Fruit Garden Tea in Wine: 24 Days to Christmas 2021

Wahoo! Happy December! Welcome to Countdown to Christmas 2021! It’s my fourth year doing a tea based countdown! 2018 I showcased my teacups with a different tea each day. 2019 I tried some of my friend’s and family’s favorite teas. 2020 I shared some of my favorite desserts to go with teas.

I’m really excited about this year’s tea theme! Each day I’ll be sharing an alcoholic based tea. And so you don’t think I’m an alcoholic for 25 days straight, I’ll tell you that I’ve been slowly working on this Countdown to Christmas since March 2020. It’s evenly spaced out 😉

I went to a tea room that sold loose leaf teas. SharaTea with Me had this good smelling and looking herbal tea that seemed perfect to add to wine. It’s full of dried fruit and flowers, including apple, blackberry, black currant, sour cherry, raspberry, rosehip and hibiscus. I mixed 2 tablespoons full of this tea into 750 ml of wine.

The wine I chose was not anything special (meaning it didn’t have any extra flavors infused into it); just a Blanc Demi Sec white wine. In an open pitcher, I steeped the tea into the wine. I placed it in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours before tasting. It is best to drink the tea wine within 24 hours.

As you can tell, my white wine changed to a rose color wine. Closer to the 24 hour mark it was red. Think of it being more like a tea sangria. It was delicious. I think this would taste good with both red and white wines.

Santé!