Yarrow Wines, Sherries, and/or Meads

• 1 gal yarrow flowering tops
• 2 lbs finely granulated sugar
• 7 pts water
• 1 lemon
• 1 orange
• 1 tsp yeast nutrient
• Sauterne wine yeast

Put water on to boil. Meanwhile, trim the larger stems from the flower heads and put the flowers in a primary. Add sugar and juice of the orange and lemon. Pour boiling water in primary and stir well to dissolve sugar. Cover and allow to cool to room temperature. Add activated yeast and recover primary. After 5 days, strain and discard flowers. Continue fermentation until specific gravity drops to 1.015. Rack to secondary and attach airlock. Rack, top up and reattach airlock after 6 weeks. Repeat after additional 6 weeks. Stabilize, sweeten to taste and set aside 2 weeks. Rack into bottles and age 6 months before tasting. [Adapted recipe from Leo Zanelli’s Home Winemaking from A to Z ]