½ bucket fresh elderflowers 2 thinly sliced lemons 4½ litres boiling water 1kg white sugar ½tsp citric acid ½tsp tannin 500g sultanas 1tsp pectolase 1tsp tronozymol nutrient

After the success of two earlier elderflower brews, I thought I should finally get a new wine underway in 2005

DAY 1: 26-06-05
The water and sugar were brought to the boil. Once boiling the water was poured onto the flower heads, lemons, sultanas, acid and tannin. After a good stir the bucket was closed and the contents allowed to cool.

DAY 2: 27-06-05
A teaspoon of pectolase and the nutrient were stirred into the now tepid mixture. A a starter bottle was prepared.

DAY 3: 28-06-05
The reactivated yeast solution was stirred into the must.

DAY 6: 02-07-05
Having stirred the must each day, the brew was strained through a fine nylon bag into a sterilized demijohn and airlocked to continue fermentation.

WEEK 16: 17-10-05
Fermentation had stopped, and the gravity was checked at 0.992. The wine was racked into a clean demi john and treated with Kwik Clear to try and remove some of the dense haze that tainted the pale yellow orange wine 

WEEK 39:01-04-06
The wine had dropped quite clear, with a small sediment remaining. This third batch of elderflower is a little darker in colour that the earlier two. The wine wash given a final polish with the Vin Brite filter and treated with a crushed campden tablet and a little potassium sorbate. All that remains is to bottle.

The flowers in the traffic pollution free spot on the Selby Canal had almost gone over this year. Pay more attention next time so as to gather them at their best!