“Before you came Meereen was dying. Our rulers … sat atop their pyramids sipping apricot wine and talking of the glories of the Old Empire whilst the centuries slipped by and the very bricks of the city crumbled all around them. Custom and caution had an iron grip upon us till you awakened us with fire and blood. A new time has come, and new things are possible.” -A Dance with Dragons

 Thoughts:

It’s good! 

 For this recipe, I started with the oldest and simplest recipe I could find, from the 1690 Lucayos Cookbook. This recipe seems to rely on natural fermentation, so I was inclined to try it, and if it didn’t start on its own, to pitch yeast. I prepped the fruit, added everything else, and put it all in the primary fermenter. And then unexpectedly had to leave for the weekend.

When I got back a few days later, it was happily bubbling away, nature having run its course. I decided to let it go, and see what happened. When it was done working, I bottled it and let mine sit for two months. , and tried it at the end of that period. The wine is light and distinctly apricot flavored, with a bit of tartness provided by the lemongrass. 

Keep in mind that natural fermentation can go all sorts of ways, since there’s no way to predict what sort of yeast you’ll get. The ABV is somewhere just under 3%, so it’s probably best kept for a few months, as the original recipe states. I’ve got a couple of smaller bottles, which I’ll periodically test out and report back on. I plan to make another batch, perhaps using dried apricots to increase the time of year in which it can be made. 

The wine is best served chilled, and although it’s not especially dry, you may wish to add a bit of honey to sweeten it up. 

Get this recipe, and the future version, on the brew blog, Game of Brews.