Making Elderberry Wine
Here are some basic brewing supplies you’ll need. You can often find these on craigslist, and definitely at a brewing supply store, or you can order them on amazon.
- Fermentation bucket
- Demijohns
- Airlocks with rubber stoppers
- Siphon hose
- a funnel
- Wine bottles (we usually just sanitize our old ones), corks, and a corker, OR swing-top bottles
- Sterilization solution
What to do:
1. Strip the berries off of their stems. The quickest, easiest way is to use a fork. Or, if you have an hour or two, you can freeze the stems and then just shake the berries off into your bowl.Kids love making wine! This is the perfect task to get them involved in. I actually waited a few days until I got to step two, but I would recommend you get on with it sooner– mine began to ferment and develop a yeast that I had to kill off by boiling– luckily, I still got away with it!
3. Cover the berries in water, and bring them to a boil. Let them simmer for a little while (15- 30 minutes.) Add sugar equal to the original weight of the berries.4. Let the elderberries cool, and then put them into a food-grade plastic bucket. I winged it, adding additional water to bring it to what I would guess is a bit under a gallon of water, total. “They” say to add a gallon for ever three lbs. of berries. Add a packet of red wine yeast, nutriment and citric acid (I just used lemon juice.) Cover well, and let them sit there and ferment for 4-5 days.Here is the yeast in action, from adding it to foaming up after a few minutes.
After a few days of fermentation in the bucket, this is what it looked like:5. Strain the berries out, pouring the liquid into a sterilized demijohn. Put an airlock on it, and stick it someplace a little warm. I wrapped mine in a dish towel.After six weeks, I tasted it. Elderberries are known to be very tannic, and so although it was quite astringent and kind of bitter, it did taste like WINE! It was not sweet at all– the sugar had been fermented, so I added additional sugar (1/2 cup) after the following step:
6. Rack the wine. This just means to siphon it into another sterilized demijohn. This separates the wine from the yeasty sediment that is in the bottom of the first vessel– the lees. (Pretty though, right?) Now it’s time to let the wine sit in a cooler place– I moved mine into our basement.I did this a couple of weeks ago. I tasted the wine again yesterday, and it is less tannic, but still tastes very young, of course, and has that slight effervescence of a new wine. But it is good— and very warming!I don’t know if you can see the difference or not, but the first glass is after one month, and the second is after two– the wine is becoming more clear, and it has a really nice color.In another week, I’ll rack the wine into bottles, and let them age… They say you can let elderberry wine age for years, and that it’s really incredible. I’m not sure I will wait that long– some guides say it’s ready to drink after six months.
Making Elderberry Wine is really pretty easy, and definitely a fun project! Elderberry wine can be made with frozen berries, and it can also include some other types of sweeter berries, so there are a lot of possibilities. As I mentioned in my post about making blackberry cider, I don’t have a lot of brewing experience, and don’t follow recipes exactly. Even so, this wine is turning out really nicely, so I think you should give it a shot! Here is a site with instructions for making elderberry wine.
UPDATE: This wine turned out way better than my wildest expectations. It was incredibly rich and smooth, with port-like character after one year. I ended up making a much larger batch this year because we were so sad when we drank out last bottle from this batch!Have you ever made your own wine? Would you give Elderberry Wine or another country wine a try?
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Joanna says
I miss elderberries here in Latvia, they don’t grow as prolifically as they do in the UK. Mind you I never made wine with them. One thing I have tried here in Latvia though is Marrow Rum, made with oranges, brown sugar and bakers yeast in a hollowed out marrow. It is surprisingly smooth and a bit like port to my mind – not being a connoisseur of port though I wouldn’t like to swear to it. Hope your elderberry wine turns out well though.
Ariana Mullins says
Hi Joanna! I had never heard of Marrow Rum– that sounds really, really interesting! Just baker’s yeast? That is so surprising, I’ll definitely have to give it a try!
Dean says
Hi Joanna, can you post more information about your marrow rum recipe. It sounds amazing!
wildcraft diva says
It looks amazing! How did you manage not to colour yourselves purple?? Maybe I’ll try next year…..
Ariana Mullins says
Actually, I’m pretty sure my hands were stained blue and purple for a few days after stripping the berries!
