Lemon Balm Wine

You will need

• Fresh lemon balm leaves300 g
• Sugar1.2 kg
• Raisins, chopped250 g
• Lemons, juice of3
• Wine yeast + nutrient1 sachet
• Waterto 4.5 L

Picking it at the right moment

• Lemon balm

  Pick tender young leaves before the plant flowers, when the scent is strongest.

Method

1. 1

   Sanitise. Lemon balm (Melissa) is a lemon-scented mint-family herb — the scent is volatile, so treat it like a flower, not a boiled leaf.

2. 2

   Pour just-warm boiled-and-cooled water over the leaves and steep only 24 hours to keep the fresh citrus aroma.

3. 3

   Strain onto the sugar, chopped raisins and the lemon juice; top to 4.5 L (reading ~1.085).

4. 4

   Pitch the yeast and nutrient when cool; ferment cool.

5. 5

   Ferment out, rack and clear; drink young while the aroma is bright.

6. 6

   A light, lemony, refreshing summer white.