Elderflower champagne ?

[the big lebowski]

Here you go:

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From A step by step guide to making home made wine by Judith Irwin

interesting ,thanks for that ,i havent got enough small shoots to give that a try yet but i`ll keep it in the back of my mind and save it for later on down the road ,cheers

[burnie]

Out for a bike ride this afternoon, Elders are a rare plant round here, gorse and broom as far as the eye can see, the odd hawthorn, but not one elder to be seen!!

[Deltawhiskey]

Sadly all the elderflower round here seem to smell of cat! I am going to keep trying but may have to fall back on the concentrated cordial from the supermarket. For those like Burnie who only have gorse and broom I will post the recipe when I find my notebook.

David

[Nicos]

Yes, I did. Do you get commission?

Edit: http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ml#post1504858

Yes indeed!.....save a bottle for whenever we meet up

[Deltawhiskey]

Elderflower wine from cordial: 1 bottle concentrated elderflower cordial Green Bottle is a good one, half pint of white grape concentrate or 225 g raisins chopped, 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient, 1.5 teaspoons tartaric acid, .25 teaspoons tannin. Because the cordial has sugar in it, it is difficult to say how much sugar is required. However, using a hydrometer add sugar until the reading is 1080. 500 g is a good starting point. To the ingredients add warm (not hot) water to 1 gallon and gradually add the sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved checking the hydrometer. Add yeast and fit the airlock. Ferment until hydrometer reads 995. Add one campden tablet and leave to settle. If you add too much sugar all that will happen is that the alcohol content will be higher. You do not want the alcohol level of a delicate wine to be too high. 1080 should give 10.6% alcohol by volume.

Hope this helps those without flowers.

David

[Guest]

First batch is on the go.

[the big lebowski]

i made my 1st batch of 50 liters last night and the bubblers were doing there thing when i woke up this morning ,cheers

[Nicos]

Decided to do ours this week when daughter is staying with us.
Loads of flowers around!

Thing is, we only have bread yeast........it'll work as we've used it before , but it'd be interesting to know how the final product compares....

[Guest]

^ I never use yeast. The recipe I use does lead to varied results but my results never leave home

[Nicos]

This is the recipe I use...the supanova one.
A pinch if it doesn't fizz enough after 24 hrs. ( what's ' enough'??????)
What to do with elderflower | Jamie Magazine

[the big lebowski]

apparently the flowerheads have some yeast in them so you should be fine and nicos guess what i moved to a new place last summer and accross the road is a massive bush of the pink elderflowers ,i`ll pop over and ask if i can cut some heads off and make a batch of that too also found there is a cherry tree too ,result

[Deltawhiskey]

Finally found a few non-catty bushes. Made 3 gallons today.

[Baldy]

Hopefully pick mine tomorrow - I usually just let them ferment with the naturally occurring - hasn't let me down yet but you could end up with a dodgy tasting brew... (Reminds me - must order some champagne yeast...)

[Deltawhiskey]

I always use a proper wine yeast for all my wines. You can be sure of the flavour, the bouquet and that the wine will settle clear and the lees will be firm. You can also be sure that the brew will not stop before it has used up all the sugar. Wild yeasts usually have a low alcohol tolerance. With wild yeasts it's a lottery and you could end up with an undrinkable waste of time and sugar.

Just a note on elderflower wine: I never ferment on the flowers. Instead After picking off the flowers I cover them with boiling water and let them soak for 20 minutes. Strain off the flowers and use the fragrant juice. You can also improve the bouquet of white wines by adding elderflower just before it finishes fermenting. The alcohol is really good at drawing out flavours and perfumes.

David

[snowbunny]

I tried making elderflower Champagne last year from some bought, dried flowers. Ew, it ended up going down the sink! Maybe I'll plant some elder bushes and give it a go with fresh sometime. For now, I've just planted my blackthorn hedge and look forward to reaping the rewards from that

The vine prunings wine sounds brilliant. We'll be planting vines at some point, but in the meantime, I wonder if I should ask my local friendly vineyard to save some for me!