Chamomile Wines

CHAMOMILE WINES

Chamomile is that quiet herb most people know only as a bedtime tea. But those same dried flowerheads — the ones that smell like honey crossed with fresh hay — can become something genuinely interesting in a glass. Done right, chamomile wine is light-bodied, faintly floral, and just a little earthy. It lands somewhere between a white wine and an herbal mead. There are two ways to get there: a straightforward flower infusion, or a carrot base that borrows chamomile’s fragrance without letting it dominate. Both are worth making.

The beginner trap: Using too many chamomile flowers — the scent is powerful and turns harsh and medicinal fast, so measure carefully and taste as you go.

Recipe 1 — Chamomile Flower Wine

Ingredients

• ½ cup dried chamomile flowers (loose tea or emptied tea bags both work)
• 2 lbs (910 g) white granulated sugar
• 7½ pts (about 3.75 liters) water
• 3 tsp acid blend (find at homebrew shops; or substitute 2 tsp lemon juice per tsp as a rough stand-in)
• 1 tsp yeast nutrient
• ⅛ tsp wine tannin (or 2 oz strong-brewed black tea)
• 1 Campden tablet, crushed
• 1 packet Montrachet wine yeast (or any dry white wine yeast)

Method

1. Combine sugar and water in a pot over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar fully dissolves, then bring to a boil.
2. Place the chamomile flowers in a muslin bag, a fine-mesh straining bag, or a tied-off piece of cheesecloth, and set it in your primary fermenter.
3. Pour the hot sugar water over the bag of flowers and press it down a few times so liquid moves through the flowers.
4. Taste the liquid — if the floral flavor seems faint, add a small amount of extra flowers now, before it cools.
5. Cover the fermenter with a clean cloth and let it cool to room temperature (below 75°F / 24°C).
6. Add the acid blend, yeast nutrient, tannin, and crushed Campden tablet; stir well to dissolve everything.
7. Every few hours, press and lift the flower bag to keep pulling flavor from the flowers; do this for 24 hours total.
8. After 24 hours, activate your yeast according to the packet directions and stir it into the must.
9. Re-cover the fermenter and stir daily for 5 days, pressing the flower bag each time.
10. Remove and discard the flower bag after 5 days.
11. When the specific gravity drops to 1.020 or below, rack the wine into a clean secondary fermenter (carboy or jug) and fit an airlock.
12. Let it ferment for 30 days, then rack into a clean vessel, top up to minimize headspace, and refit the airlock.
13. Rack again every 60 days for the next 6 months, topping up each time.
14. Stabilize with potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulfite, then sweeten to taste if desired.
15. Wait 10 days after stabilizing, then rack into bottles and store in a dark place for at least 6 months before drinking.

Recipe 2 — Carrot & Chamomile Wine

Ingredients

• 18–24 fresh chamomile flowers (or 2–3 tsp dried chamomile flowers)
• 4 lbs (1.8 kg) carrots, scrubbed but not peeled
• 2½ lbs (1.1 kg) white granulated sugar
• 7½ pts (about 3.75 liters) water, divided
• ½ oz (about 4 tsp) acid blend
• 1 tsp yeast nutrient
• ⅛ tsp wine tannin (or 2 oz strong-brewed black tea)
• 1 packet Sauternes wine yeast (or any white wine yeast that tolerates residual sweetness)

Method

1. Thinly slice the carrots and place them in 6 pts of water; boil until completely tender, then strain off the liquid and save it — the carrots are yours to eat.
2. Bring the remaining 1½ pts of water to a boil in a small saucepan, add the chamomile flowers, remove from heat, and steep for 10 minutes as if making tea.
3. Pour the hot carrot water over the sugar in your primary fermenter and stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.
4. Strain the chamomile tea into the fermenter and stir to combine; discard the spent flowers.
5. Cover the fermenter and let the liquid cool to below 75°F / 24°C.
6. Add the acid blend, yeast nutrient, and tannin; stir well, then pitch the yeast.
7. Transfer to a secondary fermenter fitted with an airlock once active fermentation slows.
8. Ferment until the wine clears, then rack into a clean vessel for the first time.
9. Rack every 2 months until the wine is completely clear and no new sediment forms.
10. Stabilize, sweeten to taste, wait 10 days, then rack into bottles; age in a dark place for 6–12 months.

Why this works

Chamomile flowers contain aromatic compounds — mainly bisabolol and apigenin — that dissolve readily in hot water. That’s why the hot-pour method pulls flavor quickly. The danger is over-extraction: the same compounds that smell lovely in small amounts can turn soapy or medicinal when you use too much or steep too long. Sugar concentration controls body and gives the yeast fuel; acid blend balances the pH so the wine tastes bright rather than flat; tannin adds just enough structure to keep it from feeling hollow. In Recipe 2, the carrots contribute natural sugars and a soft, neutral base that lets the chamomile fragrance shine without overpowering the wine.

Notes

Dried chamomile from the bulk tea aisle or standard tea bags works perfectly for Recipe 1 — just open the bags and measure out the loose flowers. If you can’t find acid blend at a local homebrew shop, order it online or use a measured amount of lemon juice as a rough substitute, though the balance won’t be as precise. For yeast, any dry white wine yeast you can find locally will work in place of Montrachet or Sauternes.