Rose Petal Wine

Apicius, Anonymous, fifth century CE

1 (750 ml) bottle of wine

1½ cups rose petals, plus more

for garnish

Honey, to taste

Pour the wine into a large pitcher.

Place one-third of the rose petals on a piece of cheesecloth.

Tie the cheesecloth closed and submerge it in the wine. Let the mixture steep in the refrigerator for a week.

After the week has passed, remove the sachet from the wine and repeat Steps 2 and 3 with another one-third of the rose petals.

Repeat Step 4 and then repeat Steps 2 and 3 with the remaining rose petals.

Remove the sachet from the wine, stir in honey to taste, and garnish each serving with additional rose petals.

Another delicious and very simple mix from the Apicius manuscript, this Roman serve is not a modern rosé, but rather wine literally infused with rose petals. The recipe is simple and again would likely work better with a dry white wine. You can sweeten the wine to taste with sugar or honey (as indicated in the original instructions), or leave it dry to let the flavors of the rose petals really come through.