1 Gallon Elderberry Wine Recipe - A 'hedgerow wine' favourite. between September and October the elderberries should be ripening and in abundance!

Ingredients 

  • 1.5Kg Ripe Elderberries (approx. 3½ lb) or 750g of dried elderberries.
  • 1.5Kg Sugar
  • Sherry/Port Yeast
  • Yeast Nutrient
  • Citric Acid
  • Campden Tablets

Equipment 

  • 10 Litre Bucket
  • Thermometer
  • Potato Masher
  • Straining Bag
  • Funnel
  • 1 Gallon Demijohn, Bung And Airlock
  • Solid Demijohn Bung
  • Syphon Tube
  • Bottles

Method 

Day1 - Remove as many stalks as you can and rinse your elderberries to remove any bugs and debris, place the elderberries in a 10 litre bucket and gently mash with a potato masher to release the juice, then add in the 1.5Kg of sugar and a teaspoon of Citric Acid, pour over 2 litres of boiling water and stir well for a few minutes until all the sugar has dissolved, then add a further 2.5 litres of cold water and add 1 crushed Campden - Leave for 24 hours for the Campden tablet to do its work and for wine must to come down to a suitable temperature (20-24 degrees centigrade is ideal)

Day 2 - After 24 hours have passed the Campden Tablet will have killed off any potentially harmful bacteria and stopped any wild yeast from taking a hold, now add a Sherry/Port yeast or similar and 1 teaspoon of yeast nutrient, stir in gently and cover the bucket loosely with the lid (do not seal it down) or cover with a clean cloth

Day 3 to Day 8 - You should see a crust from the berries form on the surface and as fermentation takes hold you may even be able hear the juice fizzing away, try to keep the temperature at 24 degrees or below, if the temperature goes much higher than this, consider moving the bucket to a cooler area.

Day 8 - Transfer your wine must to a demijohn, separating the juice through a straining bag or muslin cloth, place the cloth in a funnel on your demijohn and carefully pour the wine must through, then squeeze the remaining juice from the berries and add this juice to the demijohn as well, you should have close to 1 gallon of juice and this should come up to the bottom of the neck. If you are a little short, dont worry, just top up with some boiled, cooled water. fit a bung and airlock and keep out of direct sunlight at a temperature of 20-24 degrees centigrade. Now you can leave your wine to ferment and this can vary from 2 to 4 weeks, there is no rush! i usually leave it for 6 weeks.

4 to 6 Weeks - Syphon off to another demijohn, leaving any sediment behind (if you do not have a 2nd demijohn you can syphon back to the bucket and then, back again to your demijohn. Add another crushed Campden tablet and fit a solid bung to you demijohn and leave your wine for a further 4-6 months in a cool dark spot.....do not rush, your wine is ageing and will taste all the better for being left. If you see a lot more sediment has dropped out you may wish to rack off again during this time.

6 Months or More - After a minimum of 6 months you can bottle you wine, if you have the patience then leave it even longer before doing so. Even if you choose to bottle i would leave another 6 months before drinking. Elderberry wine should not be rushed and in honesty it wants at least 1 year to reach anything like its best.

Tips and Notes 

Only pick elderberries when they are ripe, when the berries are green or red, they actually have a toxin and should not be eaten even if cooked, wait until they are a deep purple or black.

This recipe will give result in a high alcohol wine (around 13.5 to 14% ABV) If using an hydrometer the starting gravity should be around 1100 and the final gravity around 998

Many people are surprised at how long a home made wine needs to be left before being ready to drink. in general the higher the alcohol content of any home made drink, whether wine or beer, the longer it should be left before it is ready to drink. If left in a cool dark environment a wine can be left in demijohns for a year or more, and when bottled try to leave one or two bottles back and forget about them, there can be a vast difference in wine that is 12 months old or 24 months old (they can taste completely different, even though they are made form the same batch) - Patience is key!