Selfsufficientish.com

Spent the afternoon and early evening with my mam setting off 4 gallons of elderberry wine. Plucking pounds of elderberries off the stalks (we use the term 'ploating') then boiling them up (with ginger and cloves) and straining the liquor into a plastic bucket onto the sugar. This was the first time in years that I've been involved in winemaking and it brought back some memories. It was also the first major winemaking exercise for my mam since my dad died and I dare say it was the same for her.

It was some quality time though and it should be a quality brew, this is a lovely drink usually and the most worthwhile home brew wine I know of. Port-like, strong and warming it is a lovely Christmas drink, but won't be at its best till Christmas 2009 at least!

Ah well, we will have to wait...

That's lovely to hear, Plotter - I expect your Mum really enjoyed it. The official term for geting elderberries off their stalks, by the way, is "strigging". And no, I have no idea why

EDIT: So I looked it up in my trusty OED - a strig is an old (at least 16th century) word for the stalk of a leaf, flower or fruit. Well, I learn something every day!

Just to a spoil sport I never bother to take my elderberries off the stalk. Just use a pair of sissors to remove the majority of the stalk and chuck the rest in the bucket. Tastes alright to my (years of alcohol abused) palette.

We usually use scissors method for elderflower wine but use a trusty fork for strigging (love that word-cheers MKG)the elderberries.Don't know about 2009 though,am merrily trying to drink this years before it goes into the bottle for Christmas this year.We haven't put in ginger and cloves yet,but will certainly be trying it next year

Does it smell awful when you boil it up?I remember as a child my Nan and Grandad boiling up Elderberries and it smelt terrible it has always stayed with me so I don't think 30 years on I could stand it,although I have stacks of elderberries in the garden is boiling the only way to make the wine?

No. You can pour a kettle of boiling water over them and allow them to cool, then crush them. You can soak 'em in metabisulphite for a day or so, then crush them. Or, best of all, get them off the stalks and into a carrier bag and freeze 'em. Stick the frozen lump in a bucket and they thaw ready-mashed and sterile.

Well I have had my first taste of this today and though I do say so myself, it tastes pretty damn good! Still a bit young, but beautiful flavour and very very strong! So glad we did this, and so glad I have three bottles here now, with a further 3 gallons to bottle up.