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Gorse Flower Wine

brewing wine in a slow cooker

Picture
Gorse wine
Gorse bushes, those sunbeam yellow bushes that set the Scottish moorlands ablazen with a golden hue throughout the spring, summer and autumn.  Not only do they add a vibrant colour to the rolling scenery, they can add a whole heap of colour to your cooking and wine making!
​
Gorse flower wine is often overlooked amongst home brewers as the picking process is a prickly process on the hands and legs, and the quantity required to make a gallon of wine does indeed take a few hours to gather.
​

The gorse wine is simultaneously delicate and vivid in taste, ideal for pairing with summer salads and fish dishes.  It sits really well upon the tongue, with coconut notes leading the way to a chorus of pumpkin and courgette, all whilst  smoky peat penetrates from afar. ​
​
As with most petal wines, it’s necessary to extract the delicate flavours through a slow and prolonged approach.  A simmer in a saucepan for a few hours, or, as in my latest approach for this gorse flower wine - a few hours in the slow cooker. 
​

Picture
Gorse bush in bloom
Picture
Making gorse petal wine
Picture
Gorse flower wine recipe
Petal wines, due to their delicate nature need time for the full flavour to be extracted, they also need time to mature and they above all need time to drink and appreciated.  So with this recipe, take your time whilst you percolate your approach to winemaking and simmer these vivacious leaves.
​

Ingredients:
  • 4 pints of gorse flowers
  • 1.5kg sugar
  • 1 tsp wine yeast
  • Water to 1 gallon
​
Method:

​Once you have foraged your gorse flowers, wash and air dry.  The flavour is improved if the petals are allowed to naturally dry prior to wine making. 

​Place the flowers into  the slow cooker, along with a gallon of boiling water.
Picture
Making homebrew in a slow cooker

Simmer for at least 2 hours.  If you wish, simmer for long. The extra time will deepen the vivid sunshine of the extracted gold.

Once you are happy with the slow cooked gorse flower juice, pour the contents of the slow cooker over 1.5kg of sugar in a large pan.

Stir to dissolve the sugar. The aroma will be most delightful! Let your sugar and gorse solution stand for a few more hours in the saucepan.

Strain the liquid off of the leaves.

Add your yeast.  A generic wine yeast is a fantastic place to begin, however, experimentation will lead to further splendid results.

Pour your liquid gold into a clean demijohn, install an airlock and allow to ferment till dry.

The wine will be drinkable once it has been fermented, however, the longer this wine matures - the larger the party on your taste buds will be.

You may also like

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Spiced banana wine

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Rhubarb wine

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Blaand - fermented milk whey

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  • Home
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • Wine List & Recipes
    • Banana Wine Made Simple
    • Blaand
    • Blackberry Mead
    • Christmas Pudding Wine!
    • Easy Rhubarb Wine
    • Gorse Flower Wine
    • Gutsy Ginger Wine
    • Liquorice Wine
    • Mead Making Made Simple
    • Mint Wine Recipe
    • Mushroom Wine
    • Nasturtium Leaf Wine
    • No Boil Rhubarb Wine
    • Pine Needle Wine
    • Pumpkin Wine
    • Rose Hip Leaf Wine
    • Red Kidney Bean Wine!
    • Rose Petal Wine
    • Seaweed Wine
    • Spiced banana wine
    • Turnip and Red Cabbage Wine
    • Wine Making 101
    • What is a country wine?
    • ​Can I use bread yeast to make wine?
  • Homestead
    • Dee's Corner >
      • Military wife blog
      • First Time Pregnant
    • Projects >
      • SmallholdersUK
      • Beard Award
      • #Eday on Twitter
    • Recipes >
      • Homemade Cheese
      • Pickled Quail Eggs
      • Simple Bread Loaf
      • Banana Ice-Cream
      • Rhubarb Chutney (Old)
      • Making Sea Salt on the Log Fire
      • Shepherds pie for the dogs
    • Our Island >
      • Homestead or Smallholding
      • 18 days until we move!
      • 10 days until we move
      • 2 Days to go!
      • We are here!
      • Waterworks!
      • Location is not the answer
      • Remote Living Challenges
      • The Caves
      • Reason to waggle (caves)
      • Sea Fishing in Eday
    • Duck >
      • Duck shed
      • Duck 1: Incubation
      • Duck 2: Imprinting
      • Duck 3: Outdoors
      • Duck 4: Attached
    • Quail >
      • Quail 1: Reasons
      • Quail 2: Incubation
      • Quail 3: Brooding
      • Quail 4: Raising
      • Quail 5: Suicidal
      • Quail 6: Permaculture
      • Quail 7: Environment
      • Quail 8: Setup
    • Chickens >
      • Chickens Fancy vs Warren
      • Ebay Eggs
      • Our Egg Hatching Plan
      • Nursing Chickens 1 - 2018
      • Brooding Chickens 1 - 2018
      • Hatching Chickens 1 - 2018
    • Home & Garden >
      • Baby Starling
      • Spider Plants
      • Aloe Vera
      • Fuel for winter
      • Peat, Coal, Wood
      • Hoarding Supplies
      • Coffee grounds
      • Brewers Hops
      • Brewers grain
      • Teabag compost
      • Essential oils
      • Eco Toothbrush
      • No Fridge?
    • Other articles >
      • The best and the worst of dog food!
      • Random acts of kindness
      • Bristol No Foraging
      • Philosophy on Raising Children
      • Close encounter with Bulls
      • Blog