Elderberry wine anyone?

I just got thru cleaning and desteming to my dismay only 2 1/2 lbs of elderberrys. This chore takes forever. I hope it will be worth it in the end as I have never tasted an elderberry before tonight and never had elderberry wine at all. Guess I need another 2 lbs. Hope I can get them before the birds. They sure know when berries are ripe.

Birds sure do love em. I just came across 4 trees/shrubs/plants at my buddies while searching for birch bark for the root beer i just made. now that i know they are there i will net em next year so i can get a harvest. If you find yourself running low on berries a good hbs should have dried elderberries. I believe 1 16oz pack of dried berries is good for 2g of wine(so i was told by my lhbs owner). That is what i just purchased to mix with 4g of cherry juice. we are calling it chelderberry.

btw elderberry wine on the sweet side is bout my favorite wine.

It's a good red wine. I've made 8 Gal's. Last batch tasted almost like merlot up front with the elderberry finish. I'm waiting for it to age out the bottling sickness. I opened up a bottle about 2 months after bottling and it was COMPLETELY different flavor. Hoping the good stuff comes back.

Got a good recipe? I know there are a couple on jack kellers website but I'm still looking for a good tried and true.

I've my adult life with elderberries. This will be my first year with an elderberry wine but my favorite of all pies is the elderberry pie. To me no other pie comes close. As I make the wine for the first time, I hope I'll end up saying the same about it.

they are just starting to ripen here, i saw them yesterday and they reminded me to rack my elderflower wine and elderflower skeeter pee, and think about freeing up a carboy for my first elderberry wine. the recipes on jack keller's site are simple, does anyone add anything other than the usual nutrients/pectic etc and acid blend?

I've made it and had others and never found one, including my own, that I like. I even planted elderberry shrubs in the back yard. Good luck on yours.

hahaha you should be a motivational speaker!