Elderberry - two wines from one batch of berries

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MarkA
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Elderberry - two wines from one batch of berries

Post by MarkA » Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:11 pm

I have just got a gallon of elderberry wine going using CJJ's recipe (3lb of elderberries). I forgot what a faff they are to pick and de-stalk!! Still, if it turns out like it has in previous years, it will be well worth the effort.

Anyway, I have come across a couple of websites that recommend making a second gallon of lighter wine from the same berries by adding the juice from a couple of pound of boiled bananas. Has anyone tried this, or got any other recipes for a lighter wine?

oldbloke
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Re: Elderberry - two wines from one batch of berries

Post by oldbloke » Tue Nov 01, 2016 5:27 pm

Quite a few fruits will let you get a second run, elderberries should be particularly good for this, but I've not heard of using banana for the second run before.
I'd go with maybe some apple juice and otherwise keep the recipe the same

Having said that, my Legendary Banana Wine is very nice, and not just coz it's 18%+, and we just cracked open a pineapple and bana I made a few moths back and that's good. Banana is good for body, btu I think you need to want that flavour

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MarkA
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Re: Elderberry - two wines from one batch of berries

Post by MarkA » Tue Nov 01, 2016 6:14 pm

That banana and pineapple sounds lovely, any chance of the recipe? I made banana wine a couple of years back and it was very nice, I keep meaning to get another gallon on the go.

I was thinking that maybe I could use the second run of elderberries and add some raisins for body and vinosity, though apple juice sounds like it would be nice. How much apple juice would you recommend for a gallon (I've never used it in wine before)?

Thanks

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Re: Elderberry - two wines from one batch of berries

Post by oldbloke » Tue Nov 01, 2016 9:49 pm

MarkA wrote:That banana and pineapple sounds lovely, any chance of the recipe I made banana wine a couple of years back and it was very nice, I keep meaning to get another gallon on the go.

I was thinking that maybe I could use the second run of elderberries and add some raisins for body and vinosity, though apple juice sounds like it would be nice. How much apple juice would you recommend for a gallon (I've never used it in wine before)?

Thanks
We'd bought a pineapple (two?) for something and not got round to it and it needed using up fast, likewise half a bunch of bananas, so I chopped them up and made them into wine. Sadly I seem not to have kept notes. I'll guess I used apple juice in it as well, probably some raisins, likely some tannin powder. And enough sugar to get up to 14%.

A litre of aj in a gallon gives 100g or so of sugar, broadens the flavour profile a bit, contributes some malic (and other) acid. And its cheap! More than a litre might be to obviously appley

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MarkA
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Re: Elderberry - two wines from one batch of berries

Post by MarkA » Wed Nov 02, 2016 12:34 am

oldbloke wrote:A litre of aj in a gallon gives 100g or so of sugar, broadens the flavour profile a bit, contributes some malic (and other) acid. And its cheap! More than a litre might be to obviously appley
Thanks OB, I think I'll try a litre of AJ and a few raisins to see how this turns out.
oldbloke wrote:We'd bought a pineapple (two?) for something and not got round to it and it needed using up fast, likewise half a bunch of bananas, so I chopped them up and made them into wine. Sadly I seem not to have kept notes. I'll guess I used apple juice in it as well, probably some raisins, likely some tannin powder. And enough sugar to get up to 14%
Isn't that often the way with a happy accident? :( Still, it sounds like it'll be worth getting a pineapple and some bananas and seeing how it turns out :)

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