"I'm looking for a recipe for lilac wine."
One of six requests from various readers
Lilac is the name given to any of the plants of the genus Syringa -- especially Syringa vulgaris. These are shrubs that produce clusters of small, fragrant, purplish or white flowers. The small flowers must be picked off the stems to make the wine. Flowers can be picked and frozen in ZipLoc bags for later use. This wine is not only delicious, but its bouquet will be appreciated as soon as you open a bottle. Indeed, George Leonard Herter, in his 1965 book How to Make the Finest Wines at Home, calls lilac wine "...one of the best tasting wines possible to make."
Put water on to boil while culling through and rinsing flowers. Put flowers in primary and when water boils pour over flowers. Cover primary tightly and set aside for 48 hours. Strain flowers through nylon straining bag and squeeze to extract all flavor, then discard pulp. Stir sugar, yeast nutrient, juice of lemon or lactic acid into primary and stir until completely dissolved. Sprinkle dry yeast on top without stirring or add activated yeast culture to primary. Recover primary and ferment 7 days. Transfer liquid to secondary and fit airlock. Ferment 30 days and rack, top up and refit airlock. Rack again every 30 days until wine is clear and no longer dropping sediment. Rack into bottles and allow to age 3-6 months. [Adapted from George Leonard Herter's How to Make the Finest Wines at Home]
Put water on to boil while culling through and rinsing flowers. Put flowers in primary and when water boils pour over flowers. Cover primary tightly and set aside for 48 hours. Strain flowers through nylon straining bag and squeeze to extract all flavor, then discard pulp. Bring 2 cups of must to boil and add sugar, stirring constantly until dissolved. Stir in frozen grape concentrate and immediately pour into primary. Stir in remaining ingredients except yeast. When must returns to lukewarm, sprinkle dry yeast on top without stirring or add activated yeast. Cover primary and ferment 5 days. Transfer liquid to secondary and fit airlock. Ferment 30 days and rack, top up and refit airlock. Rack again every 30 days until wine is clear and no longer dropping sediment. Rack into bottles and allow to age 3-6 months. [Author's own recipe]
My thanks to all of those who requested this recipe.
