This herbal wine is brewed with popular culinary herbs highlighted in a traditional English ballad. “Scarborough Fair” was brought into modern times by Simon & Garfunkel during the folk music revival of the ’60s. Being an herbalist, a fan of folk music and an experimental brewer, I couldn’t resist giving this one a try!
This wine has a greenish yellow color to it that some may find unpalatable. There are extra raisins in the recipe, since the herbs don’t add much in the way of nutrient to the brew. The recipe also calls for less sugar, as this wine is prone to fermenting slowly and leaving a lot of residual sweetness.
1 gal (3.8 L) water, divided
¼ cup (40 g) raisins, chopped
1 lemon, chopped
2 cups (480 ml) strongly brewed black tea
½ cup (20 g) minced fresh parsley
2 heaping tsp (2 g) minced fresh sage (4–6 leaves)
1 heaping tbsp (3 g) fresh minced rosemary (2–3 sprigs)
1 heaping tbsp (3 g) fresh minced thyme
3 cups (600 g) sugar
½ packet (2.5 g) Lalvin D-47 yeast
1. Gather your ingredients and sanitize your supplies. You’ll need a 1- or 2-gallon (3.8- or 7.5-L) stockpot, a long spoon, a straining bag, a funnel, a gallon (3.8-L) carboy, a strainer and a bung and airlock.
2. Heat ⅔ gallon (2.5 L) of the water in the stockpot with the raisins and lemon until almost boiling. Remove the pot from the heat and add the tea, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Cover the pot with a lid and let the mixture steep for about 15 minutes. Stir in the sugar until it is completely dissolved. Let the must cool until you can safely pour it.
3. Use the funnel and strainer to transfer the must into the carboy. Top it off with as much of the remaining ⅓ gallon (1.3 L) of water needed for the must to reach the neck of the jug. Seal it with the bung and airlock.
4. When the glass is cool enough to handle, pitch the yeast. First, cover the mouth of the carboy. Shake the jug for a minute to add oxygen. Sprinkle the yeast into the jug and then recap the carboy with the bung and airlock. Label the jug with the name of the brew and the date and set it aside somewhere out of direct sunlight until it is finished fermenting. Bottle when ready.
TIP: Pair this unique herbal brew with goat cheese, cucumbers and a watercress salad on a summer’s day!