Elderberry Wine

[Wade E]

I started with the fork but eventually just wet my fingers and rolled them off, it was faster this way and with wet finger they didnt stain them much at all.

 

[Mud]

I did the same as Wade. The fork was causing too many berries to burst or oftn the stem would break off with the berry. Didn't have any sort of staining problem at all.

 

[myakkagldwngr]

That green goop is some really nasty stuff. I got some on a plastic primary and just about never got rid of it. All total I did three batches of elderberry. Being they were free for the picking that was my first attempt at making vino.
The first batch has a little taste that is unusual compared to the second and third. I'm trying to give it plenty of time to come around and then if I'm unhappy with it, I'll deal with it another way.

 

[Wade E]

Use vegetable oil or olive oil to remove it, I dont know why but it breals up that green goo very easily unlike most other cleaners.

 

[Mud]

The yeast finally kicked with enthusiasm last night. The house smells like awesomeness. This is my favorite part of the process.

 

[Mud]

I racked the wine Thanksgiving morning when the gravity was around 1.02. Was supposed to be making breakfast, but wine and tide waits for no man.

Washing out the primary with canola oil was no problem, but the straining bag was a little tougher. I soaked it in canola oil for a day but it still wouldn't rinse off, si I stuck it in the dishwasher. Worked a treat. What little is left on it will brush off as soon as it dries.

 

[upper]

Goo

That sounds great Mud,I guess I am lucky in that I have made 4 batches and no goo as of yet.I used only 3.5 pounds of berries per gallon............Upper

 

[Wade E]

No goo, is it done fermenting? My primary was a mess!!!!!!!!

 

[Mud]

Lucky guy. That goo is a pain in the ***. Wonder if it's got something to do with plant type?

 

[Wade E]

Upper, did you juce these with steam as Ive heard that method works as far as not having the goo.

 

[Midwest Vintner]

just opened a bottle of our eldeberry last night. it was great! ultra smooth and lots of flavor. i think we may have put too many #'s per gallon as it was really thick. the taste wasn't too strong, but the wine seemed like it was really heavy. seems like we could have dropped a # or two a gallon and got enough flavor and make it a lil lighter in body. seemed like it was just straight juice w/out any alcohol. made for easy drinking, though.

mud, lol @ wine waits for no man. hope it comes out great as i like this wine.

 

[Mud]

Thanks, MV. How many lbs per gallon did you use? I'd like to know about that steam extraction thing, too.

 

[Midwest Vintner]

we used 8 gallons of frozen berries to 3 gallon batch. i think we could have done a 5 gallon and had plenty of flavor. it was hard to tell exacty how much fruit was there, as there was alot of ice. we did use it, but figured it had added more water than it did.

 

[Mud]

My gallon bags had about 5 lbs in each, maybe 5.5. One had 7lbs, but it was almost impossible to close. You used a lot. Probably 10# per gallon or more. :<

 

[Midwest Vintner]

My gallon bags had about 5 lbs in each, maybe 5.5. One had 7lbs, but it was almost impossible to close. You used a lot. Probably 10# per gallon or more. :<

it wasn't my idea. my dad likes to use alot of fruit. it was free from a family members freezer. we know alot of farmers, but they aren't close. so we only get things like that on occasion. maybe we should have them weigh it before freezing?

although, it is actually not overpowering taste. it's tastes like an aged red wine, just gotta warm it up to get it to flow. lol

 

[Mud]

No criticism intended. Sorry if it sounded like that.

 

[upper]

Goo

Sorry for the late reply,I just got back from the mountains.I flashed boiled my berries,little more than just boiling water.I even had to make a batch out of some Extract that went off in tha Mason,s.Re-boiled it and pitched the yeast after it cooled.This was before I had K-meta...........Upper.P.S. racked it the other day it is very nice.Upper

 

[Midwest Vintner]

No criticism intended. Sorry if it sounded like that.

eh, no problem. criticism isn't always a bad thing. i know we had put waaaaay tooooo much in there when i tasted it. i didn't actually make it, i may have racked and bottled it, but my father house has all our wine. i don't live there and that is why i usually say "we" in my posts. anyhow, he likes to experiment and see exactly how much #'s/gal change things. especially when the fruit is free. you are right, it was too much and we could have made 8 gallons or more with it. somehow, the taste was NOT too overpowering. after hearing how much was there, i was amazed. tasted good, but it was almost the consistency of milk! the batch had almost 2 years worth of aging, which probably helped mellow it a little.

 

[Mud]

After this cleared a bit it turned out that the body and flavor were a little much. I ended up making it 6 gallons by adding more water and sugar. Now it's been racked once and is ready to be racked again. I'd like to add a fining agent now so it can be bottled soon. Reading up a little and it seems using chitosan & kieselsol is the way to go. Thoughts?

 

[Wade E]

I find that those 2 ingredients work the best and the fastest. SuperKleer KC is the brand I use get and its all in one package seperated into 2. It works almost over night but let it sit for about 2 weeks with the carboy tilted to let the lees compact into 1 corner so you can rack with no transfer when its ready.