Wild fermented elderberry wine?

[Lady_Grey]

I wanted to make a wild fermented elderberry wine but there's conflicting information online about whether it's safe to just ferment the berries without cooking them. Most people who post recipes and videos don't seem to bother but now I'm not confident that I'm not signing my family up for a round of the barfs. Has anyone tried it successfully? Or, if I were to go ahead and boil the juice just to be safe, could I inoculate it with yeast by throwing a couple wild crabapples in with - or before - adding sugar?

 

[Raptor99]

I make elderberry wine without heating the berries at all. The stems and leaves are poisonous, so be sure to remove all of those. We have enjoyed the elderberry wine with no ill effects.

It is possible that it depends on the variety of elderberries. Some varieties of elderberries are not edible at all, so please be sure you know what you have.

 

[cottonwoodks]

I also have made elderberry wine without heating the berries either. It always turns out really well (and no one has ever had any ill effects). These are the kind that grow wild in Kansas.