Wine from roses and other sweet-scented flowers

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Note: Here's an interesting old recipe. We're not sure if it will really work, so we're providing this to you just for your information. If you are knowledgeable and experienced in making your own own wine, you are welcome to try or tweak this recipe but please do so at your own risk.

To make six gallons of wine, gather about six to seven pounds of flowers that are sweet scented, using only the petals and, in the case of roses, the hips.

Boil them in six gallons of water until the flavor is completely extracted. Squeeze the whole brew through a piece of canvass cloth and transfer to a clean container.

For every gallon, add two pounds of clarified lump sugar. Add the rinds and juice of ten lemons and 1/4 ounce of cinnamon.

Mix everything together thoroughly and transfer to a cask that has been prepared and cleaned. Let the mixture stand -- several days if necessary -- until all impurities have settled to the bottom.

When you are ready to transfer to bottles, first put one wineglassfull of brandy or rum in each bottle then fill with the mixture. Give it time to age. After a couple of months or so, it will turn into a nice fancy rose wine.

You can also do this with any sweet-scented flower: jasmine, magnolia, or gummamela (hibiscus), just to name a few.