Making Elderflower Wine - The Taste of Summer (Part 1)

In this simple, step by step series we share all the tips and techniques necessary to make a top flight elderflower wine, from selecting and harvesting to ingredients, sterilizing and infusion.
Country wines done well are immensely satisfying, absolutely delicious and almost free! Brew along with us in this simple, easy to follow series
Fir this recipe you will need (For each gallon / Demijohn / 4.5 litres / 6 bottles of wine)
500ml of trimmed elderflowers
Grated rind of 1 unwaxed lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
100g roughly chopped raisins
(Later)
1tsp wine yeast
Yeast nutrient (optional)
1.2 kg granulated sugar
Wine finings (optional to speed clearing)
Equipment
Clean Brewing Vessel
Unscented bleach for sterilising
Sieve / Collander
Muslin or cheesecloth
Demijohn
Cork / bung
Airlock
Large funnel
Wine filter (Optional)
Second brewing vessel / Demijohn for "racking off"
Siphon / plastic tube
Wine bottles
Cork
Corking gun (optional)
Wine shrink capsules (optional)

[@davidwarby8302]

From my childhood, I remember my mum making Mulberry wine, a wonderful deep red and rich red.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Hi David, I'm hoping to do Mulberry wine in a couple of years, our trees have just begun fruiting! I'm showing elderberry on Friday 😉

[@agrarianarc]

Hugh, I very much enjoy your explantations. You're a wonderful teacher

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Thanks Tara, that's really kind of you!

[@lifeobserver8079]

I don't even drink and I like this already!! I might start making wine for gifts! Looking forward to part II!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Your wish is my command! Here is part 2 kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKmUcmqDbqycZrM I use the wine to make fresh elderflower vinegar, and the vinegar to make gooseberry & elderflower chutney. No alcohol in that 😊

[@torbear100]

Hello. Your explanation is so good, I was wondering if you would consider making a video on gooseberry wine?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

That's a good idea Toria, although I have to pry them away from Fiona

[@johnamriding6862]

Great stuff: almost tempted...

[@EnglishCountryLife]

So easy. It's decicious & cheap to make. Why not have a go?

[@InfernalPasquale]

Fantastic, can't wait to try in a few weeks!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

It looks to be a good year!

[@ApiaryManager]

That was probably the easiest introduction to wine-making I've ever seen. So many videos confuse things by rolling the stages together so I think you've done it just right by breaking things up into easy-to-follow bites. Personally, I love elderflower/elderberry (I believe it was once called the Countrymans medicine chest because of all the vitamin C it contained - we should all be drinking it for our health!). I make elderberry with honey instead of sugar...but...that may be one for the future? They're all delicious and far better than anything you can buy.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

We make an elderberry port that I must film! Interestingly elderberries do have anti viral properties! Hugh

[@ApiaryManager]

@@EnglishCountryLife Oh..I like the sound of that! I made an Elderberry "wine" that I forgot about in the demi-johns. Several years later, I discovered them at the back of the garage during a clear-out. They tasted like a fine dessert liquor! For a while, they became our tipple of choice. My only regret is that I hadn't made more!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@ApiaryManager Elderberry really benefits from aging rather like mead. Its honestly undrinkable for a year or so. We have some 2012 elderberry port that's getting very smooth now

[@scarletpeate]

Thanks for the video. This one's on my to-do list. So far I have dandilion brewing. Lilac. And vodka to distill. I aim to brew everything I can this year and then see which worked for us. I also make cordial. False Acacia . Elerflower and whatever else is giving to harvest. Looking forward to your next videos.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Lilac is, I think, a totally forgotten wine. Almost heady in its perfume. Never tried False Acacia, how does it taste?

[@scarletpeate]

@@EnglishCountryLife it has a beautiful smell. A slight green taste. Like cucumber. It's a really beautiful drink. Refreshing. I share the recipe for it on my off-grid Facebook group. I dilute it with sparkling water.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@scarletpeate That sounds incredible!

[@LEODHSACH]

Thanks again, will follow with interest- one of these days I’ll buy some more brewing gear! I lost the kit some years back so would like to get back to it!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Very little needed for this one Grace! Those 4 litre still water bottles from the supermarket make brilliant demijohns and a balloon with a pin hole makes a perfect airlock. Other than that just household items for this recipe 🙂

[@LEODHSACH]

@@EnglishCountryLife ooooooh once again good shout! Thank you!

[@drmajharrison]

Very similar to the recipe that I have just started. Apart from I added a tea bag for the tannin. I look forward to your follow up videos and seeing how they compare with mine 😀

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Nice idea with the tea, I do that too on occasion but tend to add a mug of strong black tea to the must. Exactly the same principle though! Flower wines do need a few additions I find

[@thekarmafarmer608]

Ok. So I`ve just made this recipe without the tea. The must is still hot, should I add tea now? I`ve made a strong earl grey in case anybody says yes. Any thoughts?

