OH wow... I Didn't know you guys had those over there. Bro, I am in America and I am trying to get a hedgerow of plum, elderberry, mulberry, currants and haskap. I am planting it along an already naturally fertile area along the edge of a forest. just cutting away the worse berries and planting the better berries. To me, this seems liek a winning and Biblical strategy. Good luck, bro.
My Grandmother was from Baveria-England decent, Of the Morley-Sabin union, and I am from Ireland-Wales, The Irish Kings Clans, Anstiss-Riggins. You are to be complimented for your excellent presentation, thank you, also you honored your father well.😊
Interesting! I love to see how things are done "across the pond." We don't have elderberry trees here in NW Florida like you do in England. Instead, our native plants produce bushes. Ironically, the majority of the people don't know they're edible (let alone a powerful herbal medicine) and they instead treat the plants as a weed. My grandfathers would drink a shot glass of elderberry wine everyday. They called it a "tonic." Elderberry wine was also the base for many home remedies for colds and flus. I really like the idea of adding orange to the mix. Elderberries grow fantastically well here, but our native plants have a rather muted flavor. The subtle orange flavor would probably enhance that flavor quite nicely to create a more robust flavor! So, I too make wines and meads. Being American, we have no real "native" or "heritage" beverages. If I had to say we did...it'd be elderberry wine. With that said, what is the one brew you'd quintessentially say was "British?" Along the same vein, I'd love to see a series of meads and/or wines made to honor all of the members of the UK...like a sloe mead for Ireland, a heather mead for Scotland, a traditional metheglin from Wales, etc. If that worked, and the viewers liked it, maybe you could do another series for all of the countries that broke off from the UK. Now, that'd be diverse!
I think the drinks certainly vary by region, from Devon, where I come from, "Scrumpy" (a very hard cider at about 8 to 10% abv) was the working man's drink - because of course it was a self sufficient thing. Farm cider presses were huge - 8 foot tall and just as wide!
@@EnglishCountryLife that'd be brilliant to see! America used to have ciders. However, when the Christians brought the Prohibition Act, it caused nearly 200 species of apples to go extinct. If you hated someone, or wanted to eliminate competition, all you had to do was report them to the feds. Entire orchards, and fields of grain, were burned down and dug up by federal authorities because they believed alcohol was being produceds. So, what was a vibrant and wonderful culture is now lost.
I’m in NW Central Florida and starting some elderberry bushes. Glad to hear they grow well. I would also like to have more videos like this. My husband is from the UK and would love sampling! Thank you.
@@miriamfisher4481 jist make sure you don't use a cultivated variety and instead use a wild, native variety. The cultivated variety produces less and is less hardy.
The elderberries are ripe now here in Nederland, I will make this next week thank you for showing it, I brew beer and cider for a few years and this will be my next step 🥂🍻
Thanks great memories of my dad making elderberry wine in the 1970s going to have a go got my own elderberry tree once again thanks again for the encouraging video
We use the wine for cakes, gravies, glaze for ham roasts with cherries and cloves and pineapple sauce, slow stewed beef roasts and of course to sip with dinner.
Thank you for the fabulous video! I have the necessary ingredients here, so today’s the day! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us! Can’t wait to see more!
I know it's been 12 months, however. I had a kilo of frozen elderberries and needed a use for them. Then, I discovered your excellent channel. Thank you. I followed your recipe but used a bakers yeast( all i had. Tandaco,Australia) Various brew sites have cited around 12%. My Starting Hydro reading was 1.130 after 2 weeks, fermentation "stopped" I racked the brew and took a reading.1.20, sizable drop and i could smell the alcohol. Secondary ferment now in a glass carboy. NO action noted yet . NB tasted the wine before racking. YUM fair bit of sugar but luscious, fruity wine. Will leave until clears
Hi guys; I am making this recipe on Sunday next and only have frozen elderberries so my question is, is it okay using frozen and is the schedule the same as it is for the fresh elderberries with putting it all in a pan with the oranges and boiling. Cheers in advance guys 🍷👍
Frozen is far better than fresh. The freezing , breaks down the berryfibres. I also put my berries into a cotton bag. When cool enough, it made it easier to Squeeze out ALL the juices. IT WORKED. @@alantomlinson314
Just Preping myself for the season to come (2023) Your recipe reminded me of a batch I made many years ago and forgot about after bottling. They got lost amongst other bottles and equipment. It was three years before they surfaced again. When opened was completely sublime probably the best wine I have ever made. This year I will make extra batches as there are trees on my allotment site that only seem to be used by birds. Not a wine for drinking young more for laying down for wine futures. Keep up the good work your videos are informative and to the point with no waffle. My kindest regards to you and Fiona.
I was not aware that bleach was bad for septic systems. I’m glad that you mentioned this. It would be nice if the label for Toilet bowl cleaner with bleach would suggest not to use to clean toilets used w septic systems
In Alabama, you most likely have American elder (sambucus canadensis), whose berries look much the same as European varieties (sambucus nigra). The biggest difference is American elder is up to ten feet shorter, and grows more like a shrub than a tree. It shouldn't make a difference for wine making, but do your research when dealing with potential toxins! Over here in Oregon/Washington, the primary species, also a weed, is blue elder (sambucus cerulea) whose berries are a bit smaller and have a white powder on the berry, that can be rubbed off, a natural pesticide I think. There's also red elderberry which is too poisonous to be much good, some decorative varieties, and I'm sure many others.
Starting my elderberry wine, but using grapes 🍇 to balance the taste. But just came back from vacation and just chock full of elderberry, probably going to try your recipe and maybe make a batch of elderberry syrup. This stuff got me through the covid times, very good
MEAD!!!!! The first batch I made, nearl 20 years ago, was fabulous. The next bloody awful, and I have no idea why. As that quantity of good honey isn't cheap, haven't tried since, but I love the stuff.
I'm going to give this recipe a try for sure!! I've failed before with elderberries so am keen to see how it turns out (plus they're pretty invasive around here). I've made parsnip and strawberry wines from your videos this year and they're fantastic....the blackberry is still fermenting! Thank You so much for sharing your knowledge x
Now I want to make some elderberry wine! This is also very useful information for a short story I'm writing, where the main character was taught how to make different sorts of wine by his father.
