"Ryan Case" wrote in message
...
Pavel314 wrote:
"ebrad" wrote in message
...
On Mar 23, 10:28 am, "Pavel314" wrote:
Here's a link to a website with a lot of excellent advice about making
elderberry wines:

http://www.geocities.com/wvmountaine...s/Elderberries....

Paul
I thought elderberries were smelly. I remember from the movie Monty
Python's Holy Grail, "Your mother was a hamster, and your
father ....smelt ...of elderberries."

I know that is not an intelligent comment.

I always wondered about that reference. Maybe it a reference that dad was
into the elderberry wine too frequently? I use elderberries to improve my
Concord grape wine; 20% elderberries adds a lot of complexity and depth
to the taste and tones down the foxiness. I also make a melomel with
elderberries and honey, which I call Dragon's Blood because of the deep
color.

Paul
I always thought it was a high falutin' way of saying his father was a
drunk!

Picked 20lbs of elderberries along the roads around here last year and
made five gallons of decent wine, btw. But cleaning them is a PITA!

Ryan

Over my first several years of picking elderberries I tried different
methods to speed up the cleaning process. My comb-and-hardware-cloth method
works fairly well; it's described at:

http://home.comcast.net/~rbfarm/eldrpick.html

Also, check the Cracked Cork website I referenced above; they have a page on
harvesting and cleaning techniques.

I just ordered some elderberries from Raintree Nurseries, on variety with
golden berries and the other with powder blue berries. Details at:

http://www.raintreenursery.com/catal...ducttype=ELDER

Paul