Happy Homestead
  • Homepage
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • Homestead
    • Garden
    • Poultry
    • Foraging
    • Self-reliance
    • Eco-Friendly Life
    • Bricks & Water
  • Homebrew
    • Traditional Wines
    • Unusual Wines
    • Beer, Mead & Other
  • Homemade
    • Recipes
    • Preserves
    • Cosmetics
  • Homelife
    • Our Home
    • Our Dogs
    • Our Island

Pine Needle Wine

​My recipe and method for making Pine Needle Wine.  It's easy to make - and hopefully delicious! Although, I have never tried this wine before - one can be optimistic! 

Pine needle wine is a relatively unknown wine amongst homebrew circles, so I thought I would give it a try.  Experimentation can discover a wonder of exciting new wines.  

I collected a carrier bag of pine needles this afternoon and oh boy, the aroma from the kitchen smells fab!  I have never heard of such a wine before, so I thought I would give it a go!

So here goes my recipe for pine needle wine:

Ingredients:
  • A bag of pine needles - stripped from twigs
  • 1.5kg sugar
  • 1kg raisins
  • Juice of two lemons
  • 1 mug of of black tea
  • About 2 pinches of nutmeg
  • Chili powder - seasoned to taste
  • Yeast and nutrient
  • Water to 1 gallon

Method:
  • Strip pine needles from twigs
  • Place in boiling pan and cover with 1/2 required water, bring to boil
  • Simmer for c.1 hour, whilst adding diced / chopped raisins, tea, nutmeg, chilli, and I threw in a banana
  • Drain and strain off the liquid when cool into a clean DJ
  • Place sugar into pan and dissolve with 1/2 of water.
    Add to DJ, add yeast and nutrient
  • Allow to ferment away

I am not sure how long it will take to ferment, clear or mature - It's a bit of an experiment, but I am happy so far with the results.  
Picture
What does pine needle wine taste like? Is Pine needle wine worth making? And is Pine needle wine even drinkable?

Well, I recently came to sort through my wine store, and found the demijohn of pine needle wine at the back of the cupboard.  It had been maturing for about 6 months, so I thought I would give it a try. 

The results of the pine needle wine were to say the least, disappointing.  The main issue I had with it was that it the body of the wine was full of oil and resin.  I am not sure if this would dissipate over time, but, I am not willing to store an experiment for several years in order to wait out and hope.  

The flavour of pine needle wine is resemblant of a watered down pine toilet cleaner mixed with a slight hint of gin.  The gin flavour was wanted - but, that cleaner flavour was another reason why this wine ended up being poured down the toilet!

You may also like

Picture

Blaand

Picture

Turnip & red cabbage wine

Picture

Seaweed wine

​Let us know what you think

Contact us

Popular Articles

Click here to go to ​Contact Page or use the social media icons below:
Banana wine recipe
Rhubarb wine recipe

    Subscribe to a Happy Newsletter!

Subscribe to Newsletter
Pine needle wine recipe
Gutsy ginger wine recipe
Our new home in Orkney!

Support Happy Homestead

Picture
  • Homepage
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • Homestead
    • Garden
    • Poultry
    • Foraging
    • Self-reliance
    • Eco-Friendly Life
    • Bricks & Water
  • Homebrew
    • Traditional Wines
    • Unusual Wines
    • Beer, Mead & Other
  • Homemade
    • Recipes
    • Preserves
    • Cosmetics
  • Homelife
    • Our Home
    • Our Dogs
    • Our Island