Burnet Wines, Sherries, and/or Meads

Burnet Wine

April 5, 2001
  • 3 qts brunet flowers, destemmed
  • 1-3/4 lbs granulated sugar
  • 1 can Welch’s 100% White Grape Juice frozen concentrate
  • 2 lemons
  • 1 orange
  • 1/4 tsp grape tannin
  • 6-1/2 pts water
  • 1 tsp yeast nutrient
  • 1 pkt general purpose wine yeast

Set half-gallon of water on stove in stock pot to boil. Meanwhile, wash flowers, remove stems and set aside in
primary. Collect zest from lemons and orange and add to primary. Squeeze juice from citrus and store in refrigerator.
When water boils, pour over flowers and stir. Cover primary and set aside for two days. On that day make a yeast
starter and, separately, bring remaining water to boil and dissolve sugar in it. Set aside to cool to lukewarm. At
that time, strain off flowers and zest and discard. Combine flower water with sugar water in primary. Add grape
concentrate and citrus juice, grape tannin and yeast nutrient. Stir well and add yeast starter. Cover with sanitized
cloth and set aside in warm place to ferment. When vigorous fermentation slows (7-10 days), check specific gravity.
If at or under 1.010, transfer to secondary and fix airlock. If wine does not clear in 30 days, add one teaspoon
pectic enzyme to clean secondary and rack wine into it. Reattach airlock and wait additional 30 days. Rack, add one
crushed and dissolved Campden tablet and 1/2 tsp dissolved potassium sorbate. Wait 10 days, sweeten to taste and set
aside an additional 30 days. Rack into bottles and age at least 6 months. [Author’s own recipe.]