This time I have tried to be a bit more scientific about it. Note to self, please upload some pictures. Thank you Countryfile for the recipe. Here is my take on it. It takes a few hours – lots of messing around – don’t try and rush it.
Hardware
- Large fermenting bucket
- Demijohn
- Bung and airlock
- Syphon tubing
- Hydrometer – maybe
- Funnel
Ingredients
- 2kg Elderberries + hedgerow fruit if needed
- 5 litres water – boiling. Don’t be tempted to put more in. This makes 6 bottles
- 1.5 kg Sugar
- 1tsp Pectolase
- 1 Campden Tablet
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Yeast
Fruit
I always freeze the berries when I pick them. I can’t pick and make wine at the same time. This is ideal as it makes it easier to crush on the day.
Sterilise
- The bucket
- The pipes
- Assorted bowls
- The spoons
- The sieve
- The sink
- The counters
- The kitchen
Crush the Fruit
- Try and get the sticks and rubbish out of the fruit – as much as you can
- Put the fruit in the bucket
- Pound it with a spoon
- Squish with your fingers – use gloves – elderberries are a very deep red
- Don’t whizz it, you don’t want to break the pips down
Dissolve the Sugar
That is why you boil the water, apart from sterilising it. To get all the sugar dissolved.
Put the sugar in the bucket, add water and stir until it is all dissolved.
Add the Rest of the Ingredients
- Rest of the water
- Lemon juice – don’t add the pith – it is not really appropriate to a wine taste
- Pectolase
- Campden tablet
- Yeast
- Use a yeast for alcohol, bread yeast dies in fairly low alcohol surrounds
- Start the yeast in a glass with some sugar
- Let the bucket cool before adding the yeast
Start Waiting
Use an exercise band to firmly hold a dish towel in place over the bucket, and let it start brewing
- Stir every few days, or more often
- About 2 weeks
Move to Demijohn
This is another huge job – allow plenty of time. Sterilise everything again.
Siphon the wine into a bucket. Keep the bottom of the pipe off the bottom of the demijohn to try and leave the sludge behind.
Strain through a muslin into a jug. Then put a pillow case over a second jug and strain through that. It blocks up quickly. You’ll need to shimmy the pillow case around from time to time in order the keep the wine flowing.
It takes a long time to filter so allow plenty of time.
Once filtered, you can pour it into the bottle. Label and put it into the cupboard for a year or two.