Rose of Sharon - I'm going for it!

[BigDaveK]

First rack from secondary.
There is some fruitiness in flavor but it's more like grocery store fruit than homegrown.
A success so far. I may make it again in a year or two depending on where it goes from here.

 

[BigDaveK]

Second racking.
Not clearing as quickly as my other flower wines.
Amazing - again! - what time will do. It smells AND tastes like a chardonnay. A bit on the thin side. If this flavor holds up I'm tempted to bottle it dry but I'm curious what some back sweetening will do. I'll have to test when the time comes.
At this point it's a good "ordinary" wine. I use raisins, not concentrate, but I didn't add anything because I was curious about the flavor. I'm sure raisins would help. If I have time next year I'll play with it.

 

[offthehipevents]

Actually grass clipping wine could be interesting. Being in the counrty I don't have suburban grass. The areas I mow were pastures years ago so I have Johnson grass, yarrow, millet, oats, wheat and a dozen more that blew in over time.

If you haven't tried yarrow wine yet...that could also be interesting. It has a lovely aroma and tastes good to me. Almost minty pine like.
I gave up the property when I gave up the husband. That was one of the things on my list to try but never got around to it. I'm saving up for a new property of my own so I'll get there someday.

 

[BigDaveK]

If you haven't tried yarrow wine yet...that could also be interesting. It has a lovely aroma and tastes good to me. Almost minty pine like.
I gave up the property when I gave up the husband. That was one of the things on my list to try but never got around to it. I'm saving up for a new property of my own so I'll get there someday.

I made 6 flower wines this year and had at least 6 more I didn't get to. Yarrow falls in "didn't get to". I have some cultivated varieties in the garden for their color but I have a boatload of wild with the white flowers. Seems to spread easily. I had hundreds of new ones this year all less than a foot tall, not as many older ones in the 2' to 3' range. I'll certainly try to get to it!

 

[Raptor99]

Yarrow leaves have a bitter taste, but I'm not sure about the flowers. Yarrow has a long history as a medicinal plant. I use yarrow leaves in my medicinal mead, along with meadowsweet and juniper berries.

On my property we also have Queen Anne's Lace, which is very similar in appearance to yarrow. Queen Anne's lace If you examine the leaves you can tell the difference. Poison hemlock also has a similar appearance, so it is important to do correct plant identification.

 

[BigDaveK]

Bottling day!
Slight floral aroma.
Very nice muted fruity flavor. Good dry but I back sweetened to 1.000 from .988. And 10 months in bulk this is my first back sweetened wine without sorbate. We'll see how it goes.

This was one of my early wines and the best way to describe it is that it's a very very good ordinary wine. I think some tweaks would kick it up a notch. Citric acid? More flowers? Different yeast? I'll find out this year, on the list!!!

 

[offthehipevents]

I will say that the Butterfly Pea Flower wine I made was much better when I made it the second time. I tripled the amount of the flowers and doubled the acid. It has a much more complex flavor and also I love the color!

 

[BigDaveK]

I will say that the Butterfly Pea Flower wine I made was much better when I made it the second time. I tripled the amount of the flowers and doubled the acid. It has a much more complex flavor and also I love the color!

That doesn't surprise me. Most flower wine recipes describe the flavor as "delicate' and my mouth just plain doesn't know about delicate. I upped quantities by 50%, happy with results, but will up even more this year.

 

[ChuckD]

That doesn't surprise me. Most flower wine recipes describe the flavor as "delicate' and my mouth just plain doesn't know about delicate. I upped quantities by 50%, happy with results, but will up even more this year.

Yeah I’ve often thought It doesn’t NEED to be delicate!