Preserving the harvest: elderberry wine.
Wine-making is one of my favorite ways to preserve the harvest. And elderberry wine is a classic. It’s so tasty—a bit like sherry or port.
I’ll tell you how I make it. But if you’ve never made wine before, I’d suggest a bit of reading before you start your own. My favorite book on fermentation of all sorts (including pickles, beer, and even miso) is Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz. He tells you what you need to know without getting too technical.
First collect elderberries. Lots of elderberries. Several big grocery bags full, if you want to make a five-gallon batch. (I remember climbing around in the creek with my friends when I was little, picking elderberries for our parents’ winemaking.)
Clean and de-stem your elderberries. De-stemming can be tedious. Some people use a fork, but I don’t mind getting my fingers purple. If the mess bothers you, you can freeze the clusters of berries on cookie sheets. Once they’re frozen, they come off the stems more easily.
Measure your berries. How many gallons do you have? Write this down somewhere.
Now, put your berries in a large crock or bucket—something big enough to hold them, with several inches left over at the top for foam. Pour enough boiling water over the berries to barely cover them. Cover the crock with a towel and leave it to steep for a day or so.
After the berries have had time to steep, add a packet of wine yeast. (Some people use baking yeast, but I’d suggest seeking out the wine yeast at a brew shop or online. Baking yeast can give off flavors.) Stir well.
Measure out 3 pounds of sugar for every gallon of elderberries you had. (Go find your notes.) Put the sugar in a pot with about a cup of water per pound of sugar. Heat until the sugar is entirely melted into a syrup. Cool the syrup and add it to the berries. (Sandorkraut suggests leaving the berries to ferment on their own for a few days before adding the sugar.)
Ferment the wine for four or five days, or until major bubbling has subsided. Stir it every day, several times a day—as often as you remember.
When it’s ready, strain the wine into a carboy or another container that will take an airlock. Make sure to squeeze all the juice out of the berries. Put an airlock on the carboy, and put the whole thing somewhere dark and not too cold. Leave it for a couple of months.
When you’re ready, siphon it into a clean carboy, leaving the “lees” (yeast residue) behind. You can taste it at this point, but it’ll likely be a little harsh. It needs a good six months or a year to mature. Leave it in a cool closet somewhere. (Don’t forget to check the airlock every once in a while to see if the water needs to be replenished.)
Bottle your wine in time for the following winter. In our house, we often drink a little glass after dinner as a winter tonic (and because it tastes really good). You can also use it just as you’d use any other elderberry preparation. It’s one of my favorites for staying healthy during flu season, and to support recovery from colds and flu.
I love to make herbal preparations that are as delicious as they are “good for you.” So elderberry wine is high on my list. It really is worth the wait.
The Herbwife’s Kitchen » Blog Party: Preserving the harvest. said,
September 1, 2007 @ 4:09 pm
[...] and I wrote about elderberry wine. (The best thing ever . . . in the winter, by the fire, with a book. [...]
patty deighton said,
July 18, 2008 @ 8:26 am
Hi there, I live in Spain and have got lots of elderberry trees when should I pick the berries and I would like to make wine can you help.
many thanks
patty.d.
crabappleherbs said,
July 21, 2008 @ 1:26 pm
Pick the berries when they’re purple-black, with no green ones. I’d suggest getting a copy of a book on fermentation if you haven’t made wine before — the one I mention in the post is a good one.
BG Carol said,
August 18, 2008 @ 10:08 am
Have just started to grow my own fruit and veg this year, I live where there are lots of wild elderberrys on the sides of the road. Are these ok to pick to make the wine, they are small and green, what time of the year will they ripen, so as the beat the birds there.
I have not made wine before, and find it crimmal that for the price of one bottle there, you could get five in France.
I intend to purchase book, as suggested. so i can use the freezer full of rasberrys.
Thank you.
crabappleherbs said,
September 9, 2008 @ 4:25 pm
BG Carol: Elderberries are ripe when they are dark purple-black. I would be careful about harvesting from the side of a busy road, or from a bush growing in a ditch that drains a road. Good luck!
Jenny said,
August 25, 2009 @ 2:29 pm
I have a steam juicer that I use to extract the juice from my eldeberries leaving pure juice. My question is may I use this extracted juice to make wine?
Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matte.
Kaleb said,
August 29, 2009 @ 10:18 pm
Steam distilled juice works great for wines. I also prefer to use half sugar and half honey (by weight), it’s so much smoother.
Jo-Ann Middleton said,
September 2, 2009 @ 7:05 am
I am new to your site, but I’m liking what I’m seeing. Thanks for all the info. However, I have a couple questions. First, I’ve already ordered your book suggestion, but my question is on Jenny’s post back on August 25. She commented on using a steam juicer. Where did she get it? and does it matter whether you use a steam juicer or a regular steamer. I’m sure I’ll have more questions as I’m planning on taking advantage of our new Elder Berry bush at our new home. Thanks in advance.
Jo-Ann Middleton said,
September 6, 2009 @ 9:09 pm
Hi again,
I just wanted to give you an update. I found a steam juicer that I can make the juice from the Elderberry. All wine recipes talk about taking the berries and submersing them in water…….etc………what is the proceedure if I have a juicer?
BTW…..I got the book Wild Fermentation and really enjoyed it.
Thanks in advance.
MegPDX said,
September 9, 2009 @ 8:01 pm
I am in the process of making a small amount (one gallon) of elderberry wine, I’ve been having discussions with my local wine supply store and one of the guys there recommended not using a steam juicer, but if you must you should be certain to add pectic enzymes because heating the berries causes the pectin to bind and this causes cloudy wine later on. I used a steam juicer for about half of my berries, added pectic enzymes the next day (he recommended they be added while heating) – we’ll see how cloudy the wine turns out (good thing I don’t mind what how it looks – just tastes!)
Good luck to you all!