Elderberry - simmer before cold soak/ferment or not?

[winemanden]

Freezing and thawing is good for most soft fruit. I think the membranes or cells rupture when they freeze, and you seem to get more free run juice!
I've been making Elderberry wine (dry & sweet), always raw, for almost 63 years. Furthermore, I'm coming up to 91 in March. I'm still here, so draw your own conclusions!

 

[Ericphotoart]

I’m quite convinced now not to boil the elderberries. We will do it Sunday and the elderberries are thawing now.

 

[user 32114]

Just my 2 cents,
I've made elderberry wine for years, and when young i helped old timers make elderberry. wine
I've never heated elderberry, first elderberry is very, vey time consuming, mainly after putting into bulk aging,
i freeze my elderberry, then thaw and put to ferment, stirring daily with a drill and mixer to break down the elder berry.
for elderberry to reach maturity it needs to bulk for years, 8 to 10 years to taste great, but if one wished to greatly speed up the bulk aging i add blackberry,
to me and this is only my opinion , never no heat on fruit/country wines, ever... elderberry wine is a fine wine if aged.
again just my opinion,
Dawg

Good Luck

 

[user 32114]

Maybe next year when my elderberry patch is more mature (and I am more proactive in competing with the birds...) I have about 6lb fruit, should be plenty for one gallon but seems a bit skimpy for two.

during flowering time keep a look out down the hi-way and along train tracks, more then likely you'll find find tons of elderberry, they are easy to spot during flowering time, taking note of where they are at so you can pick during picking time, as well as pulling up smaller plants to transplant on your property, very quickly upping your yield
Dawg

 

[BarrelMonkey]

during flowering time keep a look out down the hi-way and along train tracks, more then likely you'll find find tons of elderberry, they are easy to spot during flowering time, taking note of where they are at so you can pick during picking time, as well as pulling up smaller plants to transplant on your property, very quickly upping your yield
Dawg

Oh, I have more than enough fruit now, picked over 40lb last season... in fact I pulled up one elderberry patch because I didn't need that many...

I found that the European cultivar that I have (I think Korsor) is much more fragrant (flowers) and with more fruit flavor than the American elderflowers (Nova, York). Of course, regional wild berries might be a different thing altogether. I would be interested to try some of the blue elderberry (Sambucus cerulea) which is supposed to be native to California, though I haven't found any in the wild yet.

 

[user 32114]

Oh, I have more than enough fruit now, picked over 40lb last season... in fact I pulled up one elderberry patch because I didn't need that many...

I found that the European cultivar that I have (I think Korsor) is much more fragrant (flowers) and with more fruit flavor than the American elderflowers (Nova, York). Of course, regional wild berries might be a different thing altogether. I would be interested to try some of the blue elderberry (Sambucus cerulea) which is supposed to be native to California, though I haven't found any in the wild yet.

hehe, in Arkansas we have black elderberries, i forget the name, sucks i never heard the name till a few years ago, lol,, but here the red elder will kill you, i have tons of red on a forty acre across the road, but still plenty of black, , good luck with your wine,
Dawg