4 Homemade Natural Aperitif Wines With Medicinal Plants

Let's taste some aperitif wines!

Their name indicates it: aperitif wines open or stimulate the appetite. So, as an aperitif, here is our selection of four recipes you can try.

1. Mugwort wine

The sagebrush owes its name to the goddess Artemis, who took care of the women and watched over the deliveries. It must be said that this plant, also known as the St. John's herb, is famous for improving certain female disorders.

Antiseptic and invigorating, its properties have been known for a long time: the Roman centurions had, it is said, their sandals to keep their feet in good condition!

Our ancestors learnt of this herb's properties, some of which were much later confirmed by science: strengthening, but also digestive, stimulates appetite and digestive functions while improving the assimilation of food.

A small glass of mugwort wine before each meal offers an excellent way to enjoy the properties of this cousin of absinthe.

Let macerate 50 g of flowering tops macerated for 30 days in 1 liter of wine.

Then filter.

2. Blackcurrant wine

You will appreciate it for its aperitive virtues, but also its taste.

Boil a liter of white wine, then throw in a large handful of blackcurrant berries and a few pieces of cinnamon.

Let cool, filter and bottle.

Take a small shot glass before meals.

3. Wild currant wine

The wild gooseberry, also called the Alpine gooseberry, is a small shrub that does not exceed 1.5m, and likes the light woods, undergrowth and limestone soils. Its fruits are not very tasty, but the properties of its young shoots, on the other hand, are interesting. They also lend themselves well to the preparation of an aperitif wine.

Add 100 g wild red currant sprouts to one liter of boiling wine. Let macerate for 20 minutes, then pass.

Consume: 1 glass before a meal

To note… The wines, the ones that we propose to you today and all those who will follow in our series "20 on wines", are generally prepared in advance, and kept in well-clogged bottles. And, of course, these appetizers are to be consumed with moderation!

"Health! " Did you know ?

Used since antiquity for their therapeutic properties, plants are the most diverse forms. Greeks and Romans already appreciated them as herbal teas. Much later, in the Middle Ages, they were, in more sophisticated forms, at the very heart of the prescriptions of the doctors of the time. Herbal drinks are probably as old as man himself, and infusions are probably one of the oldest remedies. Fortunately, this ancient knowledge has gone through the ages without taking a scratch, offering more and more knowledge and therefore, choice.

4. Appetizer recipe: yellow gentian wine

The Romans already praised the merits of yellow gentian. In reality, it owes its name to Gentius, King of Illyria in the 2nd century BC, who had understood its virtues!

Gentian, a famous aperitif if any, contains bitter principles which, consumed half an hour before a meal, stimulate the gastric juices and prepare the stomach to digest well. It is an excellent digestive tonic for all, and for the elderly in particular.

Used for therapeutic purposes, gentian stimulates liver and biliary functions, fights flatulence, heals indigestion and digestive disorders in general.

Cover 30 to 40 g of dried root with 1 liter of good white wine.

Leave for 10 to 12 days, then filter.

To stimulate the appetite drink 1 glass of white wine as an aperitif.

Anemia: before each of the 2 main meals.

Lackiness: a small drink at the end of the meal.

Some recipes offer 10 to 20 g of dried root only but add a bitter orange peel to the maceration. This version, which is prepared with a sweet wine, seems particularly recommended in case of thinness.

In all lovers of nature and true taste, herbal teas have an important place today. For fun or well-being, an infusion of lavender flowers to calm nervousness or soothe headaches, sweet lemon balm with honey to relax before sleep, marjoram to cure asthma, basil, caraway , cardamom, mint, sage, rosemary or wormwood for digestive problems, St. John's wort in case of mild depression or elderflower against fever and cold… the list of their benefits is inexhaustible.