Hey Guys and Gals! An elderberry wine, light or full bodied. Makes about one gallon.
Ingredients
Step 1
1.2 kg ripe black elderberries
4.5 liters water
1.1 kg sugar
Step 2
2 tsp acid blend
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
1 Campden tablet
1 sachet yeast (Lalvin RC 212 recommended)
Directions
1. Strip the berries from the stems. Use only ripe berries, and no stems, leaves or green berries. Those are not safe to use.
2. Heat the water, stir in the sugar, boil one minute and turn off the heat.
3. Crush the berries with a potato masher and put them in a straining bag in a sanitized fermenting bucket. Pour the hot sugar water over them. Once cool, add the crushed Campden tablet.
4. After 24 hours, add the yeast and the rest of Step 2 and cover. Starting gravity should be 1.085 to 1.090.
5. Stir daily. In 3 to 5 days it should be about 1.040.
6. Remove the bag, siphon into a glass carboy, fit the airlock and ferment to 1.000, about 3 weeks.
7. Siphon off the sediment into a clean carboy. Repeat about every 2 months until clear, then bottle.
8. Let it sit a couple of months before drinking. Elderberries stain.