I made a lot of wine back in the 70s & 80s . A recipe I used a lot was a " 3 carton wine " using 1 litre cartons of juice from a supermarket , one of them had to be white grape juice ,and my favourite was the other 2 to be apple. Unfortunately it now seems impossible to find the white grape juice anywhere at a reasonable price. Unusually the recipe involved adding Bentonite at the start to aid clearing. It was a quick recipe - drinkable in about 6 weeks and made a delicious white table wine.
I've been putting my fruit into a mixture of vodka and sugar (100 proof vodka), letting it sit in a dark cupboard for three months, then straining out the fruit and enjoying the libations. It really mellows the longer its allowed to rest after removing the fruit, so yummy!!! Really good on homemade ice cream!!!
I love elderberry wine for me it's what I think of when I think of country wine as it was the country wine I was first introduced too many years ago when my dad made it. Such amazing flavor just gotten into wine and cider making recently and I have a gallon of it on the go ! Thanks for the great video. All the best.
Thank you! Perfect timing as I have plans to start an elderberry wine soon...dried elderberries though...Love all of your videos but the winemaking/homebrewing are my FAVE!
@@EnglishCountryLife I would love that 👍🏾 maybe apple or pear if you have those trees in your orchard. Whatever you have in abudance use, we your viewers enjoy them all 😊
I make country wines and cider so anything regarding those would be helpful for me. At the moment I’m drinking 10 month old parsnip wine which I decided to make after watching your video. I’ve got to say it’s a bit like a poor man’s brandy. It’s got lots of taste and body and ended up at 12.5%
I loved your video, thank you!!! I have an allotment with lots of gooseberries and other berries. I would love to make wines or cordials with what i grow. I am wasting fruit and thats not good!. Would love to see what more you can teach me.
Great vid, I take it the orange juice needs to be pure...no preservative rubbish etc or the yeast will not take. Right am off to get some elderberries.
@@EnglishCountryLife I tried making my first batch of elderberry wine today off a random internet recipe that suggested wild yeast can work. I made a slight mistake of rinsing the berries - I think removing the wild yeast. It just seemed too unhygienic not to rinse at all! I’ve panic bought some yeast after watching your video (after I finished!). I hope it’ll still be good to add by the time it arrives. Or might see some wild yeast action in the next few days. Fingers crossed!
Thank you ❤ for guiding us so very well into making Elderberry wine. I'll have to wait until August for the berries but am already extremely excited .....
Fiona and Hugh, the content on your channel is superb. I’m in SW England so this channel, for me, has the ‘old fashioned’ skill set and charm of a lost world (and if there was ever a time to revive these skills…..). You should have a book. Many thanks x
Hi. American here. Ive had elderberries planted out back for about 10 years. Mostly make jelly with them but always save a few gallons back for wine. Im really looking forward to trying this formula with this years harvest. One question though, are mine the same thing as yours? Your berries seem a bit bigger than mine and our elder trees are much shorter. Ours only get to 10 feet or so max. They are definitely the same basic plant. Same leaves and arrangement, but just a little different. Or maybe its the perspective of the camera? I have no idea. Gonna dig into it more but wanted to leave this comment incase someone can beat me to it. I planted currents some years ago and was surprised when my current wine just tasted like grape wine. Come to find out European "true currents" are banned in North America so what we call "currents" are a type of grape. Remember kids, it pays to read the whole Wikipedia article.
@@sethcarson5212 I suspect your elderberries are the same. Our trees are mature & in very rich, stone free soil. We do have a video to help you be sure ruclips.net/video/R5RGpd3YG-E/видео.html
@@EnglishCountryLife That was the next video I watched. Maybe a slightly different breed but same otherwise. The orange is what's intrigued me the most. I don't think I've ever had orange in a wine. Or if I did I didn't know it. Can't quite imagine it. Will soon though. Harvested the first elderberries of the year this morning.
@@EnglishCountryLife What the heck am I thinking of? A fruit that we couldn't grow here because of pine trees or fungus or something. That's gonna bother me.
The shorter elderberry is American, the ones they've got that can be 20 feet tall are European elderberry. Something really neat about our American elderberries is we don't have to cook ours since they're so much lower in cyanide! Then you can make tinctures, shrubs, elderberry honey... other stuff you don't have to have them boil for.
👍 This is the first video I have watched of yours, very timely, as I just collected a lot of Elderberries to make wine. I have never made Elderberry wine from the berries before, usually a kit. Yeah, maybe the kit has no Elderberries near it, but it tasted nice. Country wines for me, or anything you can ferment from juices. I have found a lot of my wine making equipment suffering from a long time unused, so anything that was plastic has suffered! Blackberry or Bramble wine has got to be my favourite 😎so far anyway, Elderberry a very close second. I just found Damsons close to me, don't know about making wine out of them, though. The trees are small yet, but give them a couple of years! Rasp is far too strong for me! Rowan was very nice until the wine lost the rich colour it had and the flavour along with it. It just tasted like cheap wine after that. Don't know if you have any ideas on that? It took a couple of years to lose colour and flavour! 😖
My Dad justdied in Maine USA, He had harvested about 20 lbs and froze them for his wine making. Anyway, I was closing the house (on the ocean by the way), and I brought them back to Michigan USA with me. I already make wine using frozen berries such as black, red, blue, mulberry, etc that grow on my farm. So my normal basic method is frozen berries, boiled water and sugar like you, but I add yeast nutrient, pectin enzyme, and 5 crushed campden, wait 24 hours and toss the yeast. I do thing in a bucket that's covered with a vent. Wait a week, or so, and transfer to a large demi with airlock. Now, I woundering if I should try you method. Looks pretty easy.
Hi John, pur condolences for your loss. Our method works for us, but adding Campden tablets and yeast nutrients at the right time will not hurt anything. Hugh
I have a big bag in the freezer. Typically, they've hit peak ripe two days before we go on holibobs for a fortnight. There'd be nothing usable left when we get back. Not doing wine. Syrup, excellent for coughs, colds & sore throats as is, and a lovely warming drink if mixed with hot water. X
Too many of them are, but my Cavan relatives have loads of elders in the hedgerow! I bought a cheap bottle of gin a few years ago and added elderberries and it was GORGEOUS
Let the foraging begin! Good instructions, Hugh. Oh, I do agree with the unscented bleach. Simple, cheap and effective. Been using the method for years. ( late 70s)
Great stuff! 👌🥰 I planted 5 sambucus nigra whips in my garden this year so looking forward to the coming years. Out foraging for these on the allotment on Sunday though so I’ll be certainly trying this recipe. Thanks for all your great content 👍
I've got an Elderberry in the backyard and the equipment from making my mead (since I have two hives). I think I have no choice but to make some of this wine, this coming summer - here in Oz. Thanks again. Love the content. Still using my Dubbin from your recipe. Would like to see some fortified wine stuff - since you asked.
