GARDEN MINT WINE

Serves: 12

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GARDEN MINT WINE

Ready in: 1 H & 30 MTotal time: 1 H & 30 M

Excerpted from “Drink The Harvest” By Nan Chase OrderSURPRISE! Garden Mint Wine doesn’t taste sweet or syrupy, as you might expect, but is light and only slightly minty. It’s also crystal-clear and ever so slightly effervescent and serves up like Vinho Verde. You can make Garden Mint Wine at any time of year when the mint isn’t blooming, but the flavor will be at its best in late spring before summer’s heat has removed some of the flavorful essential oils from the leaves. Pick double the amount of mint leaves called for in the recipe because the stalks and any damaged leaves must be discarded.Of course, you can use any fruit juice to proof the yeast, but we have found here that citrus juice best balances with the mint. Age this wine for six months to a year to let the flavor mellow.

Ingredients

• 1 gallon filtered water
• 1 cup of orange juice
• 2 teaspoons (1 packet) Pasteur Champagne yeast or white wine yeast
• 4 cups sugar
• 2 quarts fresh mint leaves, washed
• 2 heaping tablespoons of priming sugar (optional)

Instructions

1. Bring the gallon of filtered water to a boil in a large pot. Heat the orange juice to lukewarm (approximately 100–105°F), and sprinkle with the yeast. Set the mixture aside to let it proof. Pour the sugar into a sterilized 1-gallon fermentation jug.
2. Pour 2 cups of the boiling water into the jug, and swirl or shake it until the sugar is dissolved. Add the mint leaves, stuffing them into the jug with a long utensil if necessary, and enough additional boiling water to fill the jug to the shoulders, leaving enough room to add the yeast mixture. Allow the mixture to cool; when it is lukewarm (100–105°F), add the proofed yeast mixture. Stopper the jug with a sterilized airlock, and check in 1 hour to make sure the airlock is bubbling.
3. Set the jug in a cool, dark place until the bubbling stops and the liquid clears. This fermentation can take 2 weeks to several months. Don’t be concerned about how the mixture looks after a few weeks, as it may darken during fermentation. If the bubbling stops unexpectedly, see the Troubleshooting Guide for Fermentation (page 128). Rack the wine. (This may be repeated several times until the wine has cleared.) Bottle the wine, and let it age for 6 months to 1 year.
4. COOK’S TIP: This recipe works best with mild mints such as spearmint, apple mint, or regular garden mint. Avoid strong mint varieties such as chocolate mint or peppermint; wines made from these taste more like medicine than something to drink with dinner.
5. To intensify the mint flavor, add half a teaspoon of Mint Syrup (page 183) to each glass when serving the finished wine.

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