This is another popular skill among homesteaders and others today.
On my recent visit to @shalomacres, we not only had the opportunity to help them butcher a cow, but also to bottle some elderberry wine that they had made. Not only was the wine homemade, the elderberries used to make it were grown right on their homestead too!
ELDERBERRIES
For those of you who do not know, elderberries grow as thick bushes that branches out in every direction. They are members of the honeysuckle family, and have opposite compound leaves that can vary in number, but seven seems to be pretty common. In the spring their flowerheads are large clusters of tiny white flowers that can be easy to spot and identify.
These flowers are edible and are often called elderblow. They can be can be sprinkled on top of foods as a delightful garnish, or used to make fritters by dipping the whole cluster into a batter and frying. They can also be used to a tea. While the flowers are both edible and useful, most people focus on the berries.
The berries from elderberry plants have been known to be specifically high in Vitamin C. They are a good source of Vitamins A, Vitamin B6, Iron and Potassium, as well as some Calcium, Phosphorus, and Copper to the table. Many people use elderberries in various immune system boosting concoctions, especially for the winter months.
Here is a photo of what a bush covered in ripe berries looks like. I've seen them in the wild in Wisconsin, Missouri, and Arkansas, so they can be a good wild edible to be familiar with. Also, since they are easy to propagate, we have many prepared to be introduced to our land, so we should be growing our own supply on a yearly basis from here on out.
BACK TO THE WINE
At @shalomacres, all the berries used to make this batch of wine came from just two bushes, and I think that their children did all of the work picking them. It was nice to not only see the "finished product" in the form of this wine, but to also see the actual bushes that the berries came from.
While I am not familiar with the entire winemaking process, I do know that to bottle the wine the bottles had to be clean, so a special cleaner was used.
If the bottles are not properly prepared or cleaned, all of the time and effort that went into making the wine would be wasted, so obviously this is not a step to skip.
A siphon is used to get the wine into the bottles. The end of the hose is kept off of the bottom to avoid sucking up sediments. By carefully using the siphon and monitoring the hose end, one can be sure to transfer only the wine and not anything that may foul the bottle.
Once the siphon is working one need to only wait while the bottles are filled. You can see how happy @shalomacres is that his hard work in making this wine is paying off.
As the bottles were filled and the wine level decreased, the end of the siphon was moved to the floor to keep the wine flowing into bottles and a few cups too. With a few extra hands on hand to help out, the full bottles could be removed and new bottles put into their place without having to stop the siphon.
Like many events and tasks in the life of a steemian, this was also a chance to content creation. As you can tell by the photo above, this was content creation at its finest! I really get a kick out of that photo, and remember that @papa-pepper was standing behind @randomstuff and @mericanhomestead doing the same thing.
In the end the process was a success and the wine was put into the bottles without any issues. The work of planting the elderberry bushes, tending to them, harvesting the berries, and making the wine had finally reached the end for now, and all that remains is for them to enjoy the wine.
I'm still enjoying that CANON REBEL T6, and liked the look of this photo, so I'll include it on my way out. If anyone is interested, I'm actually giving this camera away. For more info, CLICK HERE.
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-bottling-elderberry-wine
Until next time…
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