I heard that mint is an invasive plant, so I knew it would spread when I planted it last summer. I was still unprepared for the sheer quantity of mint that grew this year. The rumor is that ants and bugs hate it. Here is another is one of my solutions.
Ingredients
4 cups mint leaves, tightly packed
6 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 green tea bags
1 teaspoon yeast nutrients
1 Campden tablet
1-gallon water
1 package of wine yeast or champagne yeast
Rinse mint leaves in cold water. Place clean leaves in a pot and cover with boiling water. Let
sit for 1 hour. Strain liquid into the primary fermentor and lightly squeeze the pulp. Place pulp back
in pot, and again cover with boiling water. Let’s sit for 1 hour. Squeeze all liquid from the pulp.
Discard pulp. Add water to make up to 1 gallon. Add sugar, nutrients, lemon juice, and
Campden tablets. Stir to dissolve sugar. Let sit overnight.
The next day, the Specific Gravity should be 1.090 – 1.100. Stir in yeast. Stir daily for 2 or 3 days
until frothing ceases. Siphon into secondary fermentor and attach airlock.
For a dry wine, rack for six weeks, and every three months for one year. Bottle.
For a sweet wine, rack at six weeks. Add 1/2 cup sugar dissolved in 1 cup wine. Stir gently,
and place back into the secondary fermentor. Repeat the process every six weeks until fermentation
does not restart with the addition of sugar. Rack every three months until one year old.
Bottle.
If wine is not clear, or still has quite a bit of sediment forming between rackings, Fine the
wine as follows:
Use wine finings or plain gelatin. Gelatin: use 1 teaspoon per 6 gallons of wine. Finings: 1/2
teaspoon per 5 gallons or as per package directions. Soak in 1/2 cup of cold water for 1/2 hour.
Bring to a boil to dissolve. Cool. Stir into wine. Let’s sit for 10 to 14 days. Rack. If not clear
enough yet, repeat the process. DO NOT increase the amount of gelatin or finings. The mixture will
stay suspended in the wine, preventing it from ever clearing. Bottle once the wine is clear.
The wine is best if you can refrain from drinking it for one full year from the date it was
started.
Enjoy
Chef Murph
