blumentopferde
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2012
- Messages
- 242
- Reaction score
- 36
Hi!
I'm not quite sure wheter I'm in the right subforum for my question! Moderators, please move it to another subsection if you think so!
Elderberrys Are ripening around my home and I'm considering making elderberry wine from the european elderberry (Sambucus Nigra). I'd like to keep the wine as natural as possible, which means:
- I don't want to dilute the must with water
- I don't want to add any sugar
- I don't want to use any additives that influence the taste of the original fruit (no oak, tannins, juices etc.)
I do not hesitate to use dry yeast, yeast nutrients, pectic enzyme, sulfites and other preservatives if necessary though.
What I want is a wine that represents the fruit it is made of as much as possible.
Now all the wine making guides say:
You need a brix level higher than 22° and acidity levels between 6 and 10 g/l.
As far as I have read elderberries don't get much higher than 12 Brix (around 6,5vol% Alc), their pH-levels are supposed to be between 3,5 and 4,5 but acidity levels seem to vary a lot. I found figures between 0,9 and 2,5%!
So acidity levels might be a bit high, pH levels curiously seem high at the same time, but it might be possible to have the acidity levels within the limit. Sugar levels will be definitely too low though.
I want to evaluate the risks if I ignore this and still don't add any sugar.
Will I have trouble during fermentation? I once made cider, which had even lower Brix levels and didn't have any problems.
Will the stability be greatly reduced? Elderberry wine is said to require a long storage of about a year to reach its full potential. Can a wine with such alcohol levels make it that long? Are there stabilization methods to make it last that long? Or is there really no other way than adding sugar? If yes, how low can I go with the sugar levels without risking to lose the wine within a year?
And what could I do to get the acidity lower without adding water?
Anyone who's got experience on that? What are your thoughts?
I'm not quite sure wheter I'm in the right subforum for my question! Moderators, please move it to another subsection if you think so!
Elderberrys Are ripening around my home and I'm considering making elderberry wine from the european elderberry (Sambucus Nigra). I'd like to keep the wine as natural as possible, which means:
- I don't want to dilute the must with water
- I don't want to add any sugar
- I don't want to use any additives that influence the taste of the original fruit (no oak, tannins, juices etc.)
I do not hesitate to use dry yeast, yeast nutrients, pectic enzyme, sulfites and other preservatives if necessary though.
What I want is a wine that represents the fruit it is made of as much as possible.
Now all the wine making guides say:
You need a brix level higher than 22° and acidity levels between 6 and 10 g/l.
As far as I have read elderberries don't get much higher than 12 Brix (around 6,5vol% Alc), their pH-levels are supposed to be between 3,5 and 4,5 but acidity levels seem to vary a lot. I found figures between 0,9 and 2,5%!
So acidity levels might be a bit high, pH levels curiously seem high at the same time, but it might be possible to have the acidity levels within the limit. Sugar levels will be definitely too low though.
I want to evaluate the risks if I ignore this and still don't add any sugar.
Will I have trouble during fermentation? I once made cider, which had even lower Brix levels and didn't have any problems.
Will the stability be greatly reduced? Elderberry wine is said to require a long storage of about a year to reach its full potential. Can a wine with such alcohol levels make it that long? Are there stabilization methods to make it last that long? Or is there really no other way than adding sugar? If yes, how low can I go with the sugar levels without risking to lose the wine within a year?
And what could I do to get the acidity lower without adding water?
Anyone who's got experience on that? What are your thoughts?