Great video . I have 10 acres and have a lot of elderberries. when there is a glut I freeze them and use them when I can get around to making the wine. Thank you .
Thanks Hugh, brilliant as usual. Must say have not come across the use of Orange with Elderberry. Might have to give that a try. Hope you are both keeping well x Tricia
Your videos are fnlabtastic! Thanks for sharing your advice, knowledge and expertise! I look forward to making your version of elderberry wine in autumn :)
@@EnglishCountryLife absolutely, I've got 2 gallons of what will be elderflower champagne fermenting at the moment and there were so many buds left on the trees. I'm looking forward to this autumn's harvest
Another one I'm about to try. I'll be buying elderberry juice as there're not enough elderberry trees locally (enough for elderflower wine tho' - sitting clarifying). PS: Made your blackberry port, which is sojourning with oak pieces before bottling.Made it from purée, which has its pros and cons, but it worked. Parsnip wine also, with my own parsnips. I'm leaving that another 6 months; it has an interesting licorice tone, so we'll see. Cheers!
Hi Hugh. Thank you for another interesting and informative video. I am sorry to go off topic and I know I have asked this before and to some it might seem very basic but one video that would really help me is one on your composting system. I am very new to gardening and veg growing and your composting system seems to work so well with your many tubs. I would love to know more.
I am trying this recipe out this year, as my elderbery wine as failed in years past, but alright with lemonade thank you. Do you do a dandelion video please
Can you please tell me why my elderberry wine has turned in to a fizzy wine. Do you know why I did everything you mentioned in your video. Do you think it is because I use screwtop bottles Susan
Thank you for the simple, easy-to-follow video! We have an elderflower tree at the bottom of our garden which is currently growing enough berries to make this recipe twice over, so I’m eager to give it a try 😊 We also have plenty of blackberries growing near us; would this recipe work with them as well? Perhaps changing up the additional orange for apples?
Fab video. What do you do at the end? How long do you leave it? All this is very new to us so apologies for the daft questions. Would love to see you make Mead. Also, we are struggling to cook using our Rayburn. Any cooking tip videos would be very handy 😊
@@EnglishCountryLife ah brilliant - thank you. It’s a solid fuel that’s been converted to oil. We are on a huge learning curve at the moment and are glued to your channel for all the advise we can glean 😀.
@@EnglishCountryLife we have sussed the latest lighting etc. I guess it’s more the general usage. Not sure if others would find it useful but tbh anything you post we are enjoying 😊
Bleach is a great sanitiser, anything unscented containing sodium hypochlorite will kill any bacteria, including anthrax spores if used at the right PH. The advantage of the basic homebrew cleaner/sterilisers (which also contain sodium hypochlorite) is that they also contain a powerful cleaner which is great on the byproducts of fermentation so they are a 1 step clean and sterilise process rather than a 2 step, clean THEN sterilise process. It's a long and boring subject and at the end of the day people have been using detergent and bleach mostly successfully for many many, decades. I love the subject of country wines, I've been brewing beer for years but have a lot to learn about traditional homemade, hedgerow wines so next time you are brewing I'd love to hear about it.
I've made a few batches of Elderberry Wine this September, not the port version. I was wondering if you'd have any tips on how to get your muslin or straining bag clean of Elderberry juice afterwards. That juice does stain 😂.
Hand wash then throw in a bucket. Chuck in an eggcup full of plain, unscented, household bleach. Fill bucket with cold water & leave overnight. Clean and sterile 😉
As I was watching the video my daughter sent a picture message of loads of elderberries she spotted on her dog walk.... must be fate!! Love the channel and love the wine videos 👍 thank you
Have a glass when you bottle it 😉. It'll be nice.Open a bottle at Christmas. It'll be better. The Christmas after, it will be great. This week I opened a bottle of 2012. It's incredible.
Hi I've just followed your recipe for making Elderberry wine. So simple and easy to follow. I've got a freezer full of Blackberries and Damsons. Can I follow the same recipe to make Damson wine and Blackberry wine. I don't ewant to make Blackberry Port this year. If so do I use the same quantities of fruit and sugar as in the Elderberry recipe? Thanks Phil
Great video, clear concise and easy to follow. A part two would be great please as I've never made wine before. Also, I am intolerant to oranges, could I swap the juice and flesh for apples instead?
Hugh - doesn't primary fermentation need oxygen? Don't you need to leave the air to mix with the fruit for the first few days? Then put an airlock on after say, 5 days?
Thank you for the video from across the pond in Pennsylvania! Just picked and froze 15# of Elderberries. I am wondering if your recipe is for 1 US gallon? If not what quantity. I would like to use my 6 US gal Fermenter and Carboy to finish this wine. Thanks, again!
@@EnglishCountryLife Thank you, that's good to know as I have about 5 KG of blackberries/brambles ready for turning into wine, just waiting for my last few bit's of kit to arrive in the post so I can get started. It's my first ever attempt at wine making so wish me luck :D... Thanks again for your answer and great content I'm learning a lot.
Hi. Really enjoyed your videos. Cannot wait to try. I have abundance of Elderberry and Blackberries in my garden at the moment. Is there anything to say you cannot make an Elderberry and Blackberry wine or is it better to make them separate. Many Thanks
Excellent presentation. How long for fermentation? Until it stops? Transfer to secondary bottle without spent yeast? Sit how long before drinking? Thanx kind Sir!
Can I use dried elderberries. I have so many because I didn't have time to process them all. So, to save them, I dried them and stored them in vacuumed canning jars.
Do you think this recipe would still work by substituting the orange juice / slices with fresh squeezed apple or pear juice and apple / pear slices? Also, could I scale it up to a 5gal carboy?
