• 1 part clover or orange blossom honey
• 1/2 part Lychee syrup , or the mash of several lychees (4 if making 3 qts)
• 3.5 parts water
• cloves (~2 if making 3qts)
• tea or raisins (a small handful of raisins or 1/4 cup strong brewed tea if 3qts)

  Boil the water with a slow roll, and add the honey and lychee once it begins boiling. Let it boil at the lowest heat possible for a few minutes before killing the heat.

  Let it cool near a breeze -- the wild yeasts in your air will find their way to it, and you can transfer it and the remaining ingredients to a container that's covered with a towel that's rubberbanded-on, or fitted with an airlock. It will likely do absolutely nothing for almost a week, and you'll think it's a dud, before it froths up all over and is clearly reacting. It's ready to drink after another week or two, but the longer it sits (inside a few months) the better. If nothing happens, add a few pebbles of Champagne yeast.

Before moving across the country, I left a gallon of kiwi wine fermenting back in New York. Now, after about 4 months it's about ready and very clear (without using tarpon bladder, bone meal or any other disgusting clarifiers and "finings,") and so I thought it would be good to document (as best I can from memory) what went into it.

Ginger Champagne, a tart, sharp but subtle wine is something I started when I moved into a place larger than a shoebox. It started with the following recipe, but after almost a year of aging, I'm sampling the finished product and evaluating how it should change. I'll list changes after the recipe:

Note, this might change if I realize I'm remembering this all wrong.