need a little input...

I just racked my elderberry wine into the second carboy....I always taste at racking. Seemed a little watery to me at this tasting...I know it's early and it will change, but is there anything I can do at this point?
3gal batch
started with 15 cups of elderberries in nylon straining bag
poured 2 gal. of boiling water over them in the primary(let sit for 4 hours)
boiled one overripe banana in 1 pint of water and strained into must
added enough water to make 4 gal.
added pectic enzyme,acid blend, and campden tabs(let sit for 24 hrs)
added yeast(montrechet) and yeast nutrient
left in the primary for 10 days
racked into 1st carboy...fermentation was excellent
waited till fermentation stopped...about 20 days
then racked off the lees into #2 carboy...
this is when I taste,


any thoughts?

15 cups of elderberries in 3 gallons seems a little light to me. I just started a batch where I used about 24 lbs in 3 gallons. Did you add any sugar or grape juice? What was the starting gravity of the must when you pitched the yeast?

Paul

i think you needed more berries i figure you would have needed 9 pound of berries. That would have been about 2 gallon ziploc bags full. Add more to the secondary it will leave more of a falvor and rack it off again in a few weeks.

Rack onto more berries/juice in secondary. Regards, GF.

Oh yeh forgot to mention that I did add sugar...about 5 lbs. of sugar at primary time.sg reading of the must was 1.095. the recipe I used said DO NOT CRUSH the elderberries...so I left them whole in the nylon bag then just let them drip when I removed the bag from the must at the first racking. I did freeze some to make jam later... maybe I'll try to add for flavor.

gunwolf said:

Oh yeh forgot to mention that I did add sugar...about 5 lbs. of sugar at primary time.sg reading of the must was 1.095. the recipe I used said DO NOT CRUSH the elderberries...so I left them whole in the nylon bag then just let them drip when I removed the bag from the must at the first racking. I did freeze some to make jam later... maybe I'll try to add for flavor.

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You should crush the berries, I can't imagine a recipe telling you to make elderberry wine without using elderberries (which is what you're doing if you don't crush the fruit)! The fruit should be crushed, and I would use 3 pounds per gallon (or a bit more)/ The ones you froze for jam should be fine to use- stick them in the bag, and put that bag in your must.

thanks I'll keep you updated!