[@countryside_guy]

That bird song 😍

[@EnglishCountryLife]

You want to hear the Little Owls at night. Noisy beggars!

[@chadroeder]

just started a batch yesterday!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Excellent! Let me know how you get on? Hugh

[@derekmountain696]

Hi, Thank you so much for your recipe above. We made our own wine for the first time and it tastes absolutely fantastic! We found your video and instructions very easy to follow and informative. We are now starting with blackberry wine and would love to know if this is exactly the same process as your strawberry wine but with demerara sugar?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

That should work just fine! Hugh

[@Evuc]

Thank you for the recipe and instructions, I did everything as you suggested and I just bottled my elderflower wine today(first wine I have ever made), all 22 bottles. It looks and tastes amazing! What wine could I make a start on now in winter time?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Hi Eva! I was thinking of filming a recipe for Blackberry Port. Is that something that you might enjoy? Hugh

[@maveraver]

Nice spatula 😉

[@EnglishCountryLife]

My absolute go to tools for working on wine and beer Mark! Can't thank you enough for them 😉

[@maveraver]

@@EnglishCountryLife Nice to see them being used.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

All the time sir!

[@richardbarton5824]

Hi there. I'm going to give making elderflower wine a go tomorrow, depending on how many heads I can get I'm aiming to make around 20L. I've watched a couple of other vids from other you tuber's and have noticed you didn't put tannin in your must, but they did, is there are reason for this? Is it essential to add it? Love this vids, very easy to follow, keep them coming, thank you.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Hi Richard! Tannin isn't necessary for fermentation but it adds astringency (that teeth coating feel of strong tea). I like the elderflower to be more perfumed & subtle, but tannin makes it more like white wine. Its your call. Hugh

[@pumpkineater69seven17]

Can you do a nettle beer recipe, I've run out of your booze videos as I binged them last night some absolutely fantastic tips and advice, the first thing I brewed was nettle beer but I'd love to see your take on it thanks for the great content and I have liked and subscribed . Regards

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Of course, I was thinking of doing a few this year. Elderflower champagne, raspberry wine & sloe gin have been requested. Will add nettle beer!

[@mattcairns832]

English Country Life could you also do an Elderberry Wine recipe!!! Need the follow on from elderflower wine 💪💪💪

[@ianrhodes9199]

Hello. This sounds great - thanks for posting. I started a couple of gallons of elderflower wine in mid June. Yesterday the 2 demijohns were both less than a bubble per minute so I racked them both off. When syphoning I got a 'sneak' taste of the wine and was surprised it tasted a little vinegary. Should I have perhaps added a campden tablet in the must prior to adding the yeast to kill off any bacteria?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

If its genuinely got vinegar bacteria, I'm sorry to say that its ruined. Similarly campden tablets only work before wild yeast works. If its not bad, it may improve in the bottle. I do find that dome trees give better results than others. Hugh

[@RRaucina]

Well it's not ruined, it's simply vinegar! Bottle it up and feed it more wine or juice.

[@dianaosborne7187]

Reads very tasty - makes me thirsty for it ! Granny Di

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Thank you 😁

[@adelafaith9604]

Hi Hugh, just got back into winemaking after a very long time. Ive got the musts started for elderflower and trying a lavender one that ive never tried before and also a remake of bramble tip wine tgat gave a sweet white wine when i made it about 30 years ago. I've been gifted some demi johns and bottles that are very stained..any hints on cleaning them... Ive tried soaking in washing up liquid and hot water and using a bottle brush but after rinsing and sterilising its still got some residue..any hints would be helpful

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Hi! Get some plain, unscented household bleach (Morrison's still sell it). Put a good glug in each demijohn (couple of eggcups full). Fill with water, leave over night. Empty & scrub 🙂

[@abigailtaylor1112]

This is a fantastic video, thank you. A quick question; I'm not the biggest fan of Raisins - would I be able to use something like Dates instead or does it really need to be raisins? Any other possible alternatives would be lovely.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

You can buy a white, grape juice concentrate (home brew shops or Amazon), that would be great. Dates would give a different flavour but it might be nice! Hugh

[@abigailtaylor1112]

Thank you kindly for replying! I’ll keep an eye out for the grape concentrate (and may make a batch with dates too to see how it turns out). ✌🏻✨

[@EnglishCountryLife]

I'd love to hear if you try the date one! Hugh

[@KnackFarmer-theanswerismeat]

Loving your work ... a little suggestion: is it possible for you to 'stick' to a particular system of measurement - I'll admit I spend a lot of time making sense of recipes which ping pong between imperial and metric measurements. Also working out how to source and grow elderflower in southwest Western Australia!

