Elderberry Red 2011

There are different varieties of elderberry and thus far I have discovered that the kind with red stalks going to the berries make the best tasting elderberry. Also continuing my strategy for this year I have added 1 liter of grape juice (red in this case) to each demi, this is to give a more shop like wine quality both in body and nose.

Elderberry Red 2011 


3lb Approx Elderberries
1Kg Sugar
1L Red Grape Juice
1tsp yeast
1tsp yeast nutrient
1tsp citric acid

Technique


To gather the berries quickly I just cut the whole bunch off, and departing from last year I did not even pick them once home I just boiled them up on the stalks.

So boil on stalk... just after the boil add sugar, strain off the liquid, allow to cool a little (bath temp is good enough). Add grape juice to demi, pour berry juice into demi, add cold water to top up. Wait until lukewarm. Add yeast, yeast nutrient and citric acid.

Wait about 3 weeks for fermentation to slow to near finish. Rack off into a bucket through a filter to remove particles. Clean demi john. Put back into demi and leave for 1 week to settle.

Rack off into bottles. You can drink it now but wait 6 months as the acid content in the berries is very high and this allows it time to mellow.

Enjoy!

The Cherry wine is delicious

10/10 best wine yet!

A Shed Load Of Cherries 3 Ways

Today I found some wild Cherry Trees, I have picked a few...

Supermarkets are charging about 1 pound per punnet... in monetary terms that must be about 150 pounds worth!

Ok you know the drill, boil fruit, add 2lb of sugar, dissolve, mash, strain, get stock and strain a couple of times to remove bits. Add about 1.5 litres of grape juice. I did 1 with red grape juice, 1 with mixed red and white and 1 with all white grape juice.

Add 1tsp yeast, 1tsp yeast nutrient, 1tsp pectolaise, 1tsp citric acid, top up with water.

And there you have it 2 hours cherry picking, 1 hour cooking, 30 minutes cleaning up and we have 18 bottles of Cherry Wine on the way, in 3 different colours / tastes!

Cherry Rose

Well the cherries that grow locally to me have come earlier than last year. It is always a balance between humans and the birds when it comes to fruit, especially Cherries! Hopefully this will be the first batch and next week I will try to get another 2 batches if I can. Depending on weather/greedy birds.

So for a change with this first batch I have decided to make a rose. For 3 reasons, probably not enough fruit, its different from last time and it should have more body and alcohol.

Time will tell. Looks good though!

Pick a shed load of cherries, I did not measure them but there is roughly 3lb here. The saucepan is gigantic.

Boil the fruit up and simmer until the fruit is soft... the smell was amazing... if it wasn't 100 degrees C I think I could have had a sip of it! Add 2lb of sugar and dissolve.

Strain this off into a bucket and crush fruit to extract flavour.

Pour into the demi-john add 2 litres of white grape juice, 1 tsp yeast, 1 tsp yeast nutrient, 1tsp pectolaise, 1tsp citric acid.

Top up with cold water... wait approximately 4-6 weeks and then I should have 6 bottles of Cherry Rose!