Caspar Gorse Wine Recipe

Caspar Gorse Festival

Here is an idea that could be the downfall of gorse. If this turns out to be tasty or good for you or trendy, we have it made. Kiss your gorse goodbye!

This recipe came to Caspar by the way of James Jackson, Attorney to Oscar Smith.

Gorse Wine Recipe

• 12 cups of gorse flowers
• 1 gallon of water
• 4 cups of sugar
• 1 1/2 cups seedless white raisins
• 2 oranges
• 2 lemons (or 1/4 oz. citric acid)
• 2/3 cup strong tea or 8 drops grape tannin
• 2 heaping teaspoons all-purpose wine yeast
• 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient

Put the flowers into the fermenting bucket immediately. Boil half the water, half the sugar and the chopped raisins together for 1 to 2 minutes, then pour over flowers. Thinly peel the rind from the oranges and the lemons, and add to the bucket. Squeeze out the juice and add that too. Add the cold tea or the tannin and stir thoroughly. Make up to 1 gallon with cold water, or cooled boiled water if you prefer. This should give you a tepid mixture, about right for adding the yeast from the starter bottle. Add the yeast and yeast nutrient, stir well and cover. Ferment for 1 week, stirring daily. After 2 or 3 days, when fermenting well, add the remaining sugar and stir to dissolve. Strain through a sieve or cloth and siphon into a gallon jug or bottle. Fill up to the neck or the jug with cool, boiled water, if necessary (the less surface area exposed with all wines the better), fit a fermentation lock or secure a plastic garbage bag with a rubber band over the neck of the jug. Rack when clear, bottle and keep for six months.