Hazel says
Fantastic! It looks beautiful. I bet it’ll be amazing next Christmas.
I’m determined to try dandelion flower wine next year. I’ve done dandelion flower jelly/syrup/vinegar…got to be wine next!
Ariana Mullins says
Yes, we’ll have to save one bottle for a full year– that will be fun to open up!
I love it when people use dandelion, it’s so common and that’s a great way to keep it from taking over everything else. This year we did dandy fritters with an almond flour batter– they were really good! I would also love to try making wine with them– possibly the easiest way to use a whole bunch at once.
grassfood says
This is so wonderful. I long to have elderberry bushes that are producing. My next quest is to make wine, do you make any other types?
Ariana Mullins says
Yes, actually we have made a couple other kinds. By “we” I actually mean my husband! He has made a really nice parsnip wine, and a slightly less-successful beet wine (I think it can be really good, but the recipe he followed called for way too much sugar.) We will definitely be making nettles wine in the spring, and elderflower is one I’d like to try soon. There is a great book out there called “booze for free” about turning just about anything into wine!
Lisa/Fresh Eggs Daily Farm Girl says
This looks really good. Please come share this recipe at my Farm Girl Blog Fest: https://fresh-eggs-daily.blogspot.com/2012/12/farm-girl-blog-fest-13.html
Happy Holidays!
Lisa
Fresh Eggs Daily
greatdana says
Yummy! I just bottled my pomegranate wine after almost a year of fermenting. Home made wine is good for the body and good for the soul! I’d love to try with grapes or berries. I wonder if I could get a hold of elderberries here.
Lisa Lynn says
Cool! Found you on Frugal Days and would love to have you join us on Wildcrafting Wednesday today!
https://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/04/wildcrafting-wednesday-16.html
Alix S says
I really want to try this! Thank you for linking up at Wildcrafting Wednesday!
Sue in NC says
Regarding using bread yeast, it was pretty commonly used to make wine and beer during Prohibition, or so my father told me.;) When I got into brewing he told me stories, and I remember something about bread yeast spread on a piece of toast and floated in the liquid. And it can also be used to make wine, cider, etc. by people who are prohibited from having alcohol, such as our troops in some overseas locations and prisoners right here at home.
Mary Cameron says
Fascinated to hear you have also heard of the yeast spread on toast method of fermentation. I have actually witnessed this method being used.My late mother made her elderberry wine using this method to good effect. However the details are lost in the mists of history. My friends and I have also come across this method in Mrs Beaton’s Household Management to make parsnip wine.
Rose - The Clean Dish says
My mom makes elderberry wine. I’m glad you shared this with us! Wonderful post 🙂
bellavistafarm says
Love this post!!! I have been wanting to make wine forever and am hoping to get it done when I pick elderberries. Patiently waiting for them to ripen. 🙂
Man of the West says
Just a quick comment Ariana – based on my first try at making elderberry wine, you might want to try and keep some for a really long time – 2 years or more. Mine just kept getting better for that long, and I wished I’d saved more of it because just under 2 years was when we drank the last bottle!
Ian (born and raised in Hampshire, now living in Iowa!)
Ariana Mullins says
Hi Ian,
You are absolutely right about it just getting better! Almost a year later, we just opened our first bottle, and I can hardly believe how wonderful it is. It will be really, really hard to save the other bottles for another year… But maybe we’ll split it, drink half this Christmas and half the next. Great advice! We will definitely be making a much bigger batch this year, so it should be easier to put up bottles for longer going forward.
Clara says
Hi Ariana, how much lemon juice did you add? Thanks, Clara
Alan Gorkin says
how much nutriment and citric acid? it doesn’t say….
ariana says
Alan, it’s one level teaspoon per gallon. Most of the packages will tell you on them.
Leanne says
Hi,
I’ve jusr stumbled accroos your blog while looking for instructions for elderberry wine. Fantastic! I shall be reading your posts this week. Lovely blog
Leanne xx
Beerhat says
WOW! This is really an amazing and attractive post making of elderberry wine. I appreciate your posted wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing such an interesting post.
