May wine
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May wine, also known as Maitrank, Maiwein, Maibowle and Waldmeisterbowle, is the name of a German beverage that uses aromatized wine as a base (see sangría). May wine is served in the spring, traditionally on the May Day holiday. The base is made by taking sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum, sometimes called Asperula odorata, known in Germany as Waldmeister), a fragrant creeping herb that grows in the forests of Northern Europe, and steeping it in a white German wine. Since woodruff is slightly poisonous, some common sense should be applied in its use; 3 grammes of woodruff per liter of may wine is completely safe.
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[edit] Production
Ingredients such as brandy, sparkling wine (or carbonated water) and sugar may also be added to the mixture to flavour the drink and create a punch - hence another common name for the beverage is Maibowle (May bowl). Since strawberries are in season at that time of year, they are often floated in the drink.
[edit] Commercial production
May wine is also produced commercially. The bottled beverage is meant to simulate the drink described above. It consists of the white-wine base infused with the woodruff herb. Individual variations might include strawberry flavoring or fermentation techniques to make it lightly sparkling.[citation needed] It is produced in German culture regions of the United States such as Frankenmuth, Michigan. Commercial May wine produced in Germany has been made with artificial flavoring and coloring agents since the 1980s. The use of woodruff in commercial preparations of wine was made illegal in Germany.[citation needed]
[edit] Official definition
The Council of the European Communities legally defines Maiwein thus:
[A]n aromatized drink obtained from wine with added asperula odorata plants or extracts thereof so as to ensure a predominant taste of asperula odorata.[1]
