Fiddlehead-Fern Wines, Sherries, and/or Meads

• 2-1/2 lbs fiddleheads
• 2 lb sugar
• 7 pts water
• 2 tsp acid blend
• 1 tsp yeast nutrient
• 1 pkt wine yeast

Bring water to boil and add fiddleheads. Reduce heat to a simmer (do not boil) for 45 minutes. Strain off ferns to eat (dozens of ways to incorporate them) and add sugar to water and stir until thoroughly dissolved. Set aside, covered with cloth, to cool and then add water, acid blend, yeast nutrient, and activated yeast starter to primary. Cover primary and set aside for three days. Transfer to secondary, top up if required and fit airlock. Ferment to dryness, then rack, top up and refit airlock. Repeat every 30 days until wine clears and no new sediments form during a 30-day period. Stabilize and sweeten to taste if desired (if sweetened, wait three weeks to catch any renewed fermentation) and rack into bottles. Like most wines, it should improve with some age. [Author’s own recipe]