Adding mint to wine

[Sigvaldi]

So, I am trying my hand at making my own recipe. The recipe will include cranberries, lingonberries and mint. But the mint has me tripping up. I cannot seem to find a recipe for wine or mead that shows how others have added mint to a batch. (Plenty for beer, but the process may be different for a mead)

So, how does one add herbs to a brew? Do you let it sit in the brew the whole time and strain it out when racking? When bottling? Do you add it to the pulp bag so it is removed with the pulp? And how much is a good amount owr gallon (obviously, it will depend on how strong you want it, but whats a good baseline?) Any advice on what you have done before?

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi Sigvaldi, Have not tried this myself - mint wine is not something that I think would appeal to me - but Jack Keller offers a recipe for a mint wine. If all you want is a hint of that flavor you might use far less mint - or you might create a mint extract and add the extract just before bottling (bench testing to see how much extract you want to add)
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques55.asp

 

[Homercidal]

I think mint could be tough to keep over time. I've not tried it in a wine, but have added to a stout. I've also made a tincture using vodka and mint leaves. It's been sitting for several years now. I should try it in my latest batch of mead and see what happens. I don't think the flavor combination sounds good to me, but you never know.

 

[viking1984]

I added mint and a few other herbs to a small batch of mead. I made a traditional mead, then added the mint and herbs and let it sit for a week. This was just a very small amount of mead though, about a 750ml bottles worth that I added mint to as a trial, so amount of mint and time its in your mead will depend on your taste. Good luck.

 

[Sigvaldi]

I added mint and a few other herbs to a small batch of mead. I made a traditional mead, then added the mint and herbs and let it sit for a week. This was just a very small amount of mead though, about a 750ml bottles worth that I added mint to as a trial, so amount of mint and time its in your mead will depend on your taste. Good luck.

Ty very much for the info. I was thinking of doing the same thing. Just add some in when its finished just prior to bottling. I will try it in a small batch and decide which way i like better.