Anise Wines, Sherries, and/or Meads

• 2 cans (11.5 oz) Welch’s 100% White Grape Juice (Niagara grape) frozen concentrate
• 2 star anise “stars,” crushed
• 1-1/4 lbs granulated sugar
• 2 tsp acid blend
• 1 tsp pectic enzyme
• 1 tsp yeast nutrient
• water to make 1 gallon
• wine yeast

Bring 1 quart water to boil and dissolve the sugar in the water. Remove from heat and add frozen concentrate. Add additional water to make 7 pints total volume and pour into secondary. Add remaining ingredients except anise and yeast. Place crushed anise in small piece of cloth with a glass marble in it. Gather cloth around contents and tie closed with long piece of button thread. Sink the cloth packet in secondary but retain loose end of thread outside secondary. Cover mouth of secondary with napkin, paper towel or cloth fastened with rubber band and set aside 12 hours. Add activated wine yeast and recover. When active fermentation slows down (about 7-9 days), remove cloth packet, top up with water and attach airlock. Rack, top up and refit airlock after 60 days. After additional 60 days, stabilize, sweeten if desired and set aside under airlock additional 2 weeks. If no sign of refermentation, rack into bottles. [Author’s own recipe]

• 5 lbs potatoes
• 2-1/2 lbs dark brown sugar
• 2 lemons
• 2 oranges
• 2 star anise “stars,” crushed
• 1/2 oz ginger root
• 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
• water to one gallon
• 1 tsp yeast nutrient
• wine yeast

Use well-scrubbed, older potatoes (under-ripe, still greenish potatoes are toxic). Boil the potatoes in a gallon of water until tender but the skins unbroken. Remove the potatoes for other uses and retain the water for the wine. Put the sugar and the thinly peeled rinds (no pith, please) of the lemons and oranges and their juice in the water. Thinly slice the ginger root and add to water. Crush the star anises and add these to water. Bring water to boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes while stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and strain water into primary. Cover with sterile cloth and allow to cool to 70 degrees F. Add pectic enzyme and yeast nutrient, recover and set aside for 12 hours. Add activated wine yeast and ferment 7 days, stirring daily. Siphon into secondary, affix airlock and set aside to ferment out. Rack after 60 days, top up and reattach airlock. When wine clears, rack again, top up and reattach airlock. After 4 months, stabilize and rack into bottles. [Author’s own recipe]