elderflower wine | 1996

This is a recipe for elderflower wine that I originally recreated from The Cure's official website circa 1996. This is a simple and refreshing hock/riesling style wine. The elderflower has a commensural yeast which colonizes it (like uninoculated lambic beers...but specific to the flower rather than the geographic region), and gives it a distinct lemony flavor.

1. boil a liter of water and add a half cup of honey (or a quarter cup of sugar). let the honey dissolve. then let the water cool completely to room temperature.
2. take a handful of dried elderflowers (sometimes health food stores will sell these, or order online), and add these to the honey water, along with the juice of one lemon. Wait for the water to cool, or else the friendly yeast will all be killed.
3. stir
4. transfer the elderflower/honey/water/lemon soup to a clean (ideally...autoclaved) bottle and cap loosely.
5. let sit in a cool, dark place.

You can drink this after about 24-36 hours....but after about a week it will start to bubble and become very effervescent. Strain it and drink it cool. Best at about 10 days. Gets you drunk. If it doesn't kill you.