[@KnackFarmer-theanswerismeat]

p.s. At the beginning you say you're going to give measurements for 1 gallon and then when you start adding all to the bucket, you add 2 gallons of water ...

[@EnglishCountryLife]

I will certainly try thank you. I confess that I do think in both systems. I generally weigh in grams but a wine making demijohn is 1 gallon in size. It would make more sense for me to describe that as 4.5 litres though. I did make a "double batch" here but gave measurements for a single gallon. I should have explained that ☺️

[@KnackFarmer-theanswerismeat]

@@EnglishCountryLife You're a dream - I follow you and The Floof Lady on Twitter and appreciate your contributions!

[@mrjl78]

Have you a preference for the time of day to pick the flowers? I read before it should be early morning on a bright sunny day a few days after any rain?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Generally in the morning, when the dew is off them 🙂

[@janemariawilliams]

Would you have a video about making rhubarb wine?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

I haven't filmed one yet Jane but I would be happy to do one in a few weeks if you like?

[@ballygarran]

Just a quick question. What month would be best for collecting the flowers. It’s late June now in Ireland. Too early, too late? Thanks

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Honestly, just keep an eye on the elder trees, pick the flowers when they are fully open and bright white. Its about perfect timing here in June

[@ruthmaryprays8455]

Can I add mint to this recipe? I like the flavour of elderflower and mint cordial/jam but only just venturing into elderflower wine. Do you need to add a stabiliser to ensure the fermentation process has stopped. I don’t want any explosions! Thanks.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Hi Ruth, You can definitely add mint! We discuss clearing & bottling in parts 2 & 3 kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKmUcmqDbqycZrM kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIPNenp7mLl2e9U Hugh

[@getmovingtoday]

During the first step do you cover the must completely or do you put a bubbler on it?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

If you have a fermenting bucket with an airlock, that's great, if not they aren't usually gas tight so should work fine

[@Evuc]

Hello there, thank you for the instructions and recipe. I started with the first stage of making the must 4 days ago. According to your recipe today, on day 4 I should add the wine yeast, sugar and the yeast nutrient. I ordered these online and only the wine yeast has arrived and not the nutrient yet. Should I add the sugar and yeast today and add the nutrient on monday if hopefully it comes or wait with it all till next week? I dont want it to go off it was all going well so far. Thanks

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Add the yeast etc. now and yeast nutrient on Monday. If you gave sone apple or orange juice, add half a glass to feed the yeast Hugh

[@Evuc]

@@EnglishCountryLife wow that was a very quick response thank you for your help. I love your easy to follow videos, they give me hope that I can make some good wine 😁 I will try other recipes of yours too.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Happy to help ma'am. Do let us know how your wine turns out?

[@hvadkant6066]

Thanks for a great video! Unfortunately I think I went overboard with the amount of flowers and now it tastes pretty horrible. I was thinking I could add some more sugar and yeast to raise the alcohol percentage, and then dilute it all with water and maybe add some lemon/lime juice. Do you have any advice?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

There's still elderflower to be had in the shady spots here. If you can find some, start again! Also, if you can, try a different tree! Some definitely make better wine than others & a few are...yuck! Hugh

[@RRaucina]

The flowers can barely overpower in any quantity. I am eating them just now in my white grape wine as a flavoring. As a very serious California wine maker, I suggest you had a "Off" fermentation or other issue rather than too many flowers.

[@famgeiser4030]

Dear "English Country Life". I've set up a brew according to your recipe. Everything worked fine so far. The wine is in the vessel for 5 weeks now. But unfortunately, the percentage of alcohol won't increase above 6-8% vol. Do you have a hint on what I could do to increase the %vol. If not, can I drink the wine with 6-8% vol only? Thanks a lot for your input. Best greetings from Switzerland :-)

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Two things to check Fan, 1) Is the wine sweet (is there unfermented sugar left). You can also tell with a hydrometer if you have one 2) Is the yeast now inactive? Are any bubbles passing through the airlock? I assume that you have calculated alcohol from original gravity and current specific gravity readings? If so can you let me know the readings please? Regards, Hugh

[@famgeiser4030]

@@EnglishCountryLife 1) it is still a bit sweet. 2) the yeast is not active anymore. not bubbles left. the hydrometer says the following: sugar 110, density 40, alcohol 5.5

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Does your hydrometer have a specific gravity reading? It should be a scale from 0.990 to 1.200 or something like that? That's the "Specific gravity" Its sounds like a stuck fermentation. I would buy a sachet of high alcohol wine yeast (e.g. champagne yeast), make a starter culture and add it to the demijohn, that should restart fermentation. Hugh

[@anthonylatham8584]

this is my 1st wine adventure , and can you make wine from nettles ? and when is the next part i cant go and pick the flowers till i know all of what i need

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Hi Anthony, You can indeed make nettle wine. All three parts are published. This is part 2 kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKmUcmqDbqycZrM This is part 3 kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIPNenp7mLl2e9U

[@anthonylatham8584]

thanks for getting back to me asap , ive watched the rest of the videos i need to get all of the stuff , can you do a video on nettles by any chance , im looking to get into wine making i did make beer many years ago with tins from the brew shop on the market , i want to do a super simple wine .

