Recipe Manuscript

To Make Sage Wine

Name: To Make Sage Wine
Prep time: PTPT20M
Cook time: PTPT0M
Yield: 80
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 2.5–6 liters spring or filtered water; 11–12 kg sun-dried raisins (seedless, cleaned; 'raisins of the sun'); 160–200 grams fresh red sage leaves, finely chopped (substitute: regular culinary sage if red sage unavailable); 500 mL good-quality ale yeast (substitute: active brewer's ale yeast); Malaga sack (rich sweet wine; for every 1 L strained mixture, add 1 L Malaga or Pedro Ximénez sherry); Cloth for covering (wool preferred); Clean bottles for storage

1700

From the treasured pages of Receipts in cookery and medicine 1700

Unknown Author

Renaissance (1400 - 1700)European Intermediate Drink

Original Recipe • 1700

Original Manuscript(circa Renaissance, 1400 - 1700)

As inscribed by the original author's hand, transcribed with care by Lost Kitchen Scrolls

To Make Sage Wine

"Take two or five quarts of springe water, boyle it will, let it stand til it is little more then blood warme, then put in twenty five pounds of waisins of the sunn cleane picked, and then put in half a baskitt or more of the best red sage shread very small, mingle it well together, and put to it a pint of good ale yest, then couer it warme with a woollen cloth, soe let it stand six or seauen days stirringe it onct a day. Then straine it out & put for one quart of rich mallagoe sack, then put it into the vessill, and let it stand longer, then draw it out and each bottle. it will keep good for two yeares. It is best to make it in May all."

Note on the Original Text

The recipe is dictated in the casual, instructional style of the eighteenth century, with minimal measurements or temperatures and an expectation of the reader's initiative. 'Boyle it will' simply means bring to a strong boil; 'let it stand til little more than blood warme' means cool to just above body temperature. Spelling like 'boyle', 'waisins', or 'couer' reflect contemporary pronunciation and inconsistent orthography, while 'mallagoe sack' is an Anglicized version of Spanish Malaga wine. Such recipes were not only guides but also memory aids for practiced cooks, often omitting details assumed to be common knowledge in a well-run household kitchen.

Modern Kitchen Interpretation

Recipe's Origin

Receipts in cookery and medicine 1700 - Click to view recipe in book

Title

Receipts in cookery and medicine 1700 (1700)

You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome

Writer

Unknown

Era

1700

Publisher

Unknown

Background

Step into the kitchen of the early 18th century, where this charming culinary manuscript tempts tastebuds with recipes and secrets from a bygone era. A delicious journey for both the curious cook and the history lover.

Kindly made available by

Folger Shakespeare Library

Historical Background of the Recipe

Learn about old traditions

Originating from an English manuscript of around 1700, this recipe is a striking example of early modern wine-making that combined locally available herbs with imported luxury ingredients. Sage wine caught the imagination in Britain as both a cordial and a tonic—crediting the health-giving virtues of sage with the warmth and festivity of sweet fortified wine. Malaga 'sack' refers to sweet wines imported from Spain and Portugal, prized among the English gentry. Recipes like this were often exchanged among households keen on preserving fruit and foliage to last through leaner times, with spring—a season of renewal—seen as the ideal moment to prepare such elixirs.

Culinary Tools when the Recipe was Crafted

Tools and techniques from kitchens of old

Back in the 1700s, this wine would have been made using large earthenware or wooden brewing tubs to mix and ferment the ingredients. Chopping and mincing were done with heavy knives on wooden boards, and straining relied on coarse cloths or muslin bags. A woollen cloth helped trap warmth and encourage fermentation by natural yeasts. Mature wine would be stored in stoneware or glass bottles, tightly corked and kept in a cool cellar.

Modern Kitchen Adaptation

Ingredients and techniques for today's cooks

ounces, cups, Fahrenheit

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

0 mins

Servings

Ingredients

2.6–6.3 quarts spring or filtered water
24–26 pounds sun-dried raisins (seedless, cleaned; 'raisins of the sun')
5.6–7 ounces fresh red sage leaves, finely chopped (substitute: regular culinary sage if red sage unavailable)
1 pint good-quality ale yeast (substitute: active brewer's ale yeast)
Malaga sack (rich sweet wine; for every 1 quart strained mixture, add 1 quart Malaga or Pedro Ximénez sherry)
Cloth for covering (wool preferred)
Clean bottles for storage

Instructions

To make this sage wine at home today, begin by boiling about 2.6 to 6.3 quarts of fresh, filtered water.
Allow the water to cool until it's just warmer than body temperature—roughly 104°F.
To this warm water, add 24 to 26 pounds of cleaned, seedless raisins (use the sweetest, sun-dried variety you can find), and then around 5.6 to 7 ounces of fresh red sage leaves, very finely chopped.
Stir everything together thoroughly.
Next, stir in about 1 pint of fresh ale yeast—if unavailable, substitute with an active brewer's ale yeast.
Cover the mixture with a clean wool cloth or a warm, thick towel, and let it ferment in a warm place for 6 to 7 days, stirring once daily.
When fermentation slows, strain the liquid through a fine sieve or muslin to remove solids, and add for every quart of strained liquid, 1 quart of a rich, sweet wine such as Malaga or a substitute like Pedro Ximénez sherry.
Pour into a fermentation vessel, allow it to settle and mature for a few weeks to further develop flavors, then bottle.
Store in cool, dark conditions; properly made, the wine will keep for up to two years.
Best made in late spring, preferably May.

Estimated Calories

250 per serving

Cooking Estimates

You will need about 20 minutes to prepare the ingredients and dissolve the yeast with the water. There is no cooking involved. Most of the time is for fermentation and maturing. The recipe makes about 12 liters of wine, and each serving is a typical glass (150 mL). Each serving has about 250 calories, coming mostly from the raisins and sweet wine.