North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Richard MURPHY" <murphman108@msn.com>]

Hello Martha and All;

 

If you bought a wine kit, and it came with dried Elderberries, I can almost promise you that they are Nigra, not Canadensis. Across the pond, most, if not all are Nigra. When you buy dried Elderberries on the web from a Herb Co., they are almost all Nigra (I've not seen Can. yet). British people love Elderberry wine.

 

    Regarding the winemaking........ I've used both successfully.

 

Observations:

 

DRIED:    cheap - always avail - 'unknown spray history' (usually wild picked = no spray ??) , no green crud

 

FRESH:    fresh or frozen - spray history known - green crud.

 

What is Green Crud ?  It is a component of fresh Elder that turns into tar-like green glue on the meniscus of the Primary fermentation tank, and in hoses / tools. Not harmful, just a nuisance to wash off.

 

Both of my wines tasted very similar. Understand that I bring the fresh Elderberries (in about 1" of water) in a covered pot to a boil for about 3 minutes. This changes their taste, more like that of the dried. 

 

 

Wine from 2/3 cider and 1/3 Elderberry-cooked-in-water is awesome !! Better you make a lot !

Get the initial S.G. up to 1.09   Ferment to dryness. Back sweeten it a lot. (sorbate too) Oh my...

 

Cheers !

 

Murph