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Elderberry Whine
Wed 7-Sep-11
10:46 pm
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Tim
Salisbury, Wiltshire

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They're not fermenting just not fermenting, the trouble-and followed all the instructions but for some reason there is no bubbling going on, she's quite distraught by the whole episode.

Is it possible to save the wine or are we going to end up with a very labour-intensive elderberry syrup?

It's a really great colour

 

Tim

Well, that didn't go quite as expected

Thu 8-Sep-11
10:22 am
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mike.
Coventry

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Hi Tim,

I have had some wines which have taken a wile to start fermenting. Sometimes I need to add extra yeast if things don't start straight away. Have you checked the seal on the airlock just in case it is fermenting slowly?

What recipe did you follow? If you added a campden tablet at the start to sterilize the berries, you sometimes need to leave things 24 hours before adding the yeast.

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Sat 10-Sep-11
12:39 am
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sanshojapan

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Any action yet?

 

Sansho

Sun 11-Sep-11
11:09 pm
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Tim
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The recipe came from a wine making book and stranggely called for the demi-jon to be bunged with cotton wool and not an air lock.  Don't trust the idea myself, curvy glass pipes look more professional.

 

It's going now, fizzing away happily so things have calmed down a lot and wifey is much more relaxed.  On a slight tangent I have a demi-john of marrow rum and one of marrow vinegar (unplanned) so does anyone have any ideas for a dressing using the stuff?!

 

It's not such a great colour, more like ..........

Well, that didn't go quite as expected

Mon 12-Sep-11
8:25 pm
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mike.
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I've been lucky to never have a batch turn to vinegar on me but my suggestion would be to just experiment with different things, trying dressings with sugar, mustard, chilli etc. It might work well in gazpacho instead of sherry vinegar but I'd try that with a small amount of soup first.

Glad the wine started fermenting properly. Was it an old book to suggest cotton wool instead of a proper airlock.

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Tue 13-Sep-11
2:23 pm
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kayerunrig
lincolnshire

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try sticking it in the airing cupboard sometimes elderberry just needs warming a little to get it going

Thu 15-Sep-11
2:44 pm
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Tim
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Ok Bobquail, I've dug out the book and it's First Steps In Winemaking by C.J.J Berry first published in 1960 but this edition is from 2007.  It says to plug the neck with cotton wool until the vigorous fermentation has finished and then fit an air lock.  I suppose it could be that the initial fermentation has the danger of being like my first marrow rum, which exited via the air lock and attacked the wife while she slept from its position up on the wardrobe on her side of the bed.  But other than that I couldn't say.

I've also just started a fresh batch of stinging nettle beer from the young autumn growth at the bottom of the garden. Yum

 

Also thanks for the suggestions for the vinegar.

I'll try that too, Kayerunrig

 

Thanks

Well, that didn't go quite as expected

Thu 15-Sep-11
7:41 pm
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mike.
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Ah yes, that sounds like a good reason for starting with cotton wool although I've never done that myself. I sometimes only 3/4 fill the demijohn then top up when the vigorous fermentation has finished so theres room for the froth. Occasionally I start it in a small fermentation bucket then transfer to the demijohn. Luckily I've only had 1 wine escape through the airlock and that was where I started with a full demijohn.

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