elderberry port

[sarahmortimer71]

I'm very new to all this and I tried to make elderberry port last year to my great granny's recipe, but it didn't ferment, so I asked here and you wonderful lot told me to add a litle yeast and lemon juice - it worked and although it didn't last long (in any sense of the word) it tasted lovely.

However, this year, I have got a demijohn (rather than an unsealed jar) so I thought it would have a better chance of fermenting on it's own, but it's doing nothing. To make it, I add the strained juice from boiling elderberries to sugar and raisins; however, the sugar didn't dissolve, so I gave it a helping hand over a low heat and by poking it!! The sugar has now all dissolved and I've added a little yeast and lemon juice, but still nothing.

I don't know what to do now. Help me please!

[MKG]

First things first - you're much safer adding yeast as a matter of course. Then at least you know there's something healthy in there to do the fermenting.

This time it sounds as if you killed the yeast that you did put in. You certainly sterilised anything by boiling the elderberries (not a bad thing), and then again when you heated everything to dissolve the sugar. If the liquid was still too warm when you added the yeast, you committed mass cellular murder. Even if you didn't kill everything in sight, you got rid of all the dissolved oxygen - something that yeast need to get going.

So, assuming that the juice is now at room temperature, give it a good shake (or a very vigorous stir) to get oxygen back in (or simply pour it out non-too-gently into another container and then back again. Then add some more yeast. Then it can take up to 48 hours (sometimes a week if it's in the depths of winter) for the fermentation to apparently start, so be patient.

It'll start soon.

Mike

[sarahmortimer71]

Thank you - I'll try that (keep your fingers crossed!)

[Hedgerow hoarder]

I have the same prob! I have bubbles in my airtrap about one every two seconds. Is this normal? I thought it would bubble madly!

[roger ramjet]

A sure fire way of getting the fermentation going is to use a small starter bottle. dissolve a couple of spoonfuls of sugar in water and let cool; add a little of the fruit pulp and stir in the yeast ; plug the top with cling film or cotton wool and leave in a warm place. Once it starts working well add to the bulk pulp and it should ferment like mad. I use an open plastic bucket covered with a teatowel for about a week before sieving the fruit and making up a demijohn with the juice and sugar water mixture.

My most succesful elderberry port was double fermented then topped up with polish spirit to fortify it. I ket two years before drinking the nectar.

Roger

[MKG]

I have the same prob! I have bubbles in my airtrap about one every two seconds. Is this normal? I thought it would bubble madly!

Sorry, HH - I didn't see your question before. Roger's right - using a starter is the most dependable way of starting a fermentation. But fermentations come in a lot of flavours for a lot of reasons. Basically, if your wine is bubbling at all then there's yeast in there doing its stuff - so don't worry.

There have been threads on here before about people who saw no activity whatsoever - but the fermentation had still gone ahead and they had wine. One of the principal reasons for this kind of thing is that the airlock is not providing a proper seal and the CO2 is leaking out around the edges rather than through the trap. Or it could simply be a slow fermentation - they do happen sometimes. Or it could be a function of temperature ... or an initial lack of oxygen ... or a gazillion other things. But as I say, if you have bubbles at all, then you're going to get alcohol.

Mike

[Hedgerow hoarder]

Sound like next time I need to make a little starter! Thanks you two a great help. It's sounds like I am going to get some port as it's still bubbling. Cheers

[Andy Hamilton]

Another great tip (that I read on this forum) when making elderberry port is to use the fruit again with a little more fruit added to it. I have two demijohns of elderberry port sitting bubbling away and I added and extra 1kg of fruit. But both are looking nice and dark and have bubbling away quite nicely.

[roger ramjet]

Yes the rich red colour is good, but if you are keeping it to mature for a long time keep in a dark place or cover with a bag, or the colour will fade.

Another good combination for this type of wine is to mix half and half elderberries and balckberries; it comes out a nice burgundy flavour.

[Nana Caz]

I tried bramble [aka blackberry] & elderberry wine in 2008. Glorious colour, perfectly clear...no bouquet, no taste - we thought we'd been wasting our time. Tweaked it as per MKG and it was quite a nice drink, not too alcoholic. Then we stood up.

By 'eck!!!

So this year, we've got some more on the go as well as some elderberry port. Racked the port a few weeks ago and we're looking forward to the next racking already. This lot smells and tastes great now - should be fantastic by the time its ready.

Don't have any words of wisdom to pass on; just thought I'd say how nice the port is....

Nana Caz

[dave45]

by the by - a few years ago I made elderberry, bilberry and blackberry "port". The elderberries and blackberries were from the garden, the bilberry juice was from Poland via those "Krakus" jars (after you've made a pie with the berries there is a lot of juice left over... freeze until wine-making time). It was the most full-bodied wine I've ever tasted... you can't drink more than a glass at a time... just like port, only not as sweet.... I blame the bilberry juice - it really is thick !
the port is also very good in cooking - add loads of flavour.

[Andy Hamilton]

To updates this post... both have been drank and very nice they were too. You couldn't tell which had the fruit for the second flush.

[Hedgerow hoarder]

On my second batch of elderberry , first turned out well. Still have 2 bottles left for Xmas. This year I'm making a elder and blackberry also elder and damson. But I was wondering why is this a port not a wine? I thought port was fortified , the receipe on this site has no added alcohol!

[MKG]

Mere tradition, HH - "country" wines made with a bit more fruit than usual tend to be given more "exotic" names. Port is renowned for its heavier body, so heavy home-made wines attract the same name. You're right - it can't possibly be a port. But then elderflower champagne can't possibly be a champagne, marrow rum can't be a rum (and if you've read my previous posts on that subject, may not even be safe to drink ) etc. etc.

Having said all of that, if you do succeed in making a heavy-bodied wine it is well worth adding some spirit, thus providing yourself with a "port-ish". Seems very appropriate.

Mike

[Hedgerow hoarder]

Do I use a grape spirit, if at what stage, love the easiness of port and slowly gettin other stuff to add, any usefull extras would be good.