Elderberry wine tastes a bit 'green'

[Bossbaby]

first of all welcome to Wine Making Talk

The issue is dosage. We have many examples of people and animals consuming apple or peach or apricot seeds along with the fruit pulp with no harm. , ,,,, ie no farmer is concerned about feeding apple to the pigs in September, or we don’t see dead birds around elderberry bushes ,,, the dosage is limited by the caloric content of the fruit.

We have extremely rare examples of folks saving their apple seeds and roasting several cups of them, eating them straight like nuts and getting poisoned by cyanide.
Cyano-glycoside (?) is a natural molecule that the cells produce and in limited natural quantities the kidney will detoxify. Another common example would be the nicotine molecule (tobacco) which in the dosage humans get produces a relaxed mental state but was purified and sold as a natural/ use indoors plant insecticide.

Thank you for the insight on this topic I've always been too picky when stripping my berries and probably wasted many hours and fruit trying to only keep what doesnt float ..

 

[BarrelMonkey]

I too have European elderberry that have almost all ripened and been harvested except a few clusters I may just do this. there is still a few more weeks to harvest the american elders.

Interesting... do you know which cultivars you have? My American elders are 'Nova' and 'York'; I think the European one is 'Korsor', but I got it as a cutting from a local seed and scion exchange, so not 100% sure of its provenance. The European plant flowers earlier than the American ones, but is later to ripen - though that might be because it's in a more shady spot in the garden. The European plant also has a much more prominent floral bouquet - it seems to me that 'Nova' and 'York' flowers have almost no scent at all...

 

[Bossbaby]

Interesting... do you know which cultivars you have? My American elders are 'Nova' and 'York'; I think the European one is 'Korsor', but I got it as a cutting from a local seed and scion exchange, so not 100% sure of its provenance. The European plant flowers earlier than the American ones, but is later to ripen - though that might be because it's in a more shady spot in the garden. The European plant also has a much more prominent floral bouquet - it seems to me that 'Nova' and 'York' flowers have almost no scent at all...

I am not certain what I have, the European produces fruit about 3× the size of the American making stripping the berries a heck of a lot easier. Mine are in almost full sun and a clay soil, I chop them to the ground in the winter. they are about 12 ft tall and 8 wide now with one heck of a crop this year even though It's been pretty hot and dry here in southern Wisco..

 

[mikewatkins727]

I am not certain what I have, the European produces fruit about 3× the size of the American making stripping the berries a heck of a lot easier. Mine are in almost full sun and a clay soil, I chop them to the ground in the winter. they are about 12 ft tall and 8 wide now with one heck of a crop this year even though It's been pretty hot and dry here in southern Wisco..

How old are your elderberries? Eight to ten years ago I surveyed my property for elderberries and found none. Bought two different cultivars from a nursery (York was one of the two). They have spread to 8 X 20 and 10 to 12' high. Am interested if you treat your bushes differently, I might start mowing them down in fall if they come back vigorously.

 

[Bossbaby]

How old are your elderberries? Eight to ten years ago I surveyed my property for elderberries and found none. Bought two different cultivars from a nursery (York was one of the two). They have spread to 8 X 20 and 10 to 12' high. Am interested if you treat your bushes differently, I might start mowing them down in fall if they come back vigorously.

My bushes are only about 5 years old, 1 gal pots from the nursery, I dont do much other than take them down to about 4 ft from the ground late winter and they seem to be doing good, I pick most of my elderberry from the wild but the bushes I'm my yard have quite a bit more vigor to them.

 

[hounddawg]

elderberry if you have trouble waiting for at least 7 to 10 year, you can use half elderberry and half blackberry, i got around 40 cane groups that are 10 feet or better, i divid my elderbeery into thirds, each year i cut back a third, of each cane group, my finish FG is 1.040 ,, with blackberry you can greatly enjoy it at 3 years,, i got to many going,,, to many ways, but good lord willing next year i plan to do around 80 gallons finish, i go 5 lbs per gallon
Dawg