With the weather turning and summer up next how better to enjoy it than with a delicious glass of your own hand crafted sparkling elder-flower wine and you may be surprised just how simple and straightforward it is to make. So here is our tried and tested recipe.

Simple guide to producing Sparkling Elderflower Wine

Before starting clean & sterilise all equipment with Heart of England cleaner steriliser. When picking elderflowers pick them fully open on a bright day, only the heads are used. Do not pick into a plastic bag and use them as quickly as possible, if allowed to sweat then they will produce a catty flavour and aroma.

The quantities here are per gallon of wine to be produced so for a 5 gallon batch just multiply all ingredients by 5.

Place one pint of elderflower heads per gallon to be made (not pressed down) into the bottom of your fermenting bin and scold with a pint of boiling water Dissolve 1kg Brewing Sugar (glucose powder) in hot water and add to the bucket stirring to mix in. Now add a teaspoon of citric acid, a teaspoon of Heart of England yeast nutrient & energiser and 1/2 teaspoon of tannin.

Add 250ml white grape juice concentrate (or 500ml for a more fuller bodied wine), top up to the 4.5ltr / one gallon mark on the fermenting bucket, check the temperature to ensure it is below 24oC.

Now add a sachet of gervin no.3 wine yeast making it up to the instructions on the packet, alternatively use the Heart of England quality wine yeast & nutrients tub again making up to instructions on tub and stir with paddle to mix well in.

Place the lid loosely on top of the bucket to cover but do not seal and leave on a warm place approx 18—24 oC and leave to ferment.

After 7—10 days, strain out the flowers by passing through a straining cloth to extract juice and transfer to wine fermenter such as Hamstead 5 litre wide neck fermenter or demijohn for 1 galls or a 5 gall wine fermenter for larger batches.

Leave to ferment, until bubbles stop passing through the airlock and the wine starts to clear or better still when a stable hydrometer reading is achieved this may take approx 7 to 14 days.

Fermentation will be over when bubbles are less than 3 a minute through the airlock and on your hydrometer a steady reading is achieved over a 3 day period.

At the end of fermentation syphon the wine into strong pressure bottles. We have several types of suitable bottle 500ml and 1litre screw cap reusable pet bottles, 500ml amber beer bottles with a crown cap top, 500ml flip top (Grolsch style) bottles.

Champagne or sparkling wine bottles could also be used with a suitable champagne cork and wire (corks and cages both in stock) but do not use normal wine bottles or one trip light bottles as they will not take the pressure.

Prime the bottle by adding 1/2 a teaspoon of glucose powder (normal sugar can be used but is not as good) per 500ml/pt and seal the bottle. Place the bottle back in a warm place, the same as the original fermentation is fine for approx 4 to 7 days to condition.

This allows the last bit of glucose to be fermented out trapping the gas in the bottle for a nice sparkle. Then transfer to a cool place to mature and clear, alternatively it can be left in the warm until it starts to clear, this ensures the fermentation is fully over but clearing will take longer.

Although your sparkling elderflower is ready for drinking straight away it will benefit from maturing and improve with keeping and as with all sparkling drinks chill before serving and open with care.

We have used this receipe for many years now and it has never let us down, if you can’t get fresh flowers dried are available so you can also brew this great drink all year round.

Why not personalise your wine further by adding your own label we have an excellent range of labels that can be written on or fed through a computer printer for overprinting perfect for serving with pride or keeping to yourself.

Chris is from Hamstead Brewing Centre in Great Barr where they have been teaching brewing for over 35 years.

Hamstead Brewing Centre, 37 Newton Rd, Great Barr, Birmingham B43 6AD. 0121 358 6800

www.hamsteadhomebrew.co.uk