[norfolkgrog]

Can someone give me some advice please I have been given 50g of dried elderflowers (youngs) and 250g dried elderberries, I would like to put these two together to make a gallon of wine any ideas???

Thanks

Vernon

[mumofstig]

Haven't looked  up a mixture, but the flowers and the berries make completely different kinds of wine. Flowers make light, softly bubbley wine while the elderberry is dark red and if a good one, quite like port. So dunno that a mix would work.

See if anybody else has a recipe to combine the two.........

[SG6]

As said they make different wines, suppose you could simply combine them and see but I have a feeling it would not be a great combination.

Just had a look at some recipes. Cannot see anything for dried elderflower which seems odd.

Elderberry:
One recipe says 450gm of dried elderberry for a gallon. However another says 1/2lb which is 227gm so 250gm is a little more (throw them all in):

1/2lb dried elderberries.
Dry wine = 1/2lb sultanas, Medium wine = 1lb sultanas
3 lemons
Dry wine = 2lb sugar, Medium wine = 2 1/2 lbs sugar.
Yeast
Nutrient
Water to 1 gallon.

I am guessing that a packet of dried whatever is sufficent for 1 gallon. Seems pointless supplying a packet of anything that will do less then a gallon as that tends to be the "normal" quantity. So you could just use the dried elderflowers and substitute them in an elderflower wine recipe for 1 gallon.

[mumofstig]

Elderflower Wine
Ingredients:

Dried elderflowers - 1/2 ounce (no metric alternative)
Sugar - 3 1/2 lb (1.5 kilo)
Raisins - 1/2 lb (250g) OR White wine concentrate 1/4 pint (140ml)
Lemons - 3
Grape tannin - 1 teaspoon
Water - 1 gallon (4 1/2 litres)

Bring the water to the boil and pour over the flowers, then add the sugar, chopped raisins or concentrate and lemon juice. When cool 21C add the yeast (a prepared wine yeast is best but a granulated yeast can be used), your grape tannin, and nutrient. The nutrient is MOST important in this case. Cover well and leave to ferment in a warm place for four or five days. Strain into another jar, fit an airlock, and leave to ferment. When it clears, siphon the wine off the deposit for the first time; two months later rack it again, and bottle it.

[hindy]

Elderflower and Elderberry are not two that you can really mix
I would have a go at making two seperate batches, you'll be surprised at how different each one is

[norfolkgrog]

  Thanks for the ideas, I have just done the berry and have found a recipe for the flower and it needs champagne yeast (off to the shops tom see what I can get) to make a drop of fizz, should be fun I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks

Vern   

[hindy]

Thanks for the ideas, I have just done the berry and have found a recipe for the flower and it needs champagne yeast (off to the shops tom see what I can get) to make a drop of fizz, should be fun I'll let you know how I get on.
Thanks
Vern   

If you are making sparkling wine Vern, make sure us use Champagne type bottles or your likely to have a real mess on your hands. Take it from experience 

[sunshineband]

If you are making sparkling wine Vern, make sure us use Champagne type bottles or your likely to have a real mess on your hands. Take it from experience   

Yes, do take care or you may have some exploding bottles. We flooded our cupboard under the staurs one year with rose ptal wine which had not really finished ferementing before we bottled it, hoping for a soft fizz. Far from it - the corks flew out like bomb fire, and the wine gushed everywhere. Smelt good though

[norfolkgrog]

Umm! didn't think of that, i think I have got one, I'll have to ask about see it there are any fizzy drinking types who can save me some bottles.

Thanks

Vern

[Stripey_cat]

I've done ginger beer in plastic lemonade bottles - I guess fizzy wine would be OK too?

[hindy]

Plastic is ok for the short term but if you are going to store for any length of time I would use glass.

[Stripey_cat]

That figures.