Elderflower Champagne... time to get going!

[pdblake]

Went picking with the kids today and have a big bucket festering away in the kitchen

[lainey lou]

Went picking with the kids today and have a big bucket festering away in the kitchen

It's so exciting isn't it! Mine is bubbling away nicely, took my OH out to the shed to have a look earlier, he just thinks I'm bonkers!

[janeyo]

Got my first lot started this afternoon.
Loads of midges in it though, freaked me a bit, but I guess they get strained out.
Kitchen smalls good already!
Where are you guys storing the buckets?

[lainey lou]

Got my first lot started this afternoon.
Loads of midges in it though, freaked me a bit, but I guess they get strained out.
Kitchen smalls good already!
Where are you guys storing the buckets?

Extra protein!
I have a few corpses floating in mine also.
Mine are in the shed, I have nowhere else to put them at the mo.

[coomber]

Oooh so excited - i picked the elderflowers today and am making the champagne now I will be keeping the bucket in the kitchen to keep an eye on it...and i love the smell!!

[sheena]

I'm so upset, I never even knew what an elderflower was until HFW.
Now I need to find some and get me some champers going. But I think I'll go and rummage through the neighbours recycling bins first! Need pop bottles and fast, not just for the champers but for the hubby's beer he's making.

[Hilary B]

I'm so upset, I never even knew what an elderflower was until HFW.
Now I need to find some and get me some champers going. But I think I'll go and rummage through the neighbours recycling bins first! Need pop bottles and fast, not just for the champers but for the hubby's beer he's making.

I drink quite a lot of sparkling bottled water (never seen the point of buying still water in bottles) so no bottle shortage here. PLASTIC pop bottles are OK if you watch for them starting to act like balloons. GLASS pop bottles are dangerous!

[sheena]

I drink quite a lot of sparkling bottled water (never seen the point of buying still water in bottles) so no bottle shortage here. PLASTIC pop bottles are OK if you watch for them starting to act like balloons. GLASS pop bottles are dangerous!

I'm thinking that the kid's are always moaning me to buy them pop, so maybe a crate of tesco value cola and lemonade will help me out. Not so sure if it will help the kid's are not!

Can just the kid's bouncing off the walls now! lol

[shirlthegirl43]

We drink Lidl sugar free lemonade at 19p for 2 litres. Not much danger of bouncing off the walls with that.

[sheena]

Today is the start of my batch, went out today and picked more than enough.

And followed your recipe to the end, lets see what happens shall we?
Also went and got a load of cheap cola and lemonade for the kid's to drink, I only made 5 litres, so I should have enough bottles (4x 2 litres)

Fingers crossed!

[kentvegplot]

Used the 'River Cottage' recipe, luckily Mum had lots of flowers on her tree. Didn't start on its own, so added a little wine yeast after 3 days and now it's bubbling away nicely...kitchen smells lovely!

[janeyo]

How long do I leave it in the bucket for?

[lainey lou]

I bottled up my first lot yesterday, It had been on the go for 6 days. It smells and tastes (quick sample!) Lovely. Will bottle up the second batch in a day or two.

[pdblake]

I checked mine this morning. There's a good bit of scum on the top and I can hear a distinct fizzing so it looks like it's fermenting an won't need any yeast

I plan on bottling it on Friday (and probably starting a second batch) and drinking it the following weekend. The wine will go in a demijohn over this weekend (and maybe start another lot of that too).

[raine]

Can anyone post pics of elderflowers- i am not really sure what's what but reading all these threads has made me mad keen to have a go!