Gemma says
I found your blog looking to make elderberry wine again – last year’s was my first attempt and it was something of a surprise. I’d expected paint thinner, and whilst it wasn’t that nice on the tongue, it had the most amazing cinnamon aftertaste. Quite unexpected!
Definitely worth a try if you haven’t had a go!
Gemma xx
Anonymous says
I have picked elderberries for the first time ever, I am an avid blackberry picker I love free fruit . I washed and boiled the elderberries for ten minutes then mashed all the juice out on a strainer then threw the rest away. can I drink the juice or do I have to add anything else. the juice is a bit tasteless . do i need sugar . ?
Ariana Mullins says
You will definitely want to add some sweetener– honey or sugar. I think a better recipe for you would be the Elderberry Winter Tonic– here’s the link: https://and-here-we-are.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/making-elderberry-winter-tonic-syrup.html
Anonymous says
have just started making my elderberry wine love your blog
Karlie says
I stumbled across your blog when looking for Elderberry wine receipes. I’ve also joined a forum re winemaking but it all seems very difficult with measuring alcohol content etc. Your receipe was very easy to follow and currently have my first batch on the go as a result. Its in the kitchen and ready to be racked in two weeks time. I’ll have a try of it then and add some more sugar to it and then move it to the basement as you did. I’ll try it again as I bottle it and then Im probably going to try to leave it for a year and crack it open next Christmas.
Thank you for posting the receipe and keep the wine updates coming – love the blog!
Gary says
Hi Ariana,
I was just looking for an Elderberry wine recipe, and came across your blog, and this post. We have picked loads of them this year, and have a freezer full, and so what best than to make wine eh? I have never done it before, and have bucket and demi johns (bought for £1.50 each at a car boot sale yesterday). Now all I need are all of the pipes and airlocks and then awayyyy! Thanks for the usefull information. Have a good week.
Reginald Lumbra says
I would like to add an ingrenedent to your dandy loin wine and apple as well in a 6 gal batch I tried 1 gal of pear juice just pears run through the blender I found it cuts the bitter out a lot I dont spell very good its Lion not loin good luck
REG LUMBRA ingredent to
Clara says
Hi Ariana, I have 25 pounds of berries!! I have added sugar and boiled them, and now it has cooled enough to transfer to the fermentation bucket. Can you please tell me how much lemon juice you added? Or how much you would recommend with
25 Lbs? I am so glad that I found your site!
Thanks in advance.
Clara
ariana says
Hi Clara,
I used 1/2 of a lemon for my 1 gallon of wine, and the general consensus seems to be one lemon per 3 lbs. of elderberries. That would make about 8-9 lemons for you. Have fun, and I hope you get a fantastic, huge batch of elderberry wine!
Clara says
Thank you so much Ariana! Now I have another question for you if you don’t mind. After you strained the berries out and put the wine into the demijohn, you waited 6 weeks until you tasted it and racked the wine? Did you notice bubbling in the airlock that whole time? The reason that I ask is because mine was bubbling for a few weeks and now it has stopped and it made me a little worried… What are your thoughts?
ariana says
Hi Clara, don’t worry about the fermentation slowing down– that’s normal. I’d still leave it for at least six weeks, rack it, and repeat. You want the fermentation to finish completely before you bottle it anyway. Have fun!
David B says
Interesting article! I’m going to pick some elderberries tonight and hopefully make enough to fill 2 demijohns. I’ve been making my own wine since Christmas, and so far made plum, pear, rhubarb, and strawberry. Brambles (Blackberries) are nearly ripe too, so they will be my next project.
Terry Dixon says
Hi Ariana,
I don’t know if you’re still making elberberry wine (I usually make around 10 UK gallons a year – about 60 bottles). If so did you know that there is still plenty of flavour and colour left in the berries after you remove the initial wine ferment, enough to make a lovely rose wine.
You just need to add about 1kg of sugar per gallon, a liquor made from boiling a couple of bananas (strain the liquor after boiling sliced whole bananas for a few minutes) to givve body, and about 500 gm sultanas or some white wine grape concentrate as well as your lemon juice etc. It is ready to drink much sooner than the first ferment – around 3 months after bottling so you can fill the gap between main wine and rose.
Try and enjoy,
Terry
PeterB says
Any one got a recipe for rhubarb wine ?
