Blackberry & Elderberry Wine

[Slate Miner]

Well I was up at the crack of dawn yesterday morning :shock: before the (correctly!) forcasted deluge of rain came West Oxfordshire's way. Elderberries galore to be found 'round our way and a carrier bag was soon filled, blackberries amongst the local hedgerows were less plentiful but it wasn't too long before I had enough, and a few left over for an apple and blackberry crumble....Mmmmm.


Here is is the recipe I'm using, taken from my LHBS ;-


Blackberry and Elderberry Wine Recipe

Ingredients

1 kilo of ripe blackberries
1 kilo of ripe elderberries
1.3kilos of sugar
1.5 tsp of citric acid
1 tsp of Pectolase
1 250gm tin of red grape concentrate
Burgundy, red wine or general purpose yeast
2 Campden tablets

How to make Blackberry and Elderberry Wine
1.Remove the stems from the fruit and wash it thoroughly.
2.Mash the blackberries and elderberries in a clean plastic bucket with a clean potato masher and pour over 2 litres of boiling water. Mix Well.
3.Allow to cool to about 21deg C. and add a crushed campden tablet and stir well.
4.Add the pectolase and citric acid, stir well and then add the yeast a day later.
5.Cover the bucket and allow to ferment on the “pulp” for 4/5 days stirring daily.
6.Strain through a nylon bag or sieve on to 1.3 kilos of sugar. Stir well to dissolve the sugar and pour into a demijohn.
7.Add the red grape concentrate and make up to 4.5 litres with more water.
8.Give a final stir, fit an air lock and leave the vessel in a warm place about 20-22deg C until there are no more bubbles passing through the air lock.
9.Add another campden tablet and syphon (rack off) into another demijohn and refit air lock.
10.Gradually the wine will clear and after about 6 weeks it should be ready to syphon into green bottles.
11.It is best to leave for about 9 to 12 months or longer before drinking.
12.You will have a lovely wine to be proud of! It will have a deep, rich colour too. :

http://www.burfordhopsandvines.co.uk/page.asp?id=70


I had so many elderberries left over that I decided to follow Moley's excellent guide/recipe for elderberry wine. :thumb:

 

[Moley]

I had so many elderberries left over that I decided to follow Moley's excellent guide/recipe for elderberry wine. :thumb:

But this year I've gone in a similar direction to yourself.

Blackberries have been excellent this year but are coming to an end now. Elderberries haven't been as good and I was struggling to find enough until another forum member with local knowledge gave me another location to try. I collected 11 lbs in 45 minutes, but then spent another hour and a half stripping berries from stalks.

6 gallon batch started:

12 lbs Elderberries
12 lbs Blackberries
6 lbs Raspberries
1.5 lbs Red Gooseberries I found lurking in the bottom of the freezer.

I will work out the sugars and add a few litres of RGJ when I strain the pulp out.

 

[Slate Miner]

I had so many elderberries left over that I decided to follow Moley's excellent guide/recipe for elderberry wine. :thumb:

But this year I've gone in a similar direction to yourself.

Blackberries have been excellent this year but are coming to an end now. Elderberries haven't been as good and I was struggling to find enough until another forum member with local knowledge gave me another location to try. I collected 11 lbs in 45 minutes, but then spent another hour and a half stripping berries from stalks.
6 gallon batch started:

12 lbs Elderberries
12 lbs Blackberries
6 lbs Raspberries
1.5 lbs Red Gooseberries I found lurking in the bottom of the freezer.

I will work out the sugars and add a few litres of RGJ when I strain the pulp out.

Yes, stripping the berries from the stalks is a bit of a chore, but quite rewarding in a strange way :shock: Don't think I'd want to do 12 lbs in one go though :hmm:

I've now started the Blackberry & Elderberry, this is my first go at 'hedgerow' wine, I've only made WOW/variations & kits up 'till now.......12 months is a long time to wait :whistle:

I'm planning to get the elderberry wine started tomorrow. :

 

[Slate Miner]

So nearly a year on and I've finally got 'round to bottling the Elderberry Wine & the Blackberry & Elderberry Wine, it's had 11 months to 'bulk' mature in separate DJs, 6 bottles of each produced with a little half glass of each left over for quality control assessment. :whistle:

Both are a lovely deep rich burgundy colour.

The blackberry & elderberry is very full bodied, quite sweet and is obviously quite high in alcohol content, needs longer in my view, so will be left until at least Xmas before sampling again, I think this is really port rather than wine.

The Elderberry wine is really rather good, in fact I'm delighted with it, full bodied, not too sweet, and perfectly drinkable at this stage, however as with B & E I'm going to give it another 6 months before opening the first bottle.

So a :thumb: from me, & I'll definitely be making some more this autumn.