Elderberry wine HELP,

[Kyral210]

I wanted to make elderberry wine and the recipe said 1.5 KG of berries. So far I have only got 500g, which I have washed and put in the freezer to kill some bacteria and wild yeadt, plus store them. Ok, so I am 1KG down, do I need to keep trying to find enough berries, or can I mix them with grape covenants, raisins, sugar etc?

 

[goodolpete]

Have you still got blackberrys ripe near you.
I use one kg blackberry to 500g elderberry for
My red wine. Add one litre red grape juice (Lydls) and
Sugar (850g) per gallon, plus usual additives.

 

[Kyral210]

There may be some blackberries around, but I haven't seen any. Maybe tomorrow I will take along bike ride along the canal and see if I can find any... But as I live in the city, im not overly hopeful...

 

[tonyhibbett]

Freezing does not kill bacteria or yeast but does make it easier to crush once thawed. 500 g of elderberries gives a good basis for combining with 2 litres of cheap red grape juice and possibly a small amount of blackcurrant. A litre of apple juice would add extra body.

 

[taxidiver]

There may be some blackberries around, but I haven't seen any. as I live in the city.

If you live in the city, get along Trinity Way near the Deva Centre, lots of blackberries there on Friday when I drove past.

 

[Molineux]

Just don't make the mistake of eating any of those yummy berrys. A few years ago I made some elderberrys whilst brewing and suffered complete digestive meltdown for 5 days.

 

[tonyhibbett]

The seeds are mildly toxic and cause gastric problems.