Simple Elderflower Wine

Fiona and Hugh Osborne say you too can capture the flavour of spring by making this distinctive wine

- Fiona and Hugh Osborne

I recall years ago being told by a terribly self-important man that "only grape makes proper wine, everything else is foul". I felt pity for a person with such a limited palate. We don't apply such arbitrary and limiting strictures to spirits. Barley, apples, plums, potatoes, juniper all make interesting and varied spirits. Wines can enjoy the same diversity and variety of ingredients, and all be delicious. It's undeniable that bad "home brew" can be awful but with some simple techniques and widely available ingredients, country wines can be a taste sensation! I love Elderflower wine. This recipe never fails me and with elderflower season looming, I will soon be making this year's batch.

GATHERING ELDERFLOWERS

Elderflowers are reassuringly distinctive clusters of tiny white star-like flowers on a scrubby fairly small tree. The leaves are in alternating green pairs of leaflets five or more in number with a single end leaflet. I gather half a basket (about a bucket full) of stems for each 1-gallon batch of wine. There's an old country saying that they should be gathered in the morning. Recently I found a Kew gardens report on elderflowers that observed that "the floral scent complex peaked between midnight and dawn". So that old country saying is absolutely right! These days I collect my elderflowers in the early morning which maximises the heady aroma. I pick only fully open bright white flowers, leaving any that are turning brown (as well as a good proportion of the rest for the pollinating thrips).