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[MirlitonVine]

Does anyone make wine out of berries? If so what are your favorites? I made some with blackberries once, it was decent. If like to make some with beauty berries or elderberries this year.

[BubbleCat]

Yeap I do, mostly mixes, often including grapes. I never leave them to natural fermentation, I cook them, enclose them with the pressure relief water trap and add a clean batch of yeast I decide should gogood with it. Also measure sugar first to know if your yeast will be able to do the job

Faves so far: various Rubus, various Ribes (with and without thorns), all kind of apples plums pears ... if they qualify... whatever I find and tastes good.

But spontaneous fermentation might be fine, depending on luck.

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[MirlitonVine]

Have you every heard of pokeberry wine? The plant is supposed to be toxic but I've heard of old timers making a medicinal wine from the berries

[BubbleCat]

No I just researched it, it appears no or little of those are native to my place altho they might be invasive. But I have never heard anyone mentioning the plant let alone making a beverage from it. Sorry

[Greench]

Lots of relevant information on that page.
Be careful though, regarding its toxicity.

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[MirlitonVine]

Lots of relevant information on that page.
Be careful though, regarding its toxicity.

Thanks. It's a pretty awesome plant. Kinda grows in the same niche as elderberry. I'm going look for wild plants today, if I see a big one I'll post pics, but they may still be small.

[Roze]

pokeberry wine?    I knew that I makes a nice natural Dye but is toxicity always keep me reluctant to try it as edible..

Once I made sambucus nigra liquor, it tasted great and after drinking all I find out that was poisonous.. I'm still here, but now I learned that before try a new recipe I should inform myself about it

My next one it apple cider taste great and is easy to make

[BubbleCat]

Rozeeeee ... afaik the european S Nigra strain is not poisonous, whilst american subsp are said to be.

Look at it that way, as much Sambucus BC eats all year through ... and the fact they sell it commercially in shoos here ... no no no

[Roze]

The dark blue/purple berries can be eaten when fully ripe but are mildly poisonous in their unripe state. All green parts of the plant are poisonous, containing cyanogenic glycosides (Vedel & Lange 1960). The berries are edible after cooking and can be used to make jam, jelly, chutney and Pontack sauce.

But you right bubble, is not poisonous otherwise I'll not be writing this

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[BubbleCat]

The accounts vary from what I read, some say the european/ north indian/ north african original strain of S Nigra is free of certain stuff, others say its present just not as much as in american subsp of S Nigra. Also the sources describe different properties regarding the ingredient, from unpoisonous, to avoid all the way to poisonous. All are sure heat breaks it down

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[fairdinkumseeds]

Off topic a little but so good I gotta share.
Mango champagne/hooch/booze rocks!

Add 2kg sugar, 10mangoes, and a little water, then blend it up with a wiz stick or food processor.
Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a 20lt bucket and topup with water. Put lid and airlock ontop.
Leave in cool dark shed(its hot here), then bottle in 1month.

About 1/5 crashes and tastes foul(wrong yeast or bacterial infection), but the other 4 are AWESOME, award winning quality!
I make enough each mango season to last me all year and use as gifts.

Love making booze and the below are worth having a crack at too.
Same recipe and method for passionfruit except use 20 fruit.
Same recipe and method for pawpaw use 3large reds.
Same recipe and method for watermelon 1-3kg(dependent on sugars)
Same recipe and method for rubus or mulberry or ficus, use 1kg fruit.
All awesome, but some failed batches, particularly the acidic stuff due to natural yeasts crashing and contamination.

4/5 success on average makes it still worth doing though,(especially with seasonal gluts) and the crashed batches make a great liquid fertilizer when diluted.

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