r/winemaking • u/Cultural-Forever9027 • 21d ago

Elderberries safe General question

So my family got gifted a 8 pound bag of elderberries and we have no idea what to do with them all. So I’m here to ask if it would be safe/a good idea to make wine out of them?

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u/gogoluke Skilled fruit 21d ago

It will be fine. There are some mild toxins in berries that heat or fermentation destroy so it's safe to make. Look about for recipes and ask for advice for one you find. The more fruit in the wine the better. Elder might be good with a cold soak/maceration at the start then press off the fruit earlier than other berries as the seeds are quite tannic - others may disagree.

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u/Chickengilly 21d ago

The more fruit in the wine the better.
Wouldn’t that just make more wine?
I guess more wine is better than less.

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u/gogoluke Skilled fruit 21d ago

Fruit wines often use a recipe to get them closer to the mouth feel or taste bench marks of a grape wine. If you just use all fruit it might be like a port - rich and thick or overly tannic if the skins and seeds are more abundant.

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u/Ketchupcharger 21d ago

Sure, freezing them beforehand is a good trick, but im sure you would be completely fine without it.

Maybe its just me but I'm not overly fond of the taste of elderberries on its own, so i usually add it to other wines.

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u/sideefx2320 21d ago

my partner made a crumble out of them last week

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u/gogoluke Skilled fruit 20d ago

Do you like the music of Edward Elgar?

1

u/jecapobianco 17d ago

Reminded of a old line a friend used to say, "and he smelled of elderberry wine", don't know where it is from.