Elderberry wine taste

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I have been making wine to a excellent quality for 30 years and never boiled any thing only banana for a short period to add body to a dessert wine, pouring of boiling water, over fresh or frozen fruit the using pectilose to extract the juice all ways works fine, boiling is to be avoided if possible, Elderberry is a better mixer than a wine on its own, but can produce a very nice drink with plenty of aging, i make a full bodied oaked red with a mixture of soft fruits , elderberries , some rioja concentrate and a good shot of oak

In an ideal world you are right, except have tp boil veg' wines to get flavour extracted. But it does depened on camden use if you use just boiling water and the quality of the fruit, some blackberries and elderberries are just full of bugs. Elderberries are worse as you don't notice until squashed, although fruit fly larvae still might carry vinger bacteria. Sulphination just doesn't get inside the fruit, unless squashed, besides I like my bugs cooked and crunchy :)
 
yes your right i forgot about parsnip , potato wines that you have to boil , as regards fruit i all ways freeze first for a few days, this sorts out most undesirables, then pour over boiling water and camden tablets , the freezing all so helps with the juice extraction, i have never had any problems with these methods,
 
When I first started looking into Elderberry recipes, I ready a few articles that stated you should never (ever) make 100% elderberry wine fermented on the pulp unless you wanted to wait 3 years+ . They said Elderberry should always be simmered for 15 mins, then removed from the pulp immediately before starting fermentation or you'd struggle to get past the harshness of flavor. (if at all)

This is the reason I simmered mine, plus the recipe I used (Brewbitz.com) did the same.

I've got an elderberry+blackberry on the go, that is sitting on the pulp for 7 days (stirring daily), but that is 5-1 BB to Elderberry.

Al
 
I freeze them too, then into a pan with water brought to a simmer and the skins just disintegrate without any mechanical effort. Ferment on the pulp then pass thru' muslin without squeezing. Never got any harshness but time really is of the essence - 2 years min! It really is worth the wait though.
 
Yes gunge its a lovely wine but you have to be patient as you say, a drop of red grape concentrate does it proud , just makes it a touch more vinous, Its also a great mixer with other soft red fruits and cherries. In any wine the least boiling the better, even the likes of parsnip -carrot wines, only simmer until soft , Dont boil its nuts off so its breaking up , you will have a right tat taaa clearing it naturally.
 
Dublin12, Thanks. In my view this wine is enjoyable from day one and that is when I start drinking it. I know, we are supposed to age our wine to soften tannins and meld flavours. However I prefer the more intense flavours of new wine and apparently the health benefits of red wine diminish as the wine ages. Its win-win for me :) Concerning the type of currants, I use the cheapest I can find, which is Tesco Greek Currants where I live.
 
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Tanzanite, yes, a good Elderberry wine involves a balance of red fruit flavours and is not all about the Elderberry. As you would know, the addition of Blackberry and Blackcurrant helps with this. Similar to yourself, I sometimes allow the wine to mature with oak chips for a more luxurious finish.
 
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