Elderflower Wine

The elderberry bushes are blooming.

I found a recipe for elderflower wine or elderflower champagne.

D cut 100 small blossoms from our elderberry plants.
I laid them out on newspaper to give critters time to leave.

I cut off some of the stems.
That wasn't in the recipe, but it seemed like a good idea.

I dissolved 3 pounds of sugar in two gallons of water.
Added the juice of three lemons and six slices of lemon from those large lemons.
Four tablespoons of cider vinegar came next.



I added the trimmed, de-bugged elderflowers.
The pot is now resting, covered, in the front hall.


After 36 hours, it gets strained and put into soda bottles.
I used a stainless steel pot, stainless steel colander, and a old sheer curtain.
Everything was first sterilized with bleach.


It is a lovely color.  
It's very syrupy.  I hope it mellows.


It should be ready in about three weeks.

The recipes I found suggest that you check periodically to see if carbonation is building up.
We'll see.