Honeysuckle Wine

Today I went to one of Sarah's wonderful workshops at the Sanctuary, I always come home from her workshops inspired to try things out and it gives me a renewed incentive to get on and make things. Before going to Sarah's winter workshops last year, the only herbal remedies I made for myself were the obvious ones, like peppermint tea. But since the workshops I've made tinctures and herb vinegars and over the next few weeks I'll be progressing to infused oils and salves.

Inspired once again I decided to stop talking about what I'm going to do with the honeysuckle in the garden and actually get on with it. When we came back from the cinema a couple of nights ago, the scent of the honeysuckle in the garden as we walked up the path was breath taking. I couldn't decide whether to make a vinegar with the flowers, or pick 2 pints of them and make wine. Then there's a recipe I'd like to try using honeysuckle from the new Hedgerow Medicine book I got this week, its honeysuckle infused honey, which is good for sore throats.

I thought that if I pick the honeysuckle bare I'd have no sweet scentual delights (yes its a deliberate spelling mistake, I like mixing sensual and scent together to describe some aromas!) to tantalise my nose and the birds won't get the berries! Maybe I can do a deal with nature, one year the honeysuckle makes herbal delights for the house, and me and the next the wildlife reaps the delights? But I didn't have to worry, we went out and picked 3 pints of flowers for the wine and got the wine started, it smells wonderful, and the honeysuckle is still smothered with flowers, so tomorrow I'll pick the flowers to make the vinegar and the honey and there will be plenty left over for the birds and bees and to delight my nose for another month if I'm very lucky :)

For anyone that is interested here's the recipe for my honeysuckle wine... This is one of the first wines I ever made. My hobby started back in 1991 after watching a TV programme called 'Fruity Passions' on the BBC. It was a beginners guide to country wine making, the presenter was a lovely lady called Margaret Vaughan whom I recently had the pleasure of meeting. The programme took my interest in flowers and herbs to a new dimension and I've been a country wine maker ever since, as the line of demijohns up our stairs demonstrates. The recipe below is my variation on the recipe from Margaret's book. Her version was given to her by 'Mrs Smith', a lady from her village who was known for curing asthma and freckles with her honeysuckle wine.

Ingredients

• 3 Pints Honeysuckle Flowers
• 3lb White Granulated Sugar
• 1lb Sultanas, washed & chopped
• 1 Lemon (Juice of)
• 1 Orange (Juice of)
• 2 fl oz Earl Grey Tea brewed strong (use 2 tea bags and let steep for 10 minutes)
• 6 Pints Water
• General Purpose Wine Yeast

You can decrease the amount of sugar to 2½lb if you prefer a dry wine. Using half white and half golden granulated sugar adds a rather unusual taste to the wine

Method

• Using only the flower heads rinse them under the tap and shake off as much water as possible (I use a salad spinner to dry them).

• Once dry add the honeysuckle petals to you wine fermenting bucket with the sugar, sultanas, orange juice, earl grey tea and the lemon juice.

• Add the boiling water and stir the wine until the sugar has completely dissolved.

• Activate the wine yeast following the instructions on the packet and once the wine must is cooled add your yeast starter.

• Cover the wine and leave it for 4-5 days depending on the room temperature, the warmer the room the quicker the ferment.

• After the 4-5 days strain your wine into a demijohn. If you don't have enough must to fill the demijohn to the neck then top it up with cold boiled water.

• Leave the wine to ferment for approximately 3 months. By then it should be clear and ready for bottling.

• This wine will end up medium sweet with a wonderful floral aroma and will be a light golden colour. Leave to mature and take out the following year when the honeysuckle blooms.