You definitely can scale up. You could substitute other juices. Be sure though that they don't contain preservatives & add a little lemon juice for acidity that the yeast needs.
Just made this and put it in a demijohn. Just wanted to check how long you recommend for it to ferment for? Trying to label it so I remember everything
@@JennaBainbridge-i5v Ferment until no gas passes through the airlock in 5 minutes. Then move on to the part 2 video ruclips.net/video/4MeiiLZ_cuc/видео.html
Thank you so much for all the teaching...I have questions about how to eliminate the dried flowers that choose to cling to the fruit...can it be put into the mix with no ill effect????
Raspberry wine would be a helpful recipe. Thank you
If I get a good harvest, I'll make a batch!
@@EnglishCountryLife Thank you! I just made your blackberry port and your Elderflower wine. Easy instructions - can't wait to try them
I admire creators who take the time to answer questions in the comments
Thank you. We really want to help others enjoy the life that we lead
Just planted American elderberry. Looking forward to trying this. Thanks
Wow - that's commitment!
Made this in Texas this year. Everyone loved it! Thank you.
@@kathymyers1023 That's fantastic, thanks for letting me know!
OH wow... I Didn't know you guys had those over there.
Bro, I am in America and I am trying to get a hedgerow of plum, elderberry, mulberry, currants and haskap. I am planting it along an already naturally fertile area along the edge of a forest. just cutting away the worse berries and planting the better berries. To me, this seems liek a winning and Biblical strategy.
Good luck, bro.
We don't have haskap but all the rest grow easily here.
I grew 2000
By drying the seeds with a fan on them then planted everything on Valentine’s Day ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ ❤
@@hydrotilling7043 interesting. They are weed trees here
When I did drink 🍷 years ago I was very fond of Maneshevits Elderberry wine. Nice flavor (in moderation) ✌️
@@edward2448 That's the joy of hedgerow wines I think, they are usually made in small quantities for savouring
@@EnglishCountryLife I'm sure they are. I will keep them in mind when I do my Christmas shopping ✝️
My Grandmother was from Baveria-England decent, Of the Morley-Sabin union, and I am from Ireland-Wales, The Irish Kings Clans, Anstiss-Riggins. You are to be complimented for your excellent presentation, thank you, also you honored your father well.😊
@@fawnwhitecloudjett5594 Thank you 😊
We will definitely be doing this for our next elderberry season in Southeast Louisiana. Can’t wait!
It's a great taste - & better for a year in the bottle
@@EnglishCountryLife I’ll have to make two then. One to drink and one to age. Thanks!
@@ericnaquin2105 Always a good idea 👍
Interesting! I love to see how things are done "across the pond."
We don't have elderberry trees here in NW Florida like you do in England. Instead, our native plants produce bushes. Ironically, the majority of the people don't know they're edible (let alone a powerful herbal medicine) and they instead treat the plants as a weed.
My grandfathers would drink a shot glass of elderberry wine everyday. They called it a "tonic." Elderberry wine was also the base for many home remedies for colds and flus.
I really like the idea of adding orange to the mix. Elderberries grow fantastically well here, but our native plants have a rather muted flavor. The subtle orange flavor would probably enhance that flavor quite nicely to create a more robust flavor!
So, I too make wines and meads. Being American, we have no real "native" or "heritage" beverages. If I had to say we did...it'd be elderberry wine. With that said, what is the one brew you'd quintessentially say was "British?"
Along the same vein, I'd love to see a series of meads and/or wines made to honor all of the members of the UK...like a sloe mead for Ireland, a heather mead for Scotland, a traditional metheglin from Wales, etc. If that worked, and the viewers liked it, maybe you could do another series for all of the countries that broke off from the UK. Now, that'd be diverse!
I think the drinks certainly vary by region, from Devon, where I come from, "Scrumpy" (a very hard cider at about 8 to 10% abv) was the working man's drink - because of course it was a self sufficient thing. Farm cider presses were huge - 8 foot tall and just as wide!
@@EnglishCountryLife that'd be brilliant to see! America used to have ciders. However, when the Christians brought the Prohibition Act, it caused nearly 200 species of apples to go extinct. If you hated someone, or wanted to eliminate competition, all you had to do was report them to the feds. Entire orchards, and fields of grain, were burned down and dug up by federal authorities because they believed alcohol was being produceds. So, what was a vibrant and wonderful culture is now lost.
I’m in NW Central Florida and starting some elderberry bushes. Glad to hear they grow well.
I would also like to have more videos like this. My husband is from the UK and would love sampling! Thank you.
@@miriamfisher4481 jist make sure you don't use a cultivated variety and instead use a wild, native variety. The cultivated variety produces less and is less hardy.
The elderberries are ripe now here in Nederland, I will make this next week thank you for showing it, I brew beer and cider for a few years and this will be my next step 🥂🍻
@@chriscummins6325 Definitely worth trying this one - good luck!
Thanks great memories of my dad making elderberry wine in the 1970s going to have a go got my own elderberry tree once again thanks again for the encouraging video
@@tumaccaveman1218 That's a lovely memory 🙂
We use the wine for cakes, gravies, glaze for ham roasts with cherries and cloves and pineapple sauce, slow stewed beef roasts and of course to sip with dinner.
Sounds lovely!
I make Dandelion and Elderberry wine from CJJ Berry's recipes. Excellent recipe converted to US measurements. Love you chicken videos also.
@@dmark6699 Thank you. I have the CJJ Berry book too!
Thank you for the fabulous video! I have the necessary ingredients here, so today’s the day! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us! Can’t wait to see more!
It's a firm favourite here - we hope you enjoy it!
Yes please more country wines and fortified wines would be great thanks
I'll do some over Winter!
Invaluable
.. you are a touchstone for all us lovers of nature. Go raibh mile a mhait agat
I'm so glad that you enjoyed it Tom
I know it's been 12 months, however. I had a kilo of frozen elderberries and needed a use for them. Then, I discovered your excellent channel. Thank you. I followed your recipe but used a bakers yeast( all i had. Tandaco,Australia) Various brew sites have cited around 12%. My Starting Hydro reading was 1.130 after 2 weeks, fermentation "stopped" I racked the brew and took a reading.1.20, sizable drop and i could smell the alcohol. Secondary ferment now in a glass carboy. NO action noted yet . NB tasted the wine before racking. YUM fair bit of sugar but luscious, fruity wine. Will leave until clears
That sounds great 👍
Hi guys; I am making this recipe on Sunday next and only have frozen elderberries so my question is, is it okay using frozen and is the schedule the same as it is for the fresh elderberries with putting it all in a pan with the oranges and boiling. Cheers in advance guys 🍷👍
Frozen is far better than fresh. The freezing , breaks down the berryfibres. I also put my berries into a cotton bag. When cool enough, it made it easier to Squeeze out ALL the juices. IT WORKED.
