Mireille Johnston

Vin de Noix

A Sweet Red Dessert Wine Flavored with Green Walnuts

Preparation info
  • Makes

    5

    quarts
    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in
top 1000The Cuisine of the Sun: Classical French Cooking from Nice and Provence
The Cuisine of the Sun

By Mireille Johnston

Published 1990

  • About

This is the most delectable of wines. It is prepared on the first day of summer and is ready at Christmas. Unbruised green walnuts can be picked during the month of June. Both the green kernels and the beige shells will be soft, so it should be possible to pass a long knitting needle through the whole fruit.

Ingredients

  • 40 green walnuts with their shell, quartered
  • 5 quarts strong red wine
  • 2 pounds

Method

Quarter the walnuts and place them in a large container. Add the wine, sugar, nutmeg, clove, and vanilla bean. Cover the container tightly. Place in a dark room and let it rest for fifty days, shaking it a bit every two weeks. Add the brandy and pass the mixture through a sieve. Pour into bottles, seal tightly and leave them for about six months in a dark, cool place.