Dried Elderberry Advice Please

[Andbrew]

I'm about to make an Elderberry wine using dried fruit, I note from CJJ Berrys book he used 3lb of fresh fruit per gallon (page 188). However on page 106 he suggests reducing the amount if dry fruit is used and suggests a ratio of 1 : 4. Therefore if originally 3lb/48oz of fresh fruit is to be used, then 1/4 of this is 12oz of dry fruit.

Now for the curve ball.

I also read Judith Irwin's book ( A Step By Step Guide to Making Home Made Wine, page 44) and she suggests 2 1/2 lb of dried Elderberry thats 40oz.

I.e. Alot more than Berry.

Both recipes make 1 gallon.

I know they are both right as they were making wine to their taste.

So really what i'm asking is how much do i use? :wha:

How much do you use in an Elderberry wine from dried berrys?

Cheers Andbrew :

 

[Aleman]

I would suggest that Berry is making a light dry table wine and Irwin is making a full bodied, in your face red. . . . . Just to throw a spanner in the works my source reckons that 1lb of dried berries is equivalent to 4-5lb of dried fruit, so more or less agreeing with Berry.

From my experience of making elderberry wine the more elderberries you use the longer it takes to age, but given time a harsh, full bodied red can fade into something that is quite sublime. . . .

What type of wine style do you want to make?
What other ingredients are you thinking of adding?

 

[Andbrew]

Cheers Aleman,

I would like a full bodied red which we can drink around september while re-making from fresh fruit.

I sort of went middle for diddle when i made it today.

500g dried elderberry
245g red concentrate
1.25 kg sugar
1 tsp citric acid
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 sachet youngs red wine yeast (no idea what strain that is).

I added the berries, sugar, and concentrate to boiling water then into a covered sterile bucket. I am now waiting for it to cool sufficiently to pitch the yeast and additives.

today i also made a gallon of rice and raisin.

2lb basmati rice
2lb raisin
2lb sugar
juice of 1 orange
juice of 1 lemon

i boiled sugar in a pint of water and poured over the dry ingredients gave it a mix then added the rest of the water plus 1 campden i will pitch yeast and nutrient tommorrow.

if that wasn't enough i made a gallon of peach and banana.

5 tins of peach in light syrup
2 very ripe bananas
1 kg sugar
245g white grape concentrate
2 tsp citric acid
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
7 pints water
1 campden.

mashed the fruit added the water and concentrate with additives, i will also pitch yeast and nutrient tommorrow and add the sugar on day three after straining into a demi.

cheers Andbrew