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Elderflower Wine
Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 11:31 am
by Juniper Hill
I've been trying to get an elderberry orchard started over the past few years. It's been a tough battle vs. the deer and aphids, but I think I'm winning. I'm going to try making some Elderflower wine this fall (will sparkle some of it). Most recipies call for sugar, water, lemons and acid. I thought it might be better tasting (and more body) to use a white kit as the base instead. Anyone ever used elderflowers before?
Re: Elderflower Wine
Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 11:39 am
by GuingesRock
My mother made it for us kids when I was young in the UK. I don't think it was alcoholic (but might have been LOL). It was called elderflower champagne. We loved it. Sugar and lemons I think. I think the wine kit would mask the delicate elderflower taste ...but you could try it both ways.
My older sister got a letter from my father many years ago:
Not much in the way of news apart from Betty's assassination attempt on me. She called it elderflower champagne. "It's no good" she said "no fizz" but at supper yesterday I offered some to Mark and Polly and nearly got blown to buggery. There were 4 more of them (flagons) lined up beside my chair all in a critical state of immanent explosion.
J.K. has got a massive bird-scaring device operating day and night, just up behind the cottage. It produces a report equal to a 4.7 calibre artillery piece every 50 seconds. This nerve wracking sound barrage produces an attenuated state of consciousness, sort of waking sleep during the day, sort of sleeping wake during the night, all this resulting in a psychopathic edginess unsuitable for sustaining sudden interruptions of high velocity elderflower foam. Fortunately I'm a fairly level-headed, even-tempered well-balanced, unflappable sort of chap, well used to dealing with sudden emergencies, not to mention life or death situations, so the only casualty was 'What'sit' the new kitten (it's had so many names tried out on it since it's arrival that that's what it's now called.) It left the room in such a hurry that it failed to break hard enough when it reached the other room fire-place and was halted by the brickwork.
Re: Elderflower Wine
Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 8:22 pm
by CiderBeerWine
In the UK they also now make a sparkling wine of seyval blanc and elder flowers, that's like their thing I guess. So yeah I would go with the white wine kit if I were you, it will likely be way better. Boil the flowers in the water you add to the concentrate from the kit, or add the elderflowers like adding hops when you dry hop maybe?
Sparkling is always the way to go
Re: Elderflower Wine
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2014 12:45 pm
by Juniper Hill
CiderBeerWine wrote:In the UK they also now make a sparkling wine of seyval blanc and elder flowers, that's like their thing I guess. So yeah I would go with the white wine kit if I were you, it will likely be way better. Boil the flowers in the water you add to the concentrate from the kit, or add the elderflowers like adding hops when you dry hop maybe?
Sparkling is always the way to go
Thanks. I hadn't thought about "dry hopping" with elderflowers. Great suggestion. I ended up purchasing a fairly low end Riesling kit for this wine. Will definitely sparkle.
Re: Elderflower Wine
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 3:17 pm
by CiderBeerWine
Any luck?
Re: Elderflower Wine
Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 12:38 pm
by Juniper Hill
CiderBeerWine wrote:Any luck?
The elderflowers are just starting to bloom, so will be another week or two. Found some wild red elders on my property - pretty but poisonous. Won't be picking those one.
Re: Elderflower Wine
Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 10:02 am
by Juniper Hill
Harvesting elderflowers last few nights with the kids. They seem to be enjoying it. Should have enough by tonight. I'll freeze them until I'm ready to get things started.
Re: Elderflower Wine
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 8:41 am
by Juniper Hill
Had been harvesting past few days, freezing the previous day's haul to prevent mold. Turns out elderflowers brown when frozen, which isn't great for white wine. I set up the unfrozen flowers in some boiling water and sulfite to steep. Tons of colour coming out the flowers. Will add the Riesling kit tomorrow. I'll harvest some more flowers on Thursday, pasturize and add to the fermenting wine.
Re: Elderflower Wine
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 8:44 am
by Juniper Hill
Going to aim for a cooler ferment to preserve aromatics. Cellar is 65 F, which is the best I'll be able to do over the summer.
Re: Elderflower Wine
Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 9:09 am
by Juniper Hill
SG down to 1.005. Racked to secondary. Smells great and tastes really nice. Lots of elderflower flavor with some citrus undertones. Does not taste like the base wine at all.
Re: Elderflower Wine
Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 11:50 am
by CiderBeerWine
thats awesome
Re: Elderflower Wine
Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 2:13 pm
by Juniper Hill
The wine has fallen beautifully clear. I'm going to rack and hit it with a dose of biolees to give it some body and a perception of sweetness. I'll then bottle with some encapsulated yeast to sparkle.
Re: Elderflower Wine
Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 4:50 pm
by mr x
Re: Elderflower Wine
Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 2:53 pm
by Juniper Hill
Racked this last week. The elderflower is a little muted, kinda just tastes like white kit wine.
I'm still planning to sparkle it, so that and a little sweetness might bring out the flower flavours.