@@alantomlinson314
Just Preping myself for the season to come (2023)
Your recipe reminded me of a batch I made many years ago and forgot about after bottling. They got lost amongst other bottles and equipment. It was three years before they surfaced again. When opened was completely sublime probably the best wine I have ever made. This year I will make extra batches as there are trees on my allotment site that only seem to be used by birds. Not a wine for drinking young more for laying down for wine futures. Keep up the good work your videos are informative and to the point with no waffle. My kindest regards to you and Fiona.
Thanks Gary! You are right about Elderberry wine - it really benefits from aging
Don't forget, guys... you can just cut a branch and jam the stick in the ground to have a 90% chance of making a new tree.
If the soil is fertile we find elder spread very easily by self seeding. It's a weed tree here
Oooo, saved this for tomorrow. I’ve got a load of these growing down the allotment. Thanks
Well worth making Liam!
Another great video, thanks. I'd love to see a video on making mead
I haven't made mead for a while so I'll try to do a batch soon!
I was not aware that bleach was bad for septic systems. I’m glad that you mentioned this. It would be nice if the label for Toilet bowl cleaner with bleach would suggest not to use to clean toilets used w septic systems
It would be a great idea!
Elderberries grow wild everywhere around where i live. Alabama
@@earlwright9715 Same around here, they are considered weed trees
@@EnglishCountryLife are yours and mine the same you reckon?
In Alabama, you most likely have American elder (sambucus canadensis), whose berries look much the same as European varieties (sambucus nigra). The biggest difference is American elder is up to ten feet shorter, and grows more like a shrub than a tree. It shouldn't make a difference for wine making, but do your research when dealing with potential toxins!
Over here in Oregon/Washington, the primary species, also a weed, is blue elder (sambucus cerulea) whose berries are a bit smaller and have a white powder on the berry, that can be rubbed off, a natural pesticide I think. There's also red elderberry which is too poisonous to be much good, some decorative varieties, and I'm sure many others.
@@arborvitae-k4o thank you
Starting my elderberry wine, but using grapes 🍇 to balance the taste. But just came back from vacation and just chock full of elderberry, probably going to try your recipe and maybe make a batch of elderberry syrup. This stuff got me through the covid times, very good
@@js_youtube70 It's a hidden gem I agree 🍷
MEAD!!!!! The first batch I made, nearl 20 years ago, was fabulous. The next bloody awful, and I have no idea why. As that quantity of good honey isn't cheap, haven't tried since, but I love the stuff.
Me too. I'll chat up a beekeeper 😉
18:29 thankyoi very informative will be making this wine in a couple of days.
It's a lovely traditional wine - enjoy!
Great stuff... Suffice to say, I'll be getting my elderberry wine on the go in a few days. God bless.
Thank you, enjoy 🍷
@@EnglishCountryLife Will do, and I will even upload a vid to boot... 👍👍👍👍
I think it's important to take the pith too! 😅 Really enjoying and learning a lot from your videos, thanks so much. God bless!
🤣. Thank you 😉
I'm going to give this recipe a try for sure!! I've failed before with elderberries so am keen to see how it turns out (plus they're pretty invasive around here). I've made parsnip and strawberry wines from your videos this year and they're fantastic....the blackberry is still fermenting! Thank You so much for sharing your knowledge x
I've never had a bad batch from this recipe so fingers crossed for you!
amazinng ,💫
Thank you
Now I want to make some elderberry wine! This is also very useful information for a short story I'm writing, where the main character was taught how to make different sorts of wine by his father.
Love that it's useful for your story 😁
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and expertise - they were really clear instructions
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks from Minnesota great video
That's really kind - thank you
Thank you. I'd love to see the next stage! Mead is really interesting too.
Hi Dan, this is part 2
ruclips.net/video/4MeiiLZ_cuc/видео.html
We have a couple of mead brews going right now
Thank you. Just subscribed because you make it so simple to follow and very concise. You also look so enthusiastic. Cheers 🍻
Thank you & welcome 😁
I made a lot of wine back in the 70s & 80s . A recipe I used a lot was a " 3 carton wine " using 1 litre cartons of juice from a supermarket , one of them had to be white grape juice ,and my favourite was the other 2 to be apple. Unfortunately it now seems impossible to find the white grape juice anywhere at a reasonable price. Unusually the recipe involved adding Bentonite at the start to aid clearing. It was a quick recipe - drinkable in about 6 weeks and made a delicious white table wine.
It's surprising what makes a pleasant wine -I recall an outstanding Earl Grey Tea wine mafe by an elderly lady. It was delicious!
Brilliant guide, nice and clear, thankyou
I'm so glad - thank you!
I've been putting my fruit into a mixture of vodka and sugar (100 proof vodka), letting it sit in a dark cupboard for three months, then straining out the fruit and enjoying the libations. It really mellows the longer its allowed to rest after removing the fruit, so yummy!!! Really good on homemade ice cream!!!
Dome people do claim health benefits of elderberry tincture
I love elderberry wine for me it's what I think of when I think of country wine as it was the country wine I was first introduced too many years ago when my dad made it. Such amazing flavor just gotten into wine and cider making recently and I have a gallon of it on the go ! Thanks for the great video. All the best.
I hope you enjoy your gallon 🙂
@@EnglishCountryLife thank you
Wonderful Content ! I will try this recipe this summer! Outstanding!
Thanks Barry - hope you enjoy it!
Thank you! Perfect timing as I have plans to start an elderberry wine soon...dried elderberries though...Love all of your videos but the winemaking/homebrewing are my FAVE!
Thanks Michele - I really should make a few more!
