"Is there such a thing as Rosemary wine?" Nigella, location unknown.
The herb rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis) is an aromatic evergreen shrub that is so easy to grow I am amazed that anyone buys dried rosemary at the grocery store. It sports light blue flowers that themselves can be made into a wine, but it is the greenish-gray leaves that are of primary interest to us here. I have never made this wine, even though my wife and I have several exceptional rosemary plants growing in our garden.
Mix sugar in water and bring to boil, stirring frequently to dissolve. Bruise rosemary leaves with the tines of a fork, put in jelly bag and tie closed. Put bag in primary. When sugar is dissolved and water comes to boil, pour over bag. Drip drain bag several times to allow flavor of leaves to seep into water. Taste. If flavor is not strong enough, dunk bag several more times or as long as necessary until satisfied with flavor. Remove bag and discard leaves, cover primary with cloth and let cool to room temperature. Add all remaining ingredients except yeast and stir to dissolve. After 12 hours, add activated yeast. Recover and stir daily until specific gravity reaches 1.020 or lower. Rack to secondary and fit airlock. Ferment 30 days, rack, top up and refit airlock. Rack every additional 60 days for 6 months. Stabilize and sweeten to taste. After 10 days, rack into bottles. Allow to age 6 months before tasting. Will improve to about two years. [Adapted from Terry Garey's The Joy of Home Winemaking]
Mix sugar in water and bring to boil, stirring frequently to dissolve. Add dried rosemary leaves in a jelly bag and tie closed. Put bag in primary. When sugar is dissolved and water comes to boil, pour over bag. Cover primary with a clean cloth. When water cools to room temperatue, add all remaining ingredients except yeast and stir to dissolve. After 12 hours, add activated yeast. Recover and stir daily, tasting each time. When satisfied of flavor, remove bag and descard contents. Continue fermentation until specific gravity reaches 1.020 or lower. Rack to secondary and fit airlock. Ferment 30 days, rack, top up and refit airlock. Rack every additional 60 days for 6 months. Stabilize and sweeten to taste. After 10 days, rack into bottles. Allow to age 6 months before tasting. Will improve to about two years. [Adapted from Terry Garey's The Joy of Home Winemaking]
My thanks to Nigella for this request.
