Magnolia Wine

[Tennessee_banjer]

So I been lookin allover and have heard tale of a couple but have not found anyone who has ever tasted and certainly not made Magnolia wine.Let me say this,I grew up on a farm in Mississippi (the magnolia state),I have a very large magnolia flower tattoo that covers my entire left shoulder,I used to spend nights high up in the magnolia tree at my grandmothers,I spent my lunch break everyday sitting under Magness a magnolia tree on the Mississippi river,many a date ended under that tree on the river bank my favorite of which,resulted in my first daughter Maggie(Magnolia).To say that magnolias have always been special to me would be an understatement.I just made my first batch using what I consider to be a common petal wine recipe.I remeber eating pickled petals as a kid so I knew it was safe.I wanted to keep as much of the essence as possible so I threw an armful of petals in my pressure cooker and made what turned out to be a very nice dark tea that tasted exactly like that unmistakeable smell of magnolias.Next I added a can of white grape concentrate for some body,a banana for body and yeast nutrients,and finally 3lbs of sugar and brought it all to a boil.I used a cup of it to make yeast starter.The next morning I pulled it out of the fridge and pitched the yeast.It is currently very vigorously fermenting and I cant wait to try it.I will rack in a few days and put a couple gallons away to age and will most definitely drink the other gallon.If it turns out like I want it to I will make a 15 gallon batch before my trees go dormant this fall.

 

[Goofynewfie]

Do you have a pic?

 

[Tennessee_banjer]

I can take a couple once its done and bottled.Its still feremnting away right now.It looked like a nice dark tea when I boiled it so Im assuming it will look much like Lipton iced tea.I have to say I had never used the banana for nutrients before and I probably wikk from now on.It is in a cabinet with three other wines and not only is it extremely vigorous compared to the dandelion wines but you can even here the fizzing sound from the hallway outside the room.

 

[Tennessee_banjer]

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Heres a pic after first rack.Very tasty! Very dry! Im going to start a barrel tomorrow.55 gallons should last until next year....

 

[Tennessee_banjer]

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Heres a pic after first rack.Very tasty! Very dry! Im going to start a barrel tomorrow.55 gallons should last until next year....

 

[Tennessee_banjer]

 

[brazedowl]

That's the same color my white clover wine took on. It's almost ready for bottling. What was the quantity on the flowers you used? I've been wanting to give this a try.

 

[Tennessee_banjer]

I am really awful at measuring/recording my recipes.I pretty much picked as many flowers as I could carry in both arms then lay them down and pulled off all the petals.I would say it was probably ten-twelve large flowers worth of petals.I can also say from my 3 gallon batch it was a little over board.Magnolia is a very,very strong scent/flavor.I would suggest keeping it to one or two flowers per gallon.It has been in fridge for two days and cleared up quite nicely.

 

[saramc]

I have pickled the petals, minus the center part, in a sweet & sour brine that I threw together. They were awesome condiments, chopped in salads, on burgers, hot dogs. Never considered a wine. I know you can use the leaf in place of bay laurel also, need only the same size, if not smaller, than what amt of bay you would use. I think I may go magnolia petal gathering!

 

[Tennessee_banjer]

Yeah pickled petals are pretty common around here.Ive seen alot of candied petals as well groing up in MS the magnolia state people do alot with them.I have a few different "basic petal" recipes Id be happy to share with you or anyone who is interested.I didnt much figure this would get any attention seeing as I have friends from all over the country and most of them dont even know what a magnolia tree is....

 

[saramc]

I would love to have access to the recipes. Thx for being willing to share.

 

[Tennessee_banjer]

Hey Sara heres the most basic recipe I use for petal wines
1 gallon water
1 pint petals
1/2 cup of white raisins(could use 1/2 can white grape concentrate)
3-4 cups sugar
1 Pack of wine yeast

There are alot of variables dependent on what flower you are using.Some people like to boil and then add the petals and yeast along with crushed campden tab once its cooled.The idea being that boiling the petals will lose some of the essence.I made my own trick around this by using a pressure cooker to make tea from the ingredients.I also would suggest throwing a banana in the mix for yeast nutrients.I tried it with this magnolia wine and it definitely makes a difference.My magnolia has finished fermenting,settled,and been bottled.The dandelion wine I made the exact same way without a banana is still slowly fermenting along.I have also made this recipe with Molasses instead of sugar and had great results.I sometimes alter the recipe by using 4 lbs of honey and adding a lemon and some oranges depending on what flowers I am using and the desired results(I usually bottle carbonate these and age with my ales).That should give you some ideas to play with.Very basic petal wine(and mead).I will also sometimes add tea to the must depending on what flowers Im using.This can be made with hundreds of flowers and since they are all so different in strength and flavor you will just have to decide for yourself what will go good with what....