@@EnglishCountryLife I would love that 👍🏾 maybe apple or pear if you have those trees in your orchard. Whatever you have in abudance use, we your viewers enjoy them all 😊
How about medlar wine? I have a LOT of medlars 🙂
Can’t wait to give this a try, loved making the blackberry port last year , If you could do more wine and maybe a gin video please. Thank you 😊
Will do Sarah - have you seen our Sloe gin recipe?
ruclips.net/video/Wl-d0ca17f0/видео.html
@@EnglishCountryLife not yet but will be tonight, thank you 😊
Fantastic video’s and your so natural in front of the camera, the video’s are so full of good down to Earth info. Love them
Thanks so much Jim - really appreciate it
I make country wines and cider so anything regarding those would be helpful for me. At the moment I’m drinking 10 month old parsnip wine which I decided to make after watching your video. I’ve got to say it’s a bit like a poor man’s brandy. It’s got lots of taste and body and ended up at 12.5%
Poor man's brandy is a great name 👍
I made this it was absolutely delicious! My second batch is in the demijohn.
I'm so glad that you liked it 🍷. Slainte!
Making mead would be appreciated!
I really must make a batch, so I'll film it!
I loved your video, thank you!!! I have an allotment with lots of gooseberries and other berries. I would love to make wines or cordials with what i grow. I am wasting fruit and thats not good!. Would love to see what more you can teach me.
Thanks Paula! We have a playlist for country wines that might be interesting
ruclips.net/p/PLDluIIoNPsldQZSpsDMKrT2ORoGMURQ-F
Great vid, I take it the orange juice needs to be pure...no preservative rubbish etc or the yeast will not take. Right am off to get some elderberries.
Nothing with sulphites etc. Terry, you are quite right!
Immediate recipe seems like it would be very interesting. I will look forward to it.
Immediate recipe?
Thanks, great video as usual.
Cheers Tim 👍
It would be great to see you bottling the wine, and did you mention filtering?
Here you are - all in the second part
ruclips.net/video/4MeiiLZ_cuc/видео.html
Thank you! I found it after posting my comment - brilliant! Super useful and clearly explained :)
@@thearchitecturegirl Thank you!
@@EnglishCountryLife I tried making my first batch of elderberry wine today off a random internet recipe that suggested wild yeast can work. I made a slight mistake of rinsing the berries - I think removing the wild yeast. It just seemed too unhygienic not to rinse at all! I’ve panic bought some yeast after watching your video (after I finished!). I hope it’ll still be good to add by the time it arrives. Or might see some wild yeast action in the next few days. Fingers crossed!
@@thearchitecturegirl It's fine to add yeast a few days later 😉
Thank you ❤ for guiding us so very well into making Elderberry wine. I'll have to wait until August for the berries but am already extremely excited .....
You are very welcome. We are always here if you have questions when making it 🍷
Hello what a great video, you explain everything clearly and interestingly I have now subscribed :)
@@Nudgeworth Thank you and welcome!
I’m having a go at this! Got lots of ripe elderberries on the trees so perfectly timed video and very concise thank you!
I'm so glad - it's a favourite of ours so we hope you like it!
Fiona and Hugh, the content on your channel is superb. I’m in SW England so this channel, for me, has the ‘old fashioned’ skill set and charm of a lost world (and if there was ever a time to revive these skills…..). You should have a book. Many thanks x
That's so lovely of you Stephanie - thank you. I'm an old Devon lad so learned a lot of this stuff in your neck of the woods! Hugh
Would you possibly consider making a video on sprouting and drying barley to make malted milk powder for the ultimate in bedtime comfort drinks 🤗
Now that's an idea we have never thought of - a sort of home made Ovaltine? What a cracking idea!
Hi. American here. Ive had elderberries planted out back for about 10 years. Mostly make jelly with them but always save a few gallons back for wine. Im really looking forward to trying this formula with this years harvest. One question though, are mine the same thing as yours? Your berries seem a bit bigger than mine and our elder trees are much shorter. Ours only get to 10 feet or so max. They are definitely the same basic plant. Same leaves and arrangement, but just a little different. Or maybe its the perspective of the camera? I have no idea. Gonna dig into it more but wanted to leave this comment incase someone can beat me to it. I planted currents some years ago and was surprised when my current wine just tasted like grape wine. Come to find out European "true currents" are banned in North America so what we call "currents" are a type of grape. Remember kids, it pays to read the whole Wikipedia article.
@@sethcarson5212 I suspect your elderberries are the same. Our trees are mature & in very rich, stone free soil. We do have a video to help you be sure
ruclips.net/video/R5RGpd3YG-E/видео.html
@@sethcarson5212 BTW currants are dried grapes. These are the type
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zante_currant
@@EnglishCountryLife That was the next video I watched. Maybe a slightly different breed but same otherwise. The orange is what's intrigued me the most. I don't think I've ever had orange in a wine. Or if I did I didn't know it. Can't quite imagine it. Will soon though. Harvested the first elderberries of the year this morning.
@@EnglishCountryLife What the heck am I thinking of? A fruit that we couldn't grow here because of pine trees or fungus or something. That's gonna bother me.
The shorter elderberry is American, the ones they've got that can be 20 feet tall are European elderberry. Something really neat about our American elderberries is we don't have to cook ours since they're so much lower in cyanide! Then you can make tinctures, shrubs, elderberry honey... other stuff you don't have to have them boil for.
Great video , greetings👋
Thank you 🙂
👍 This is the first video I have watched of yours, very timely, as I just collected a lot of Elderberries to make wine.
I have never made Elderberry wine from the berries before, usually a kit. Yeah, maybe the kit has no Elderberries near it, but it tasted nice. Country wines for me, or anything you can ferment from juices. I have found a lot of my wine making equipment suffering from a long time unused, so anything that was plastic has suffered!
Blackberry or Bramble wine has got to be my favourite 😎so far anyway, Elderberry a very close second.
