Any drink containing mint has a refreshing taste and a light herbal aroma. It will take a little time to make mint wine at home. One of the most popular varieties is peppermint. To enrich the taste and aromatic bouquet of the drink, you can add other herbs (cloves, coriander). But the share of mint as the main component should be at least 50%.
Subtleties of making mint wine
To prepare the drink, use both fresh herbs and dried or frozen twigs with leaves. However, it is fresh mint that makes the wine soft and gives the drink a rich aroma. Only leaves or whole twigs can be placed in containers. Moreover, the branches must be young, otherwise the wine will develop a slight hint of bitterness.
Thanks to special wine yeast or berry starter, the fermentation process starts. Essential oils and minerals from mint sprigs are dissolved by the resulting alcohol.
Recipe Ingredients Required
If you have no experience in making wine, then it is recommended to start experiments with a minimum set of products. Standard set:
- 190-220 g fresh mint leaves;
- 4 liters of water;
- 1.2-1.3 kg of sugar;
- citric acid – 20-25 g;
- berry starter or wine yeast (for 5 liters of wort).
Lovers of natural products can use lemon juice instead of acid (the juice of a small lemon contains 4-6 g of acid).
Food preparation
Clean mint sprigs from dust and insects in running water. If you plan to use only leaves, they are torn off first. The greens are poured with prepared water, 600 g of sugar are added. Boil the liquid with mint for 3-4 minutes (until the sugar dissolves).
How to make mint wine at home
A simple recipe is the best option for making homemade wine for the first time with the addition of mint sprigs or leaves.
- Mint infusion, wort with wine yeast, and fresh water are poured into a container for mixing and fermentation.Add acid or lemon juice.
- The container is closed with a water seal (or a rubber glove with a puncture is put on) and moved to a dark, warm room until the fermentation process is completed.
- After 6-7 days, add 300-350 g of sugar (previously, 200-300 g of liquid in which the sugar is dissolved is drained from the container). The procedure is repeated after 7-8 days.
The drink is left to ferment for 34-45 days. As soon as air bubbles stop appearing, the wine is carefully filtered so that sediment does not rise from the bottom.
Further storage of the product
Bottles with spilled wine are tightly closed and laid horizontally so that the corks do not dry out. To store bottles, it is recommended to allocate a place in a cool basement or place the wine in the refrigerator. During storage, sedimentation is monitored. When it appears, the liquid is carefully poured into a new container. As soon as sediment stops forming, the wine is ready to drink. Mint wine can be stored for about three years.
Fans of exotic alcoholic drinks will appreciate this yellow-amber dessert wine with light mint notes. In summer, it is advisable to savor the drink chilled. In winter, the mint product will serve as the basis for preparing aromatic punch.