Ariana {And Here We Are...} says
I do! https://andhereweare.net/2014/04/make-rhubarb-wine.html/
Peter B says
Thank you so much for your reply
Pete
reneekohley says
Oh gosh this is SO fun! I want to do this so bad! I need to gather all of the materials but I think this is on my goal list for next year! The elderberries here are ready to pick right now!
Jamie says
Looking foward to making elderberry wine! I have made pear wine and now have blackberry wine brewing. Time to put the elderberries growing in my woods to use!
greentalk says
So interesting. I would love to try this if I could get the birds to leave my trees alone!
Jane says
Hi Arianna,
I followed your recipe in 2013 to make my first ever gallon of wine. Today I’m starting 3 gallons of Elderberry and currently have 13 gallons of various wines (Elderberry, Plum, Damson, Crab Apple, Dandelion, Rosehip, Blackberry) in demijohns and a further 70 bottles sitting in my wine racks!! All the fruits are foraged apart from the plums which grow in my garden. I thought you might like to know what your website has started!!
Thanks,
Jane
ariana says
Hi Jane,
This comment made my morning! It makes me so happy to think of all that wild fruit turning into something so lovely– and it know the pleasant hours you must have spent foraging it and making it into lovely wine. Thank you for telling me!
John O says
Does it matter leaving a few stalks on the berries when separating them? It’s a tedious task !?
ariana says
Well, there is a little bit of poison in the stalks. A lot of people freak out about this and it’s probably the same people that get scared about leaving seeds in apples or pits in cherries when brewing. I personally don’t worry much about it, and I will leave it up to you. Please just do a little google research so you can make an informed decision on this one. 🙂
patrick costello says
Hi this is my first attempt at fresh elderberry, i should have enough for five gallon, what changes do i make in your recipe for this, i know one yeast should be enough, but everything wont be five times will it.
i tried your rhubarb and it come out perfect thanks pat.
Gwen says
I truly love this post. I live in Dallas, Texas and I am interest in making a sugar free wine. What are your thoughts on NOT adding sugar to this? Thank you, Gwen Snyder
Elizabeth says
Hi Ariana, we haven’t yet tried to make wine but your post sure gets me excited about it. Not sure where to get elderberries, I’m thinking for us, a farmers market. Haven’t seen elderberry fields near us. Great post and blog 🙂
Dean Percival says
how do you deal with elderberry goo? It gets on everything, and is soluble only with canola or vegatable oil.
Renan says
Today I’m starting 3 gallons of Elderberry and currently have 13 gallons of various wines (Elderberry, Plum, Damson, Crab Apple, Dandelion, Rosehip, Blackberry) in demijohns and a further 70 bottles sitting in my wine racks!! All the fruits are foraged apart from the plums which grow in my garden
Ashley kennedy says
Hello, I am wanting to try this project and I am curious if you have step by step instructions somewhere?
Ariana Mullins says
Hi Ashley,
The instructions are pretty close to step by step– just broken up with pictures in between steps to illustrate. Have fun! 🙂
Piotr says
I did one last year and just started first batch this year. easy and working recipe:-)
In metric
Berries x (i.e. 1,5kg) [kg]
Sugar x (i.e. 1.5kg) [kg] (same as weight of fruits before processing)
Additional Water 3.33litre per 1kg of fruits (i.e. 5.00litres)
Peter says
Just processed 4.5kg elderberries (were frozen for some time – mushrooms went through workshop first 😉 ) and tomorrow when it cool down will ad yeast and citric acid as per instructions on their packs. 25l fermentation vessel almost full
stella gammaitoni says
A friend gave me elderberries last year and I froze them due to the craziness of life at the time. In March during the quarantine I used your recipe for elderberry wine and I bottled it up yesterday. We checked the alcohol and it was 13.4% ( love having college kids home:-)). It smells strong and “strange”, but it tastes wonderful! The process was simple and moved along easliy. I worry about the smell as I am hesitant to share with friends. I am hoping if it ages a little the smell will improve. That said it is a strong and slightly sweet wine. Thoughts anyone?
Kimberly Lander says
How much sugar do you need for 3 lbs of elderberries?
Kimberly Lander says
the link to the other recipe would not work