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The woodruff is blooming so---

15 years ago

Will be making a couple of bottles of maiwein or May wine. Woodruf is only marginally hardy here so blooming certainly isn't an occurence that happens every year. For some reason it came through the rather rough winter O.K., believe it was because snow laid on it until early spring.

I sem to have quit drinking alcoholic beverages, not conciously but believe the last bottle of wine we shared was an anniversary last year. Really don't know why, the only bottle we still have on hand is a 10th of eiswein we have had for I really don't know how many years but I doubt that it would degrade.

Back to May wine, we will buy a couple of bottles of a German white wine, cut 4 or 5 sprigs of sweet woodruff and put them in the wine, cork it back up for a week and then it is drinkable. Really used to love it, hope it is as good as I remember.

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Comments (11)

anneliese_32
15 years ago
Can I invite myself? The last time I had Maiwein was, I think, about 45 years ago! I tried to grow woodruff as groundcover in a corner, but it don't like it here.
Enjoy it and Prost!
lilod
15 years ago
Enjoy the Maiwein! My Opa used to make it, and all of us, even the young-ones, always had a sip. I had some sweet woodruff growing in a corner by my deck, but it didn't survive, I think the blankety-blank periwinkle did it in.
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With these warm days, I can easily get through winter without cabin fever! lol. I did, last year. I like it! I noticed that my garden is more enjoyable in winter with the perennials growing and flowers coming (violas). I'm waiting to see which half hardy perennials make it through and what it takes to really kill one off. The bad part of this is that the voles are active again. My worry is the bulbs which are already pushing through. Once those flower buds come up, it's over. Oh well. Every year brings new challenges.
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Just bumping this down
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instar8
14 years ago
I LOVE the sweet-hay smell of woodruff, never even heard of May wine, does that invigorating fragrance come through in the brew?? And can you give the recipe? I may need to enlarge my sweet woodruff space...

lynn
gandle
Original Author
14 years ago
I wouldn't call it a recipe but we just put 4 or 5 4" sprigs of woodruff in each bottle of German white wine and let it sit in the refrigerator for a week. Aroma and taste are wonderful. See that Leone brought home Rhine wine, that ought to work.
tibs
14 years ago
Well now I might have to try that. Sweet Woodruff does quite well in the shade garden. I could probably spare a few sprigs. But is would probably hurt dh's feelings since I don't drink his home made wine. Not much of a drinker.
misskimmie
13 years ago
I have a question. Sprigs...do you mean the stem with leaves and the flowering top or just the flowering tips?
calliope
13 years ago
My woodruff bed is is glorious bloom now and Gandle when it blooms, I always think of you and Leone and Maiwein. The air is just heady with the perfume of flowers in bloom here.
neil_allen
13 years ago
I had my first Maiwein a few weeks ago. I use whole sprigs -- stems, leaves and flowers -- but I make it a little differently. I let them dry for about 1/2 day to a full day, so they aren't crispy and are still green, but the scent has concentrated and starts to come out (they don't have much smell when freshly picked). Then, I let them sit in the wine for less than a day -- say, put them in at breakfast time and drink the wine that night. It still produces plenty of flavor.

I thought of you and Leone when I drank it.
mwoods
13 years ago
I like May wine and have had it often over the years. Hope you enjoy it George. One of the prettiest things I've seen was one time when I was on a tour of a wonderful herb garden. The house was a small cottage not far from here and in the front yard was a huge old tree...not sure what kind. It was a low tree with large branches. Underneath and spreading out in circle which encompassed a large part of the front yard was sweet woodruff. It was just gorgeous. I have it in patches all over our property but would love something like that.
gandle
Original Author
13 years ago
The woodruff didn't come through winter very well this year so guess there won't be any maiwein this year. Sure enjoyed last years though.
west_gardener
13 years ago
In Norway our Maiwein was Maivin and that was usually Dandelion Wine. The plants grew wild and at the time there were no pesticides.

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