This one of my favourite wines of all time; the plant grows brilliantly in my garden, so there's always a lot to harvest over the sumer. The best time to pick for wine is before the plant flowers, and in the middle of the day when the leaves are quite dry and the heat has maximised the volatile oils. It's a lovely job on a hot ummer day for the scent alone :)
1 pint of balm leaves, no stalk
1 gallon hot water (not boiling)
1 lemon, sliced thinly
1 teabag
2 1/2/lbs sugar
1 good tbsp of your chosen yeast - I use dried yeast
Place everything in a bucket, stir to dissolve sugar; cover and leave in a warm place for 4 -5 days, then strain, put into a demi-john and ferment out. Bottle and leave at least six months. Drink very cold.
Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteI'll give it a try this weekend!
Jane
Just strained mine into the demijohn yesterday , its a lovely colour .
ReplyDeleteBubbling away nicely now still smells lemony so far :)
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ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe, I'm going to pass it onto my OH as lemon balm seeds itself a little too freely in my garden :) Best wishes, Pj x
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a great recipe, I'm giving it a go. It's my first wine though and was wondering, how long does it take for the wine to 'ferment out' in the DJ?
ReplyDeleteI found your recipe by accident, as i have a plant in my garden, rather than just make tea from it, I made your wine.
ReplyDeleteI spent a lovely afternoon today in the garden drinking my first glass of it, and its beautiful. Thank you I will be making it again
x Lisa x
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