The book doesn't presuppose any knowledge on the part of the would-be winemaker and begins at the very beginning, with an introduction of supplies, equipment, sterilization and basic techniques.
Chapter two goes through the author's own techniques and tips for getting from ingredients to finished wines. The introductory chapters cover the basics and take up about 20% of the total content. The author has a chatty and informal writing style which lends a calm and friendly vibe.
By far the lion's share of the content is given over to the recipes, and boy, howdy, are they wild and interesting. The recipes start out with relatively tame and simple recipes, apple, apricot, banana, plum, and so forth. It's not long until the recipes start pulling in flowers (the staid elderberry cordial is joined by jasmine, jonquil, lavender, lilac and others) and herbs. There are nearly 150 recipes with scope for almost infinite blending and combinations. Additionally, and uniquely in my experience, the author also includes wines which include citrus in combination with hot peppers (pink grapefruit - kung pao and others) and cannabis wines (the legalities and information regarding cannabis are covered in the book, basically make sure that you can legally acquire the ingredients, and please don't travel with the resultant wine).
I've not yet tried any of the recipes, though I fully intend to, since I have dried and fresh pesticide free herbs and fruit. I'm looking forward to trying the chocolate mint wine and basil wine. After those, cherry, plum and apple wines seem quite tame.
Four stars
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.
No comments:
Post a Comment