden tablet because the hot water will kill anything unwanted. Personal choice.

honeysuckle 140 grams (about 8 cups)
orange juice 1 cup
raisins 1/2 cup, chopped
sugar about 2 1/2 lbs, to an SG a little over 1.080
acid blend 2 generous tsp, pH to under 3.5
tannin 1/2 tsp
nutrient powder 1 tsp
pectic enzyme 1 tsp
yeast 71B

I'm very happy with the result but this year I'll tweak - more flowers, maybe bump the SG to 1.090.
Good luck!

 

[Clover]

Glad to share.
I think I have Japanese honeysuckle growing everywhere, very invasive, white flowers. I planted a non-invasive variety years ago, reddish flowers, pretty but tastes awful!
Couple points - taste the honeysuckle. Seriously. The first day (maybe two) they are delicious. Mine are white. When they start to turn a little yellow they become bitter. Taste those, too! And flowers can be frozen! If you don't collect enough at one time, throw them in the freezer.
Also, Keller makes a tea and then strains the flowers. I poured hot water (about 190F) over the flowers, let it cool overnight, and fermented with the flowers. I didn't add a Campden tablet because the hot water will kill anything unwanted. Personal choice.

honeysuckle 140 grams (about 8 cups)
orange juice 1 cup
raisins 1/2 cup, chopped
sugar about 2 1/2 lbs, to an SG a little over 1.080
acid blend 2 generous tsp, pH to under 3.5
tannin 1/2 tsp
nutrient powder 1 tsp
pectic enzyme 1 tsp
yeast 71B

I'm very happy with the result but this year I'll tweak - more flowers, maybe bump the SG to 1.090.
Good luck!

Thank you very much for this! Would never have considered orange juice as a compliment, and now I'm intrigued. Will give this a go when the flowers are in bloom!

 

[BigDaveK]

Thank you very much for this! Would never have considered orange juice as a compliment, and now I'm intrigued. Will give this a go when the flowers are in bloom!

I don't strictly follow recipes anymore but when I start a batch with a new ingredient I try to find as many recipes as possible for ideas. The orange juice was a successful dumb luck let's-see-what-happens.

 

[vinny]

I'm going to chime in with some unsolicited advice. It is always important to remember quality of ingredients. Don't go and get a shelf stable litre of orange juice and expect it to make a good wine.

I made this mistake early with my dandelion wine. The recipe called for an orange and I never accounted for my personal taste, I just went to the store and grabbed a large orange. Well, I would never choose to eat one, so why I thought I would like it in wine is beyond me. I like Mandarin's and clementine's, adding your every day large orange is also equal to at least 2 of the smaller oranges, so at last tasting I had a dominant orange flavor that I didn't like.

Just something to keep in mind. Use what tastes best to you, and the highest quality juice is going to come from fresh oranges. Squeeze them yourself.