Elderberry F-pac

[Woodbee]

Howdy all.
I just did my second racking on a couple of 5 gal. batches of Eldeberry wine. One is straight berry and the other I threw in some spices and oranges for a spiced effect that will end up in my estufa oven for Maderia. The must started with a SG of 1.15 a little high I know. It was 0.994 this racking. I know that I will be back sweetening this wine. But when? I added Campten and sorbate. It has a very strong flavor, good body and a nose that will really get your attention. They are both pretty darn clear for such young stuff. I am expecting these to take a long time before they are ready to comsume. A year?. Anyway what I would like to know is if I should I sweeten them now or should I wait 3-6-9-12 months. I have no problem letting them sit in a carboy for that long. I Started with a whole lot of juice and fruit and very little water. M F-pac will be made from frozen Elderberry juice and plain white sugar. Also the color is really exciting for me because I have only done whites up to this point. The deep rich reds ahow up real well on clothes, counters, floor and EVERYTHING it might splash upon.

 

[Wade E]

I like to sweeten sooner then later but you said it had great flavor, this tells me it doesnt need an f-pac and just needs sweetening. Either way I like to get it done up front cause sometimes it can cloud things up and youll have to wait all over again.

 

[Woodbee]

Thanks Wade. I said it had a strong flavor not nessisarily a good flavor. It tastes like a big red wine and not elderberries. I don't know what it should taste like at this point. I was thinking or hopeing it would taste more like elderberry syrup or jam. That is why I was thinking of making the F-pac out of pure juice. What's your thoughts?

 

[Midwest Vintner]

eldeberry, blackberry, chokeberry (aka aronaberry) and black currant are more complex fruits very similar to grapes. if you do them good and don't sweeten them, you can get hints of other flavors. we've had a few batches of them that people were like, "what grape variety is this." "Black currant?" oh.

 

[Wade E]

You certainly could do that. I do this with almost every fruit wine I make. I think for the first time I dont need one with my Elderberry?Blackberry blend but it had a huge amount of fruit in this 6 gallon batch as my freezer broke so I just dumped it all in the bucket and said screw it! I believe I made the right decision and glad i noted what I did.