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3 lbs / 1350 grams fresh elderberries 1 lb / 450 grams sultanas 3 lbs / 1350 grams sugar 8 pints / 1 gallon water 1 teaspoon citric acid 1 campden tablet Wine yeast Yeast nutrient METHOD - WHAT TO DO

Strip and crush the berries and boil with water. Strain through a sieve and place liquid in a bucket. Add the sugar and the citric acid and when cool add the campden tablet and yeast. Leave to ferment for five days stirring daily and then pour the liquid into a demijohn and seal with an airlock.

Store the wine in a warm place and allow the fermentation to work itself out. When fermentation has ceased, rack the wine into a clean jar and place in a cooler environment and leave for a further few months. Rack again and leave until the wine is stable. Leave for a further six months and bottle.

****What do I do with the sultanas and can I have a little more detail please?

This is my first attempt at making my own from scratch****

Atron Seige
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sharp
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  • I am worried about adding the campden tablet and yeast at the same time. That will kill the yeast. Maybe get some more recipes from the web and see if another explains the process more. – Atron Seige Oct 02 '15 at 07:09
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    I'd just add the sultanas with the elderberries and take them out with the berries as well. They are your flavor ingredients. – Robert Oct 02 '15 at 17:37

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I'd freeze the sultanas to break up the cell membranes and get more taste and sugar out of them, then once thawed add them with the elderberries and continue as per the recipe. I'd add the campden tablet, leave it to do its stuff for an hour or 2 then add the yeast. If using dried yeast and campden tablets best to make sure the yeast is properly rehydrated before adding the yeast. As dried yeast as it rehydrates has no control over the nutrients/toxins passing through its cell membrane. So rehydrate it first then it will be able to better handle the low Sulphur Dioxide levels from the campden tablet.

Mr_road
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