Approx.4- 6 cups of lemon balm sprigs cut up (stems and all)
1/3 cup lemon juice
Approx. 1/2 cup golden raisin, chopped
1 quart water
7 pints water
4 cups sugar
1 tsp. yeast nutrient
1/4 tsp. pectic enzyme
From here you follow the recipe's direction but with just a few changes.
Rinse and clean lemon balm and then chop leaves and stems coarsely. Put into 2-qt saucepan with lid.
Add 1 quart water, bring to a boil, put lid on pan, and turn off heat. Let steep for 2 hours.
Meanwhile, boil remaining water and dissolve sugar, add chopped raisins and lemon juice (this smelled quite wonderful).
Pour into primary and allow to cool to room temperature. Strain lemon balm and add water to primary. Stir in pectic enzyme and yeast nutrient. Cover and set aside for 8-10 hours.
Add activated yeast, recover, and stir daily for 6 days. Transfer to secondary and fit with airlock. Rack, top up and refit airlock after 30 days and again after wine clears. Stabilize and sweeten to taste if desired. Bulk age under airlock for 3 months and taste. If wine has not smoothed out, age another 3 months. Rack into bottles and serve chilled.
This is only going to make about a gallon but that is enough to just try it out the first time.
What a great idea. My lemon balm died on me due to far too much rain. I need to replace it and try the wine recipe. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteWell Becky, you have really got the wine-making bug! There will be no stopping you now.
ReplyDeleteI must say that I am a bit sceptical about Lemon Balm wine. I can't help thinking that if it were any good we would have heard of it before... But then I have great faith in your ability to make something good from not a lot, so I shall reserve my judgement.
Well, you have to keep in mind that I probably wouldn't know a "good" wine anyway. I seldom drink wine and when I do it is cheap. If I like it, it will be "good" to me, lol. If you could have smelled it though, you might have been encouraged. It was a very nice lemony scent and you could understand it being good as a wine, at least I could. I was a bit surprised too :)
DeleteOne of my uncles used to make Parsnip wine, so I suppose we have to admit that pretty much anything can be made into wine. Good luck with yours. I look forward to hearing how it performs.
DeleteI have found recipes for parsnip wine too and don't think I haven't thought about it, lol, but the lemon balm was what I had available. I could make a regular mint one (I have orange mint, peppermint and chocolate mint growing this year) but I have only so many airlocks :)
DeleteHope you have tried it by now. Mine is over a year old & it's fantastic!
DeleteLemon balm wine sounds really delicious.
ReplyDeleteI have to know how this turns out! I never know what, other than tea, to do with my lemon balm - I will be very excited if this works.
ReplyDeleteMe too! I now hate that I let Phil cut back the lemon balm that was growing out into the pathway. Not that I am real worried though, it will definitely grow back especially now that we have had some rain.
DeleteWow! This I bet will the best use I put my lemon balm into. Do let us know how your wine turns out. I should try this.
ReplyDeleteThere will definitely be other parts to this post.
DeleteInteresting this is the first time I heard about lemon balm wine.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of it before either.
DeleteI bet is did smell wonderful! I'm interested in how it turns out!
ReplyDeleteIt is fermenting away in there and the cranberry wine is fermenting away in the jugs. Looks good so far.
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