I just found Damsons close to me, don't know about making wine out of them, though. The trees are small yet, but give them a couple of years! Rasp is far too strong for me! Rowan was very nice until the wine lost the rich colour it had and the flavour along with it. It just tasted like cheap wine after that. Don't know if you have any ideas on that? It took a couple of years to lose colour and flavour! 😖
That's interesting with the Rowan berries - I must admit I don't find them very flavourful. Damson is fantastic though
My Dad justdied in Maine USA, He had harvested about 20 lbs and froze them for his wine making. Anyway, I was closing the house (on the ocean by the way), and I brought them back to Michigan USA with me. I already make wine using frozen berries such as black, red, blue, mulberry, etc that grow on my farm. So my normal basic method is frozen berries, boiled water and sugar like you, but I add yeast nutrient, pectin enzyme, and 5 crushed campden, wait 24 hours and toss the yeast. I do thing in a bucket that's covered with a vent. Wait a week, or so, and transfer to a large demi with airlock. Now, I woundering if I should try you method. Looks pretty easy.
Hi John, pur condolences for your loss. Our method works for us, but adding Campden tablets and yeast nutrients at the right time will not hurt anything. Hugh
@@EnglishCountryLife Next time your way. I have 20 lbs berries so I'm going for a 5 gallon batch. Boiling the sugar water as I type...John
I have a big bag in the freezer. Typically, they've hit peak ripe two days before we go on holibobs for a fortnight. There'd be nothing usable left when we get back. Not doing wine. Syrup, excellent for coughs, colds & sore throats as is, and a lovely warming drink if mixed with hot water. X
Have you tried a tincture in vodka? Very nice for colds
I was always told they were poisonous 😂 hello from Ireland 🇮🇪
Hi - raw elderberries can be, but elderberry wine has been made for centuries
Too many of them are, but my Cavan relatives have loads of elders in the hedgerow! I bought a cheap bottle of gin a few years ago and added elderberries and it was GORGEOUS
They’re fine if they’re cooked … in fact they have many very important medicinal properties…
Let the foraging begin! Good instructions, Hugh. Oh, I do agree with the unscented bleach. Simple, cheap and effective. Been using the method for years. ( late 70s)
Glad its not just me with bleach Chris!
Great stuff! 👌🥰 I planted 5 sambucus nigra whips in my garden this year so looking forward to the coming years. Out foraging for these on the allotment on Sunday though so I’ll be certainly trying this recipe. Thanks for all your great content 👍
So glad you enjoyed it!
I've got an Elderberry in the backyard and the equipment from making my mead (since I have two hives). I think I have no choice but to make some of this wine, this coming summer - here in Oz. Thanks again. Love the content. Still using my Dubbin from your recipe. Would like to see some fortified wine stuff - since you asked.
Sounds like you pretty much have to do it 😁
Great video . I have 10 acres and have a lot of elderberries. when there is a glut I freeze them and use them when I can get around to making the wine.
Thank you .
Episode 2 (clearing & bottling) will be out on Friday 🙂
Great instructnal video !!
Thank you!
Really enjoyed that. Might have to get my brother interested, as he has more space for the setup - could this be done in a corner of a small kitchen?
Absolutely Eric - ours is a tiny kitchen
Thanks Hugh, brilliant as usual. Must say have not come across the use of Orange with Elderberry. Might have to give that a try. Hope you are both keeping well x Tricia
I think it really works Tricia - all okay here, just super busy - hope everything is well with you?
Your videos are fnlabtastic! Thanks for sharing your advice, knowledge and expertise! I look forward to making your version of elderberry wine in autumn :)
Thank you. It looks to be a good year for elderberries
@@EnglishCountryLife absolutely, I've got 2 gallons of what will be elderflower champagne fermenting at the moment and there were so many buds left on the trees. I'm looking forward to this autumn's harvest
@@rodmund83 Awesome!
Can you pick green bunches and let them ripen on the shelf? You know, like tomatoes?
Sadly not, but a single small tree carries hundreds of bunches so there's no shortage
I would like to see an elderberry mead, if there is such a thing.
I've never seen one, but if you substitute elderberries for blackberries you could follow our blackberry mead recipe
Lovely ❤
Thank you 👍
Another one I'm about to try. I'll be buying elderberry juice as there're not enough elderberry trees locally (enough for elderflower wine tho' - sitting clarifying).
PS: Made your blackberry port, which is sojourning with oak pieces before bottling.Made it from purée, which has its pros and cons, but it worked.
Parsnip wine also, with my own parsnips. I'm leaving that another 6 months; it has an interesting licorice tone, so we'll see.
Cheers!
I didn't know that you could buy elderberry juice!
Indeed: it's £20 +postage for 2l: organic pressed juice. Thanks for your inspiration!
@@sevenowls7776 I've learned something!
Hi Hugh. Thank you for another interesting and informative video. I am sorry to go off topic and I know I have asked this before and to some it might seem very basic but one video that would really help me is one on your composting system. I am very new to gardening and veg growing and your composting system seems to work so well with your many tubs. I would love to know more.
Hi Joanne, you are right, we really must do a video on it!
I am trying this recipe out this year, as my elderbery wine as failed in years past, but alright with lemonade thank you. Do you do a dandelion video please
I haven't yet, would you like me to?
@@EnglishCountryLife yes please
@@EnglishCountryLife yes please
Can you please tell me why my elderberry wine has turned in to a fizzy wine. Do you know why I did everything you mentioned in your video. Do you think it is because I use screwtop bottles Susan
@@susanlane6367 Hi Susan, fizzing indicates that fermentation hadn't finished when the wine was bottled. Leave it longer in the demijohn next time 😉
Thank you for the simple, easy-to-follow video! We have an elderflower tree at the bottom of our garden which is currently growing enough berries to make this recipe twice over, so I’m eager to give it a try 😊
We also have plenty of blackberries growing near us; would this recipe work with them as well? Perhaps changing up the additional orange for apples?
We do gave a blackberry recipe that is delicious. ruclips.net/video/WrQ1iKTHBq4/видео.html
Fab video. What do you do at the end? How long do you leave it? All this is very new to us so apologies for the daft questions. Would love to see you make Mead.
Also, we are struggling to cook using our Rayburn. Any cooking tip videos would be very handy 😊
Hi Spence, I will do a Part 2 video to show clearing, filtering and bottling! I can do cooking tips - is it a solid fuel Rayburn?
@@EnglishCountryLife ah brilliant - thank you.
It’s a solid fuel that’s been converted to oil. We are on a huge learning curve at the moment and are glued to your channel for all the advise we can glean 😀.
