I Always Add THIS to White Wine for the Perfect Summer Drink

I am an avid wine drinker. As much as I love a crisp glass of white wine all on its own, I’m always on the lookout for a delicious way to zhuzh it up. I’m a big fan of a simple wine cocktail, but I also like low-lift kitchen projects. One of my favorite wine tricks in that vein is to infuse wine with other flavors. The perfect candidate? Chamomile tea.

I had never thought of infusing wine with anything before reading Home Made by Yvette van Boven, a lovely cookbook full of simple recipes for making things from scratch. Ever since I first tried her recipe for chamomile wine (almost 15 years ago at this point), it has been a summer time tradition for me.

Chamomile tea, which is made from dried chamomile flowers, is the perfect accompaniment to the flavor of white wine. It adds a subtle flowery note to the wine without totally overpowering it. Chamomile wine is made by steeping white wine with the tea and letting the flavors meld to create a whole new drink. It’s almost effortless and makes for a surprisingly unique, summery, tea-infused drink that’s great on its own, or spritzed with a little seltzer or tonic. It’s a really cheap and easy way to upgrade a bottle of wine. You don’t even need to love the flavor of chamomile on its own. Once it’s combined with the wine, the flavor is really its own special thing.

1. Decant the wine. I suppose you could go through the trouble of trying to force a bunch of tea down the narrow neck of a wine bottle, but why would you want to? Better to transfer the wine to a wide-mouthed jar with a tight-fitting lid (if you only have 16-ounce jars on hand, you’ll need two for a 750 ml bottle of wine).
2. Add tea. The original recipe calls for 4 ounces of tea, which is quite a lot. Over the years I have adjusted this to my personal tastes and use about 2 ounces of tea for a 750ml bottle of wine. You can use bags or loose leaf tea. Just know that if you opt for loose-leaf you’ll need to strain the wine before drinking.
3. Add extra flavorings. These are totally optional. The original recipe calls for a bit of rum, a vanilla bean, and some sugar in addition to the tea. I personally don’t love sweet wine, and prefer the simplicity of the chamomile flavor. If you’re looking for something on the slightly dessert-ier side though, give it a try. I will sometimes add the vanilla bean but not the sugar or rum for a slightly different take on straight chamomile.
4. Steep. The hardest part is the wait. Seal the jar and place it in a cool, dark place (like a closed cupboard) for about two weeks. This will allow the flavors to meld. When the wine is ready, strain and enjoy.

• Choose a complementary wine. You should always make this drink with white wine, and the variety you choose makes a difference. My personal favorite is chardonnay, but a dry or lightly sweet Riesling would also be great.
• But don’t go overboard. This is a great move for improving a bottle of wine with a flavor you you don’t love. I’m not advocating for buying wine you don’t like, but I am saying, you don’t need to break the bank if you’re looking for a wine with which to try this.