Step 1. Enjoy your lilacs. Bring them in and put them in a vase, and breathe in their rich, intoxicating fragrance.
An extra note: Don’t use store-bought lilacs. There is no way to know how they were grown, and whether they are contaminated with chemicals. Also, if you are foraging for them, don’t pick them from along the highway (there are tons growing there in our area right now) because they will be coated with car fume residues.
Step 2. When they begin to droop, pluck them. It takes time, so have a seat, put on a podcast, and pluck the tiny blossoms from their stems. I find this very meditative and therapeutic. If you have kids, they will probably want to help.
Step 3. Freeze them. Put them in a ziplock bag and pop them into the freezer. You will want to collect roughly the same amount of flowers you are hoping for in wine– a gallon container full, for example, of flowers, for a gallon of wine. I am inclined to think that the volume can be a little less if we are letting them wilt a bit first. We are going for about 3- 4 quarts of collected flowers.
Step 4. Stand by. I will be dilligently following Steps 1-3, and then I’ll make some wine, and tell you all about it. Then you can make some, too!
Step 5. MAKE the Lilac Wine!
If you would like to use your lilacs, but won’t be able to collect enough for wine-making, then you can save them for tea! Just hang bunches upside down to dry. Once completely dehydrated, pull of the petals and store in an air-tight jar or tin, and steep as you would any loose herbal tea.
So… Making Lilac Wine– Are you in?
This post was shared at: Homestead Barnhop, Fat Tuesday, The Family Table, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Frugal Days Sustainable Ways.
I can’t wait to read about how you make it! I have never heard of lilac wine and I will start saving my blooms now!
Hurray! I have never made it before either, but this will be my 4th country wine to try, and should be a fun project. Glad you’re in!
I take my Hydradrea and after it changes color I spray it with lock tight hair spray. It has been on our kitchen table all winter and still is. The lilacs are in the house. I took one and sprayed it and it’s in the garage overnight. I’ll see what it looks like tomorrow! Thanks for sharing all the interesting stories. Wish I liked wine! June
I had no idea lilac was edible until this year and now I’ve read about using it in food 3 times this week!
Sadly I don’t have lilac in this garden, though I have been wondering whether I could squeeze one in as I do love it. I was sniffing the trees in a garden centre last week 🙂 Wonder if I could cadge some from someone else’s garden in exchange for a bottle of wine?!
I’ll bet you could talk a few friends into donating to the cause, in exchange for some wine, Hazel! What else have you seen the lilacs being used for?
Tea and sugar, like Lavender sugar. There might have been something else too- will let you know if I remember/find it!
Lilac sugar… Sounds so romantic, doesn’t it? I imagine you could also make candied lilacs, just like you would with candied rose petals– brushing with whipped egg white and then coating with superfine sugar. So pretty! Please do let me know if you come up with any others. Honestly, I should just do a pinterest search…
Crystalised lilacs! (and lilac jelly)- https://the3foragers.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/lilac-recipe-lilac-jelly.html
And I’m very tempted by this book. Lilac jam, lemonade, soprbet…
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594746257/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1594746257&linkCode=as2&tag=fooinjar-20
OK now go on with the rest on the story how to make the wine?
Well, you’ll have to wait! I haven’t made it before (but I have made other country wines) so now I am saving my petals and will guide you through shortly.
I assume that one could use WHITE lilacs, too? Twelve years ago when we bought our little farm way out in the mountains I chose to plant a white lilac instead of a purple. I have always loved lilacs!
I am going to try this although mine have not bloomed yet. They are on the verge, though, and I can’t wait. Here, at my elevation every day blooms hold off means less chance of a killing frost if you can imagine that! We also have almost blooming apricot, cherry, plum and lots of apple trees. We often don’t get much fruit because of (as I complained already) the altitude. This looks like it could be a good year!
Caterina, I am positive that white lilacs would be just as good. Our pear blossoms have just blown off our tree, and we don’t seem to have any other fruit trees in bloom. Our wintry weather has been creeping back over here, getting pretty cold at night, but not quite freezing. Fingers crossed for some good stuff!
Oooohhh! Looks like those blossoms would make great wine, too bad I don’t have lilacs. 🙁
Thanks for sharing on Wildcrafting Wednesday!
Aw, too bad!
Unfortunately, for the second year in a row, we had a late frost that nipped the lilacs just as they were blooming. Got very few flowers. Such a shame, cause I love the smell. Didn’t realize you could make wine out of them. I have seen it used in sugar and cookies. I would love to taste the wine.
Oh, what a shame! If you have just a few, you can of course do the tea, and I recently saw a recipe for flavoring honey with lilac petals– I’m sure the taste would be similar to the scent you love.
Being a lilac lover I just have to remember this for our Spring/summer this year.
Yes, I hope you’ll join us in making the wine! I start this week, and will post on the process soon!
I’m in. I made dandelion wine and lilac wine sounds like an unusual thing to make. (Why do I like to do the unusual?) I’m subscribing so I won’t miss that post. Best wishes, Linda Plese link to my party What to do Weekends.
https://www.craftsalamode.com/2013/05/what-to-do-weekends-22.html
So glad you’re in, Linda. It should be fun. I made dandelion wine recently, and will be posting on that soon! And I will link up now…
Just reading this via a Pinterest link…wondering if you have made this wine yet? Eager to know how you did it!
Miriam– yes, I did make the wine! It’s sitting in my demijohn right now, working on clarifying a bit before I can bottle it. Thank you for the reminder to put a link to the recipe at the bottom of this post! Here’s the link: https://and-here-we-are.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/making-lilac-wine.html
Awesome! Thanks so much! Here’s hoping our neighbors will be willing to share their crop next year!
I have been freezing lilac blossoms as I pick them but I noticed today that the blossoms are turning brown. When you look at the freezer bag they all look purple, but the blossoms in the middle of the bag are the ones turning brown. Is this going to effect the flavor or the wine and jelly that I want to make? Do you have any suggestions to keep them from turning brown? Thanks
Hi Jessica,
I don’t think this will affect the flavor, but it could diminish the color of the jelly. Mine also turned brown somewhat, but I didn’t really worry about it. If you want to try to get the best color for your jelly, I would just make a batch right after your next flower harvest, then keep the freezer ones for wine.