Chickweed Wine

I was looking out at a winter lawn the other day and noticed a couple of green spots floating on a sea of mostly brown grass. I went out to investigate and discovered my old friend, chickweed. I pinched off several arms of several plants and washed them in the kitchen. There wasn’t nearly enough for wine yet, but what I had would go nicely in a salad.

Chickweed (Stellaria media) is known variously as winterweed, satin flower, starwort, starweed, and tongue grass, to cite just a few American names. It is widely distributed throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia and thus has many other names. It is widely used in folk medicine to treat asthma and respiratory and bronchial problems, indigestion, stomach and bowel problems, and externally for a whole host of applications. Traditional Chinese herbalists use it internally as a tea to treat nosebleeds, rheumatism and all forms of internal inflammation.

I do not pretend to know anything about it’s efficacy as a treatment for anything, but can attest to its suitability fresh in salads, cooked as a vegetable, or the stalks of a larger variety being suitable for pickling. Further, I have many times made chickweed wine. While it is not a spectacular wine, it has won awards and is refreshing served chilled on a summer afternoon. I admit I have made tea from it several times when I had a cold, but cannot swear it played any part in their demise.

• 1 qt chickweed leaves, stems, flowers
• 1 lb 12 oz granulated sugar
• 1 can Welch’s 100% pure white grape juice frozen concentrate, thawed
• 1 orange, zest and juice
• 1 lemon , zest and juice
• 1 tsp yeast nutrient
• 1/8 tsp powdered grape tannin
• water to make 1 gallon
• wine yeast

The whole plant, except the roots, is used in the wine. Bring 6 1/2 pints water to boil. Meanwhile, wash the chickweed and zest the orange and lemon. Put the zest and chickweed in the primary and pour boiling water over them. When cool, strain the liquid back into the primary and discard the chickweed and zest or warm and serve as a vegetable with a meal. Add sugar, thawed grape juice concentrate and juice of the orange and lemon. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. Add remaining ingredients and cover with clean cloth. Ferment 7 days, then pour into a sanitized secondary, top up and fit airlock. Rack every 30 days into a sanitized secondary until wine clears and no further sediments are dropped during a 30-day period. Add a finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet at 1st and 3rd racking. Stabilize wine with 1/2 tsp potassium sorbate and finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet, sweeten if desired and rack into bottles. This wine will not be remarkable until aged at least one year. It wins ribbons at two years. [Jack Keller’s own recipe]

One can dispense with the citrus fruit and use 1 1/2 teaspoons of acid blend instead, but I like the zest mixed in with the greens when I eat them. They are very nice tasting and terribly nutritious. And who knows? They might be performing unseen medicinal duties after consumption. I am certain the wine is.