Selfsufficientish.com

This is my adaption, of of a much passed around recipe - I claim no originality - but it is a favourite

Ingredients:

For each demijohn (6 bottle batch) you will need

2lb elderberrys
1lb Oranges
7 pints water
1/4 oz wine yeast
3lb sugar



Note - I am making a double batch - which requires some pretty hefty pan sizes!

Strip the berries from the stalks by combing them off with a fork and weigh out the required quantity



Rinse the berries off. I bought one of these large "Over sink" collanders a few years back - very handy!



Peel a couple of large oranges per batch



Stick your water on to heat now. You'll want a big pan - for a double batch a large stock pot is needed



Whilst the water is heating, rough chop your oranges



Then take a glass of room temperature orange juics and add a teaspoon of wine yeast. Stir well and leave. It will go frothy which proves the yeast is activated



Weight out your sugar



Dissolve sugar in minimum necessary boiling water stirring constantly



By now your water should be boiling



Add the elderberries and chopped orange




Simmer for 10 minutes and leave to cool



Your yeast starter should now be frothy like this



Pour the starter into clean, sterilised demijohns along with the sugar solution.

Whilst your "must" is cooling, sterilise another large pan or food grade bucket and set a collander up above it. I do this out doors cos this stuff will stain!



Using a jug, pass the cool pust through the collander to remover the large fruit bits.



Now set up a funnel with a double layer of muslin over it.



Filter the must into the demojohn(s).



Bung in an airlock. The first fermentation will be violent so leave plenty of "headspace". Top up when things are calm.



When fermentation is complete, rack off and bottle. Leave for six months.

Red

Does it keep OK BR, or is that a silly question?

I notice you don't put in any tannin or yeast nutrient.

Wouldn't hang around long enough to find out in my house! looks delicious and a great method in pictures ...thank you x

thanks British Red a really clear set of instructions. (eat your heart out MKG I've got a new best friend) only kidding is anyone that fickle-

Green Aura wrote:Does it keep OK BR, or is that a silly question?

I notice you don't put in any tannin or yeast nutrient.

GA,

I've never needed yeast nutrient in it, I suspect there is enough material in the fruit.

It keeps at least three years, I confess I haven't managed to hang on to it for longer. It really benefits from at least six months aging.

I have the same problem, Red. I like to know what my maturing wines are doing, so I tend to test them at regular intervals. It's amazing how often I suddenly realise I've tested it all.

One day, I will get a wine to 5-years old.

I WILL I WILL I WILL

Fat chance.

Mike

EDIT: Note for GA ... you never want to add any tannin to an elderberry wine - it already has an excess.

EDIT2: Note for Trinder ...

Hi

I am new to wine making and would like to try elderberry wine later this year and love the photo guidelines for your recipe - however this recipe is for an elderberry port - how does this differ to elderberry wine?

Poochy Pie

This isn't really port, it's wine, but port sounds nicer I think.
Port is fortified, with added alcohol in the legal sence commercially, but for home use I think the term is descriptive in the wine is very strong and very full bodied, just like a port, to call Elderberry a wine made like this would really do it a dis-service, it's that good!

Can't wait to try it!!!!

So you might say I have been bitten by the wine making bug! Anyhow i would like to make this out of season so i have a few questions if anyone can help me?

I have seen "ready in 3 weeks" elderberry wine kits in a local shop. Could i use the elderberry concentrate from these kits with a bag of frozen blackberries to make this?

Would i need to buy port yeast or could i use the yeast that came with the kit or the all purpose wine yeast i have?