Best white wine type for Elderflower infusion.

Hi there.

I just made my first 6 bottle Elderflower Wine kit. It's nice, not phenomenal, could have a stronger Elderflower flavour and it's pretty pricey per bottle.

I'd like to make a larger kit and just add my own dried Elderflowers. I'm still only working from kits as I've only done a few brews, and one wine kit thus far. What type of white wine would you recommend that would compliment the Elderflower flavour? I can get a larger kit for a better price and dried Elderflower is pretty affordable online. I would like to put my own kit together this time rather than buying the same one again which in my opinion was a little too alcoholic and didn't have enough Elderflower flavour.

Also while I'm here, how on earth do I get the auto syphon going in the demijohn without stirring up the sediment on the bottom? I tried to bottle yesterday but it got so stirred up that it went cloudy and I had to leave it. The action of pumping the auto syphon just mixes it all up and we tried sucking but couldn't get it going without contaminating the wine. I have purchased a smaller auto syphon now with a tap so I hope that this will work more effectively.

Thanks in advance.
Sarah.

Cider, Niagra from Welches also is a good base for elderflower so is making it into a mead, I like the elderflower mead, the honey gives it some body and if you use a light colored honey it wont overpower the elderflowers. WVMJ

I'm in the UK so I can't find that here. I was thinking more like what type of wine, i.e a shiraz or pinot grigio or blanc. I know nothing about wine or the different types except that dry white is great for risotto!

One of the best white wines I have ever made is a rhubarb and elderflower wine. I'm based in Yorkshire in the uk so happy to share the recipe if interested?

I think that elderflowers by themselves make a wonderful wine. I simply add table sugar to provide me with the gravity I am looking for (about 1.090) and I can only get dried elderflowers at this time and contrary to most published recipes I prefer to use about 2 oz per gallon. Elderflower flavor is front and center and the flavor and mouthfeel take me back more than 30 years to a time when I lived in London and ate at Cranks restaurant where the sold elderflower wine with their meals..

I would love your recipe for when I'm a little more confident doing things from scratch, that sounds delicious! I would also like a recommendation for a type of white I can buy in a kit to add Elderflower to just for now. Only done four kits so far and still getting the hang of things so don't want to jump into recipes just yet! Had no ender problems with my ciders and getting the SG down and keeping the temp stable!
Thanks,
Sarah.

I Just happen to have rhubarb frozen in the freezer from last year. I also have frozen elderflowers from last year. I am (so far) a mead maker, but would love to do an elderflower/rhubarb wine. I Second the request for the recipe.
Thanks

Private message me and I ll share the recipe. There is also a you tube video which is not mine but I nicked some of the techniques from. Happy to provide the link if you message me!!

I'm a little late, but Gewürztraminer fermented with elderflowers makes a real nice aromatic white wine, one of few kits that I ever made was a Gewürztraminer that also came with a bag of Elderflowers, it started out with the Elderflowers aroma and flavor way too strong, I almost dumped it but I was convinced to let it age, I forgot about it for 6 months, and it became a really good wine, the Elderflowers hid the kit taste as well!

I hope that this helps.

TheMotherConfessor said:

...
Also while I'm here, how on earth do I get the auto syphon going in the demijohn without stirring up the sediment on the bottom? I tried to bottle yesterday but it got so stirred up that it went cloudy and I had to leave it. The action of pumping the auto syphon just mixes it all up and we tried sucking but couldn't get it going without contaminating the wine. I have purchased a smaller auto syphon now with a tap so I hope that this will work more effectively.

Thanks in advance.
Sarah.

Click to expand...

Hi Sarah, I guess I want to pick up the point you made about stirring up the lees when you used your auto-siphon. so two quick thoughts.
1. I would pump the siphon when the bottom is only inches into the source carboy and not when it is right down at the bottom (just make sure that your tube is well FIXED inside the target carboy or bottling bucket... so that it is not going to pull out or fall out..
2. The sediment ought to be more well-packed than your experience suggests. What kind of yeast are you using and how often have you racked the wine off the sediment?

I use a bucket as my primary and am willing to lose about 1/2inch of wine the first time I rack. I don't throw that away but pour it into a wine bottle and store it in the fridge. After a few days the sediment will drop out of suspension and I can use the liquid to top up my carboy. I will then rack every two or three months or any time I have more than about 1/4 inch of lees or sediment on the bottom. You want a siphon that has a plastic tip that keeps the end of the siphon off the sediment. And in my opinion you want to be able to lower the siphon gently and slowly as the level of the wine drops - but most wine yeasts should result in a well packed layer of sediment. Bread yeast may not...