@@spencehh I'm not wildly knowledge on oil I'm afraid but I'm sure the principles are similar
@@EnglishCountryLife we have sussed the latest lighting etc. I guess it’s more the general usage. Not sure if others would find it useful but tbh anything you post we are enjoying 😊
Bleach is a great sanitiser, anything unscented containing sodium hypochlorite will kill any bacteria, including anthrax spores if used at the right PH. The advantage of the basic homebrew cleaner/sterilisers (which also contain sodium hypochlorite) is that they also contain a powerful cleaner which is great on the byproducts of fermentation so they are a 1 step clean and sterilise process rather than a 2 step, clean THEN sterilise process. It's a long and boring subject and at the end of the day people have been using detergent and bleach mostly successfully for many many, decades.
I love the subject of country wines, I've been brewing beer for years but have a lot to learn about traditional homemade, hedgerow wines so next time you are brewing I'd love to hear about it.
That seems a good summary!
I've made a few batches of Elderberry Wine this September, not the port version. I was wondering if you'd have any tips on how to get your muslin or straining bag clean of Elderberry juice afterwards. That juice does stain 😂.
Hand wash then throw in a bucket. Chuck in an eggcup full of plain, unscented, household bleach. Fill bucket with cold water & leave overnight. Clean and sterile 😉
Where do you get your demijohns? Thank you.
I have bought a large number from car boot sales (they are usually very cheap). If you need some from a store, Wilkinson's sell them
As I was watching the video my daughter sent a picture message of loads of elderberries she spotted on her dog walk.... must be fate!! Love the channel and love the wine videos 👍 thank you
Excellent news Philip - you will have to get her a bucket 😁
First time trying to make wine. Fingers crossed, it will turn out OK. How long does it need to sit for before you can drink it? Thanks
Have a glass when you bottle it 😉. It'll be nice.Open a bottle at Christmas. It'll be better. The Christmas after, it will be great.
This week I opened a bottle of 2012. It's incredible.
After 3 days on a window seal what do you do ? And what am i lookimg for ? Love your videos ❤
Hi, there's a part two of the video that shows the rest of the process
ruclips.net/video/4MeiiLZ_cuc/видео.html
You star ! 🌟
Hi I've just followed your recipe for making Elderberry wine. So simple and easy to follow. I've got a freezer full of Blackberries and Damsons. Can I follow the same recipe to make Damson wine and Blackberry wine. I don't ewant to make Blackberry Port this year. If so do I use the same quantities of fruit and sugar as in the Elderberry recipe?
Thanks Phil
Hi Phil, it should certainly work. I might increase the sugar by 20% or so for the blackberry though
Great video, clear concise and easy to follow. A part two would be great please as I've never made wine before. Also, I am intolerant to oranges, could I swap the juice and flesh for apples instead?
Hi JR, I'll do a part two to cover clearing and bottling. I would add some pure apple juice rather than apples (about 300ml without preservatives)
@@EnglishCountryLife Thank you.
Hugh - doesn't primary fermentation need oxygen? Don't you need to leave the air to mix with the fruit for the first few days? Then put an airlock on after say, 5 days?
There's enough oxygen in the demijohn Tom. If you prefer to do it that way, please do, but it's never been a problem in over 40 years 🙂
I wonder if one could make this wine with dried elderberries? I don't know of any elderberry bushes where I live.
I cannot see any reason why not, although I would soak the dried elderberries overnight prior to boiling
Fermenting and brewing YES Please
Will do!
Thank you for the video from across the pond in Pennsylvania! Just picked and froze 15# of Elderberries. I am wondering if your recipe is for 1 US gallon? If not what quantity. I would like to use my 6 US gal Fermenter and Carboy to finish this wine. Thanks, again!
Hi, the recipe is for one UK gallon (8 UK pints or 4.5L)
Thank you for well shot easy to follow video.. One question, is it OK to freeze the berries for later use? Thanks again friend. Take care.
Absolutely, I regularly do this with blackberries
@@EnglishCountryLife Thank you, that's good to know as I have about 5 KG of blackberries/brambles ready for turning into wine, just waiting for my last few bit's of kit to arrive in the post so I can get started. It's my first ever attempt at wine making so wish me luck :D... Thanks again for your answer and great content I'm learning a lot.
@@smalloptics753 Good luck - we are always here for questions!
Hi. Really enjoyed your videos. Cannot wait to try. I have abundance of Elderberry and Blackberries in my garden at the moment. Is there anything to say you cannot make an Elderberry and Blackberry wine or is it better to make them separate. Many Thanks
Hi! I've never tried that mix but it should work. Blackberry & raspberry is awesome
Thank you.
Do you have a recipe for Ginger Beer?
I've not published one yet, but I have done Ginger Wine
Excellent presentation. How long for fermentation? Until it stops? Transfer to secondary bottle without spent yeast? Sit how long before drinking? Thanx kind Sir!
@@bradbrown2168 Hi Brad, there's a part 2 video that should answer your questions.
ruclips.net/video/4MeiiLZ_cuc/видео.html
@@EnglishCountryLife I used a steamer to get pure juice. I have a gallon. How much water do you suggest for the pure juice?
@@bradbrown2168 I honestly couldn't tell you - I've never tried that!
Can I use dried elderberries. I have so many because I didn't have time to process them all. So, to save them, I dried them and stored them in vacuumed canning jars.
You xan but obviously adjust the quantities as they are smaller when dried
Hi, should I make any modifications if I make this with frozen elderberries? Less water perhaps? Should I thaw them beforehand?
Definitely thaw beforehand but other than that, it should be fine
Do you think this recipe would still work by substituting the orange juice / slices with fresh squeezed apple or pear juice and apple / pear slices? Also, could I scale it up to a 5gal carboy?
You definitely can scale up. You could substitute other juices. Be sure though that they don't contain preservatives & add a little lemon juice for acidity that the yeast needs.
Just made this and put it in a demijohn. Just wanted to check how long you recommend for it to ferment for? Trying to label it so I remember everything
@@JennaBainbridge-i5v Ferment until no gas passes through the airlock in 5 minutes. Then move on to the part 2 video
ruclips.net/video/4MeiiLZ_cuc/видео.html
Thank you so much for all the teaching...I have questions about how to eliminate the dried flowers that choose to cling to the fruit...can it be put into the mix with no ill effect????
Not sure I've ever seen dried flowers on the fruit Terry? Do you have a picture?