Lychee Wine? Anyone?
 

Hello all! I recently found a market in my area that sell fresh lychee fruits! I was thinking about brewing some wine with them, as they have a nice floral taste. Has ANYONE ever tried this? I found one recipe online from eHow, but I wanted to ask this community first. Any suggestions? :confused:

I think they would be perfect for a drier style. I love lychee, and they're similar enough to grapes.

I agree Bobbrews! It should prove to be nice and floral. Maybe sweeten it with half honey and half sugar? The recipe from eHow says to use a Chablis yeast, but does anyone have any suggestions for a yeast that they think might work better?

I posted only the other day about lychee honey my wife bought me. Being a mead maker, im gonna make some very soon. The honey is lovely with a great after taste! Lychee is one of my favourite fruits and can't wait until I make some :-)

Lychee honey, eh? Is that honey with lychee flavoring, or is it honey that was made by bees pollinating lychee flowers? Either way, it sounds interesting. Where'd you get it?

I think it's honey with lychee flavouring but not sure...doesn't say on the jar. I live in the uk and got it from a supermarket called Morrisons. It is very very nice! Im gonna buy some more this weekend and get a gallon on the go! :)

Wow, that sounds really nice! I live in the US, so I guess I'll have to do an internet search for some. I'd really like to know how your mead turns out! You should PM me when its done and let me know!

Any yeast that won't blow most of the flavor and aromatics through the airlock during fermentation should be good to use. D47 and 71B jump to mind right now.

Is that really a characteristic of the yeast? I thought flavor and aromatic loss had a lot to do with temperature... what are D47 and 71B?

Yes and no. 1118 is a really strong yeast that tends to ferment so hard you lose some of the more subtle aromatics and flavors. It's the same reason we don't use turbo yeast either. Yeasts that ferment at a normal rate help to keep those around.

They are both yeasts. Both have been fairly well rated for fruit wines/meads.