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Fresh Elderflower Wine

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  • #16
    Originally posted by danpug View Post
    I picked one small bunch of flowers earlier and it had 7 or 8 small bugs on it, hope you lot are checking them before using them!
    Nah, fermented bugs helps with the body of the wine...
    HRH Her Lushness

    Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

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    • #17
      Yum!

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      • #18
        in the pro winemaking world bugs are called MOG


        Material other than grapes
        N.G.W.B.J.
        Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
        Wine, mead and beer maker

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        • #19
          I'm making an elderflower syrup from Luc Volders' recipe here. I'm hoping the citric acid will kill/dissolve any bugs
          Pete the Instructor

          It looks like Phil Donahue throwing up into a tuba

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          • #20
            got some elderflower on the go this year for the first time. and it is going just great atm. i can see why its folks favourite. i have 4 gallons on the go and i'm tinkering with the idea of making one into a sparkler. i have the champagne bottles, corks and cages all ready. fermentation is all but stopped now.

            my method will be a bit rough and ready .... add a little sugar, wait a while to make sure fermentation starts again then bottle and store upside down. open outside (still upside down) to discharge the sediment and hopefully have some wine left in the bottle. will require some deft wrist action

            so my questions are ... do i need to use champagne yeast for this step, or will the sauternes yeast that i used so far be good enough (i haven't added campden or sorbate yet). and when should i do the "priming" bit .... as soon as its stopped fermenting? or when its cleared and repitch?

            ah, i just saw the elderflower champagne thread, so i may find some answers there, but hey, dont hold the advice if you have any ... i'll be back to have a peep sometime soon

            so glad i got around to elderflower wine, me and the misses are both very excited about drinking it come the time.
            To most people solutions mean answers. To chemists solutions are things that are mixed up.
            A fine wine is a fine wine, 1st time may be by accident, 2nd time is by design - that's why you keep notes.

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            • #21
              This tutorial for sparkling wine is great:


              - it worked really well for a modified Wine No.1
              Pete the Instructor

              It looks like Phil Donahue throwing up into a tuba

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              • #22
                Originally posted by Pyrosfx View Post
                What about the infamous elderflower champagne, has anybody actually made a great tasting sparkler from fresh flowers? I getting to the point I think its an urban myth.
                I make elderflower champagne using this recipe http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A593363 and bottle in sterilised 2 litre pop bottles - have never added yeast and have never experienced an explosion. I kept some from last summer and it is lovely but not a lot different to the fresh stuff I made 2 weeks ago (so not really worth keeping it for years in my experience). Just make sure the elderflowers you use smell fragrant and not of cat wee

                It is gorgeous on its own or used to make the fruit teabag wine into a pink spritzer
                www.honeyjukes.co.uk

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                • #23
                  2.5 Litre of Petals,stripped off the stalks and packed loosely
                  5 kg Sugar
                  5 Litre of apple juice
                  5tsp Pectloase
                  5tsp Tannin
                  5tsp Yeast Nutrient
                  5tsp Acid Blend or citric acid
                  Yongs white wine yeast


                  I started this recipe tonight following Her Lusheness recipe but for 5 gal, can you verify please that this would be correct before i mess anything up so far i got 2.5 litre of petals for 5 gallon and poured 10 pint of boiling water over them untill tomorrow, would youngs white wine yeast do instead of gervin? I,m also not sure about the amount of tannin and citric acid it says on the youngs tub 1tsp per gal but its maybe to much?
                  Last edited by thunda_600; 28-06-2009, 10:08 PM.

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                  • #24
                    I usually budget on about a 1/4tsp of tannin per gallon and about 1tsp citric acid, depending on natural acidity...

                    I doubt too much tannin will offer many benefits other than making a very brown/sepia wine with an odd taste, spoiling the elderflowers
                    ex ovo omnia
                    Chemist, welder, homebrewer

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                    • #25
                      so maybe leave out the tannin if it doesnt add much or could end up spoiling the wine ?

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                      • #26
                        It does have benefits, can't remember exactly but I think it adds "character" to the wine...
                        But not in a large quantity, being dark brown it can colour white wines and add an odd taste...

                        1/4tsp should be fine per gallon. Maybe 1tsp for 5 gallons...

                        It's derived from tea originally...
                        It is highly soluble too, 1 gram dissolves in 0.35ml of water...

                        FYI:
                        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannin#...ential_of_wine
                        Last edited by Omniata; 29-06-2009, 05:38 PM.
                        ex ovo omnia
                        Chemist, welder, homebrewer

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                        • #27
                          Thanks just dissolved the 5kg of sugar in the pot seems a lot, i will add a tsp of tannin as you suggest

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                          • #28
                            1kg per gallon? , close to a "CJJ Berry" wine

                            As the Wiki link says Tannin handles better with aged wines as it slowly breaks down and mellows with the wine...
                            ex ovo omnia
                            Chemist, welder, homebrewer

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                            • #29
                              Do you think 1kg is to much per gallon its looking like my reading is going to 1,100 although ive measured that at 35 degrees im not sure if the heat will make the reading higher or lower?

                              Took a reading at 24 and it's at 1,085 so that should be fine :-)
                              Last edited by thunda_600; 29-06-2009, 07:06 PM.

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                              • #30
                                I'm sure it will be fine

                                I run the majority of mine slightly over as I like them strong and sweet...

                                Will be nice to see how it turns out
                                ex ovo omnia
                                Chemist, welder, homebrewer

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