Relax and Refresh with Country Elderberry Wine

There’s really nothing better than sitting down after a long day with a glass of wine and the sun setting in the distance. Unless of course you foraged for the berries for said wine, crushed them by hand, added in some sugar, water, and citric acid, bottled it up, and waited six months before you could enjoy it. That might actually be the best. If you have the patience, this recipe is for you.

The following excerpt is from The Wildcrafting Brewer by Pascal Baudar. It has been adapted for the web.

(Photographs courtesy of Pascal Baudar unless otherwise noted.)

California is home to Mexican elder trees (Sambucus mexicana), which provide either white or black berries (they look similar to white or black grapes in terms of color). These berries are also more sugary than other elderberries, so if you live in a different state or country and are working with the usual black-berried elder (S. nigra), you may want to add a bit more sugar than this recipe calls for. Or you can also just follow the amounts given here, then sample the brew when fermentation is complete and sweeten to match your taste.

Note that you need to pick the berries when they are fully ripe for this recipe. Unripe berries may contain cyanidin glycoside, which isn’t good for you; drinking raw elderberry juice is also not advised. Fermentation with raw juice is documented in the books Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning by the Gardeners and Farmers of Centre Terre Vivante and Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz; it’s the only method I’ve used for the last three years. The Nordic Food Lab has also done some interesting work related to the effect of fermentation on cyanogenic glycosides in elderberries, which is worth reading on their website (nordicfoodlab.com).

I’ve used this (raw) recipe with Sambucus mexicana and S. nigra (commonly found in Europe and North America). But note that the recipe may not be appropriate for other types of elder trees and berries. If you’re unsure about ripeness or other issues (cyanogenic glycosides, types of elderberries, or the like), simply use the same basic recipe but boil the juice and add commercial wine yeast or wild yeast starter once the solution has cooled down.

Ingredients