Gorse Flower Wine
brewing wine in a slow cooker
Gorse wine
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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.
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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.
Gorse bush in bloom
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Making gorse petal wine
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Gorse flower wine recipe
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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.
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Ingredients:
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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. |
Making homebrew in a slow cooker
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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.
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