Lychee Sweet Wine

Why people make this wine

Lychee season is short, so Nourilo likes to put up a few bottles while the fruit is still around. After two or three months of steeping, the wine turns fragrant and mellow — a lovely gift to share with family and friends. In Chinese food tradition, lychee flesh steeped in wine is associated with warming the middle, lifting the energy, and gently nourishing the blood for a rosier complexion.

Method

1. Gently simmer the rock sugar with the distilled water over low heat until dissolved, then let it cool.
2. Peel and pit the lychees. (You may rinse the flesh briefly with distilled water and drain well.)
3. Place the lychee flesh in a clean glass jar.
4. Pour in the osmanthus wine and the cooled sugar water.
5. Store in a cool, dark place for about 3 months before drinking.

Nourilo’s Tips

You can use rice wine or Japanese sake as the steeping spirit. Osmanthus aged wine has a fragrant floral note that suits lychee especially well. If you skip the rock-sugar syrup, ready-made syrup works too — roughly half a bottle of syrup per bottle of wine. Beyond sipping it on its own, this wine is lovely splashed into dishes with meat, prawns, or shellfish.