Now I have not tried this wine, and not too keen on nettles after a kiddy back as a teen we ended up in a large bush of nettles, and the pain was horrific.
So just posting this recipe from my old recipe book:
8pints young nettles
2oz root ginger
3lemons, rind and juice
8pints water
3lb sugar
1/2 oz yeast
1 slice toast
boil nettles, bruised ginger root,lemon rinds and juice together in the water until dark green, then strain and add sugar.
put the yeast on toast, put it on the wine when it is at the blood heat.
allow to ferment.
once fermenting is ceased put into bottles with a few raisins in each bottle.
Nettle Wine
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oldbloke
- Under the Table
- Posts: 1371
- Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 9:29 am
- Location: Todmorden, Wet Yorks
Re: Nettle Wine
With flower and leaf wines I use the rule of thumb that a gallon of the flowers/leaves lightly pressed down makes a gallon of wine.
3lb sugar is a bit too much. 2 3/4 is plenty.
I've used maybe a bit less ginger than that but that's a matter of taste
I also chucked in around 4 oz chopped raisins
I sub in a bit of tartaric in place of some of the citric
Skip the toast and give it proper yeast nutrient!
If you don't simmer it long enough there seems to be something in the nettles that stops the yeast. Simmer it too long you lose the aromatics.
3lb sugar is a bit too much. 2 3/4 is plenty.
I've used maybe a bit less ginger than that but that's a matter of taste
I also chucked in around 4 oz chopped raisins
I sub in a bit of tartaric in place of some of the citric
Skip the toast and give it proper yeast nutrient!
If you don't simmer it long enough there seems to be something in the nettles that stops the yeast. Simmer it too long you lose the aromatics.