Will elderflower aroma return?

[Stressbaby]

I've made elderflower wine once a few years back and it was OK, drinkable but not distinctly elderflower.

Trying it a second time now, using elderflowers from my patch here at home. The elderflower aroma can be appreciated some distance from the patch. You are supposed to stick your nose into each spray to make sure they don't smell like cat pee. I did that, tossed a few questionable ones, used the Luc Volders technique to get the flowers off, and now have 3+ pints of flowers. Now to my question...

I stick my nose in this bowl of flowers expecting to be knocked out by the aroma and really there's not much there. It's not bad, no cat pee smell or anything, but just underwhelming, less than I would expect. If I make this wine, is the elderflower aroma going to come forward any more?

 

[cmason1957]

I sure hope it does. I am doing an elderflower wine this year, also. But I am using dried elderflowers. They still seem to have some noise at least so far. Time will tell.

 

[AkTom]

Should have left some cat pee in there. You would have some nose then;-)

 

[spunk]

What is the method of taking the flowers off I would like to try to make elder flower wine?

 

[Stressbaby]

What is the method of taking the flowers off I would like to try to make elder flower wine?

Use the Luc Volder method, very easy.

I'm controlling the ferment by holding the temp at 66F. 1.087 to 1.047 in 5 days. Used some lemon, less than some recipes call for, but right now more lemon aroma than elderflower - we'll see...

 

[Toonster]

My elderflower is finally clearing (muppet here didn't put any pectinase in at the start...), and at last racking I was starting to get some honey notes / faint elderflower - it's certainly not as strong as elderflower cordial would be, but I'm cautiously confident it will improve.