Black elderberry wine recipes – simple and not very

The most delicious alcohol is often obtained from what lies underfoot or hangs unattended from hedges. There are a lot of examples: mountain ash, bird cherry, blackthorn and, of course, elderberry. All these berries are not only pleasing to the eye and help all kinds of bullfinches and tits to survive the harsh winter – they are excellent raw materials for tinctures and wines. So we take away their delicacy from the birds (they don’t eat them anyway) and start the production of elderberry wine!

In general, there is nothing complicated in this drink. The simplest elderberry wine recipe, in addition to elderberry juice, includes only sugar, the berry ferments quite well, the wine clears up quickly, and the taste – with proper aging – is simply amazing, unlike any other drink. The equipment you will need is a suitable bottle with a water seal and a device for juicing: a juicer, a wine press or just cheesecloth. In general, let’s get started!

Preface: love us, don’t get poisoned!

To begin with, I would like to say a few words about the toxicity of black elderberry. Even Wikipedia claims that almost all parts of this plant are poisonous: leaves, roots, seeds of ripe berries due to the high content of the alkaloid sambunigrin (from Sambúcus nígra, sobsna “Black Elderberry”), which, under certain conditions, releases hydrocyanic acid. However, elderberry flowers, from which, by the way, sambuca is made, as well as the pulp and skin of berries, are an exception.

Of course, picking out seeds from fruits is a thankless task, especially when it comes to serious volumes of the drink. Therefore, when making elderberry wine at home, it is easiest to use only juice. However, this method produces a less flavorful drink. After all, it is from sambunigrin that benzaldehyde is formed – a compound that gives the wine an almond flavor, like in Amaretto. Therefore, winemakers also use another method of processing elderberry – they boil the berries, and only then get juice from them. During heat treatment, hydrocyanic acid is destroyed, and aromatic, coloring and other compounds pass into the wort. By the way, after heating the juice will be squeezed much easier.

You should also focus on the fact that elderberry wine has a lot of useful properties. Useful, of course, only with moderate use. Such a drink is able to relieve fatigue, give strength, it has a mild diuretic, diaphoretic and laxative effect, and also acts as an antiseptic. However, people with diabetes, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, and cores should refrain from tasting.

Attention! All of the above applies exclusively to the black elderberry! Red elderberry is not suitable for winemaking and for making tinctures due to its high toxicity. Be vigilant, pick only ripe, deep black berries!

A simple recipe for black elderberry wine without water

The simplest wine made from elderberry juice, under normal conditions – if the berries were picked in dry weather, and the temperature in the room is above 20-25 degrees – you won’t even need yeast. Although it is still better to stock up on yeast just in case, so that the juice does not disappear, if there were few savages on the elderberry – CKD for port, Madeira, Malaga or universal wine yeast are suitable. You can also use raisin sourdough for this purpose.

• Black elderberry juice – 3 liters;
• Sugar – 0.5 kg (in the original – 2 cups of honey).

The preparation of the drink is as simple as its composition. The juice squeezed from the berries in any convenient way is mixed with honey or sugar until completely dissolved. Pour the whole thing into a container with a wide neck, cover with cheesecloth and send to a warm place. If after 3 days fermentation (sour smell, foam, bubbles) has not started, you need to add yeast or sourdough to the juice.

The fermented wort is poured into a bottle with a water seal or, at worst, with a pierced glove so that no more than ¾ of the volume is occupied, set aside in a dark, warm place. The fermentation time is from 10 days (for CKD) to 4 weeks, it depends on many factors. If the glove is inflated or the shutter gurgles, then the process continues. When the fermentation has stopped, we drain the young wine from the sediment using a tube, pour it into another suitable vessel so as to fill it by 90-95%, move the wine to a cellar or cellar. Quiet fermentation will continue for another 2 months, if you notice that sediment has appeared at the bottom of the bottle – the drink should be decanted again.

After 2 months, the wine can already be tasted (if necessary, sweetened), but it is better to pour it into bottles, cork and let stand for another 3-6 months – it will become much more noble with time.

Dessert elderberry wine with yeast

As already mentioned, wine yeast should be taken, either universal (Multiflor), or – for Madeira, Port, Malaga. According to this recipe, black elderberry wine will turn out to be sweet, dessert, sugar is added in 2 stages – at the beginning and before quiet fermentation. This method is more economical than the previous one, according to the given proportions, you will get about 16-17 liters of the finished product.

• Black elderberry juice – 10 liters;
• Water – 5 liters;
• Sugar – 6 kg;
• Yeast – according to the instructions on the package;
• Yeast nutrition is desirable.

Preparation:

1. We add water to the juice, stir ¾ of all available sugar in the wort – 4.2 kg. We ferment CKD, add to the wort along with top dressing. Pour everything into a bottle, leaving ¼ of the free space. We put on a water seal and set it aside in a dark place with a stable temperature in the region of 22-25 °.
2. Active fermentation will last from 5 to 14 days. When the gurgling in the shutter has stopped, the wort must be immediately removed from the sediment, otherwise the wine will subsequently become bitter.
3. Now the rest of the sugar must be added to the young wine – 1.4 kg. I recommend that you first try the drink – there could be sweetness in it, in which case sugar should be added in portions, according to your taste.
4. Now the wine is poured into a smaller bottle, by 90-95%, it is advisable to put on a water seal again from above and set the container aside in a dark but cool place – a cellar, a basement. Quiet fermentation will last 2-3 months, during which time the drink needs to be decanted a couple of times when sediment appears in it.
5. At the end of a quiet fermentation, the wine is decanted for the last time and bottled. You can drink it now, but it’s better to wait a few more months – it will be tastier.

Wine from elderberry berries according to “cahors” technology

In this way, elderberry wine can be made in the same way as cooking Cahors – roughly speaking, boil the berries, which will facilitate the extraction of juice from them, and also destroy the remains of hydrocyanic acid. At the same time, the drink will be enriched with coloring, tannins, and will receive a characteristic aroma of almonds.

• Berries of black elderberry – 10 kg;
• Water – 8 liters;
• Sugar – 6 kg;
• Yeast – according to the instructions;
• Feeding is desirable.

This method is the most economical, but you will definitely need special yeast and a long exposure, and more effort is expended than in previous recipes.

1. Elderberries, peeled from twigs, should be placed in a saucepan and pour 4 liters of water. Unlike Cahors, the pulp according to this recipe is boiled, and not languishing at a temperature of 60-70 degrees. We boil the mass, reduce the heat to a minimum and cook, stirring, for 15-20 minutes.
2. Slightly cooled berries should be crushed or rubbed through a sieve, closed with a lid and left to cool completely.
3. When the mass has cooled, we squeeze the juice in any convenient way, without crushing the stone and leaving it in the must. Pour the cake with another four liters of boiling water, cover again. After cooling – squeeze. The pulp is no longer needed.
4. We make syrup from all the sugar and the remaining two liters of water. Mix the cooled syrup with both juices. Add fermented yeast and top dressing, put under a water seal.
5. Further, everything is as in the previous recipe: primary fermentation for 5-14 days, decanting, secondary fermentation for 2 months in a full vessel, repeated decanting. The wine can be sweetened to taste before bottling.

Yes, this black elderberry wine recipe cannot be called simple, but the result will be of the highest quality. Such a drink must be aged for at least 4-5 months, before that it may not be very tasty. We wish you good luck and patience!