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@anthonylatham8584 I'll add nettle wine to the list!

[@anthonylatham8584]

@@EnglishCountryLife i look forward to it , i know how good nettles are for you , so how cool would it be to have wine out of it , i often have nettle tea

[@rachelalder2182]

Parsnip and nettle

[@EnglishCountryLife]

We nake a lot of parsnip

[@mrjl78]

Did you say 2 Gallons of boiling water into the mix? As in 9 litres? Thats a lot of boiling

[@EnglishCountryLife]

2 Gallons for 12 bottles yes - you can add more each time the kettle boils 😉

[@Medietos]

Can I make e wine from dried flowers or organic, store-bought spuash/juice with 30% sugar added please?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Dried flowers would certainly work, the squash might but some contains preservative which can spoil fermentation.

[@Medietos]

@@EnglishCountryLife Thanks, kind man! Organic things don't use preservatives , so that's OK. How much alcohol can it get, and does it have to ferment etc for long then? my mothers 90th birthday is 3d January, and she doesn't tolerate artificial additives. And my wallet doesn't tolerate champagne prices from 45 pounds upwards, hahaha! Living on 400 pounds a month... Merry Christmas, english man!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

It gets to about 12-15% alcohol. Its takes around 3 weeks to ferment and another week to clear 😉

[@Medietos]

@@EnglishCountryLife : If I add no or very little sugar, won't it be alcoholic then? Some say no sugar and yeast etc is necessary, at least with sweet fruit/berries. I live on 5 m2, have severe burn-out and sleep deprivation and don't know how I'll mange the sterile part, but it'd be fun to do sth creative and different in this sordid pit I have fallen into for some mysterious reason. Don't fancy poisonous bleach and don't think my "landlord" has any, only natural detergents and - is washing-up liquid enough?

[@RobGb100]

Now I know where I went wrong at my first attempt. You did not post the vid's I followed........ :-) Ta, Rob.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Most remiss of me 😁

[@kevinbutler6571]

Can you use this same recipe with jasmine flowers?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

I've never tried but Jasmine is used in drinks so it would be a fascinating thing to try

[@EnglishCountryLife]

I've never tried but it would be an interesting experiment

[@cowontheroad3051]

Can't find any fresh Elderflower at the moment. What is the ratio for using dried Elderflower? I imagine you'd use less than the fresh. Thanks 👍

[@EnglishCountryLife]

It's too late in the season here now for the flowers. I'm sorry to say I've never used dried elderflower so I couldn't advise on quantity

[@cowontheroad3051]

@@EnglishCountryLife thanks for letting me know! I always remember my father making this wine as a kid so I thought I'd have a go. Maybe Elderberries might be a better option now?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@cowontheroad3051 Definitely more seasonal - the berries aren't quite ripe yet. Here's our elderberry recipe kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpyrYqKMfLupbsk

[@cowontheroad3051]

@@EnglishCountryLife Brilliant! Thank you so much!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@cowontheroad3051 No problem 🙂

[@samlikesfruit]

Hi, I can only find raisins or saltanas with oil.....does this matter?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Hi Sam 🙂 The ones with a tiny amount of oil to stop them sticking together are fine! Hugh

[@samlikesfruit]

@@EnglishCountryLife ..that's good to know...thanks cant wait to try this recipe now!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@samlikesfruit Do let me know how you get on?

[@richardbarton5824]

Help please. I filtered out all the elderflower heads etc and added 5g of young yeast (mixed in a glass with sugar and yeast nutrient). I did this on Friday morning it's now 72 hrs since and there is no activity at all. What do people recommend?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Try making another yeast starter Richard & be sure its really bubbling, then add it to the elderflowers. Hugh

[@richardbarton5824]

@@EnglishCountryLife Brill, its nicely bubbling away now, I wasn't sure if you could just add a second lot of yeast or if it would effect the taste. Thank you

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@richardbarton5824 Great news, shouldn't hurt the taste at all!

[@ianrhodes9199]

. . . and if so, is it now too late to do so?