Elder flowers
Wine is easy to make, and the recipe for elderflower wine, or champagne, is doubly-simple. Right now, at the height of summer, the hedgerows are heavy with the creamy white heads of the elder flower, ripe for picking and brewing.
There are countless variations on the recipe for elderflower wine, so we averaged several to formulate our own brew, which should hopefully bring the best of each to the bottle.
We had 15 three-quarter litre (750ml) bottles, so picked 20 heads of flowers and mixed them with 2.1kg of sugar, the squeezed juice and chipped skins of six lemons, six tablespoons of cheap white wine and 12 pints of water, of which the first two pints were hot and the remainder cold.
We put them all into the same fermenter we used to make the beer, mixed it up and snapped on the lid so it could ferment in peace.
The elderflower wine mixture in the fermenter
It didn’t go quite as quick as we’d expected. That was Saturday, yet by this morning – Monday – very little seemed to have happened. The liquid was still clear and it didn’t smell much different to the way it did when we put it in.
So we mixed up a tablespoon of bakers’ yeast with sugar and hot water and left it to prove, then mixed it in with the liquid and left it alone while we went off to work. By the time we got home tonight, things had taken a definite turn for the better. The liquid was cloudy, it all smelt a lot stronger, and there was a gently tink-tink-tink as gasses fizzed to the top.
We’ll leave it in there for another day before we set about bottling it, and then must leave it for at least a fortnight before we uncork the first one for drinking. If it’s a success, though, I can see us doing a second batch before the elder flowers have all disappeared from the trees. That way we should have enough to see us through the year.
Elder flowers on the tree. The head on the left is in full bloom. The one on the right has yet to open.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I too was inspired by River Cottage last year and vosed I would be ready this May. We picked the flowers put it all in the bucket with everything required, that was Tuesday. Now I think I’ve picked the wrong flower!
All the elderflowers seem to be on a tree or bush with large green leaves. I’ve picked the tall white umbrella flowers which grow on the verge. I’m not sure what they are but I don’t think they are elderflower. I’m off to pick the real thing (which I noticed as I drove to work yesterday!) Anyone know what I picked on Tuesday?
Karen I think they are Cow Parsnip.
Elderflower champers is fine for a few weeks but for a longer lating elderflower drink try making elderflower cordial – it too is really simple and you can freeze it!
We made a batch last year. It was OK but a little sweet for my liking. Is there any way of making a drier version? Less sugar a touch of yeast perhaps?
Hi all,
I ve been playing around with the various methods of making elderflower champagne for a couple of years now. I have found through trial and error to make a drier and longer lasting sparkle you need to complicate the process just a little.
firstly i dont use white wine vinegar, mainly because the fizz you end up with is achieved through a reaction between the vinegar and the elder. this is only a problem because it disipates very quickly. i achieve the sparkle in my wine by bottling it when i get a hydrometer reading of 1005 – 1008. by doing this you will get a nicely sparkling wine that has very small delicate bubbles.
secondly i also add raisins or sultanas, this gives your finished product more body.
and thirdly I always use a champagne yeast, youngs produce a very simple and easy to use champagne yeast that is ideal for homebrewing. when you have bottled your wine (in real champagne bottles for safety reasons) they must be stored upside down. this allows the yeast sediment to fall down the neck of the bottle and settle on the bottle closure (i would reccamend using poly champagne corks with wire cages). when the yeast has stopped settling the neck of the bottle must be frozen and the bottle uncorked with the sediment pellet being removed. it is a good idea to add a little still elderflower wine to the bottle to replace the little bit you have lost. reseal the bottle and leave for at least 7 days.
I bottled my first batch of elderflower champagne yesterday and I have my second batch in now. everything went ok so far. The bottles are fizzing and I am letting the gas out gently and the sediment is clearing up each time I do. The only thing I have amended on my second batch is putting in the pith of the lemon and only putting in the zest and juice of the lemons, hopefully this will make it sweeter than bitter (thou I quite like the taste of bitter lemon) . My only real concern is that the gas smells a bit eggy? is this just the yeast, is this normal?? it all tastes good but I am thinking the smell could put off my friends when it is ready. Please can anyone help me on this matter, advice will be much appreciated as I want to make as much as possible before the season ends and want it to be right.
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