| You can't eat them but you can make a lovely | | | | of wine-making was taken to England. Well, |
| wine out of elderberries though, if you know how. | | | | actually, that's entirely wrong. The locals had been |
| You certainly would not fancy eating a raw English | | | | making wine for a few thousand years, although |
| elderberry, sloe, quintz or indeed many of the | | | | they, as today, were considered a Nation of beer |
| other multifarious ingredients English wine makers | | | | drinkers, "wine" was made from berries. |
| transform into their "wine". To be quite honest | | | | When you put a bit of honey or sugar into a pot |
| nor would I, but many people do drink the wine. | | | | of fruit it will ferment from the natural yeast in |
| Not even 20% of home made wines in England | | | | the fruit. If the fruit has a high sugar (fructose) |
| are even "just about drinkable" to someone who | | | | content then it will ferment itself, but if like |
| has grown up in the lands of the grapevines; | | | | elderberries the fruit is bitter and with a low |
| some, around 10% don't give you a massive | | | | fructose content it will need a bit of a helping |
| chemical hangover; some are quite nice but too | | | | hand from sugar and yeast. The Romans, when |
| new; but around 5% are really very pleasantly | | | | they invaded Britain, brought with them the ability |
| wine-like. The Romans used to do the same. | | | | to make much better wine than the English. |
| Many people nowadays get a taste for the | | | | However, even the best Roman wine made |
| chemicals (if they drink a lot of home-made wine) | | | | without grapes was not as good as the "real |
| and so don't notice them, whilst if one is not used | | | | thing", so English vineyards were started and the |
| to the taste it's horrid. Some, but very few, | | | | Romans taught the English how to make wine |
| wine-makers at home never use chemicals or | | | | properly. Decent grapes really don't need sugar or |
| clearing mediums. They just wait until it's ready. | | | | yeast, as these are in the fruit itself. |
| The Romans used to do the same. | | | | Of course English wine, even 2000years ago, was |
| The chemical user will go to the supermarket and | | | | not as good as Italian wine, but it certainly |
| get his Pack of "home made wine", with all the | | | | cheered up many a Roman soldier consigned to |
| instructions as to how to carry out this chemical | | | | the freezing wastes of Hadrian's Wall. However, |
| process in the least possible time and to gain the | | | | when they returned to Rome after a few years |
| maximum alcohol advantage out of the finished | | | | service they didn't bother to take any elderberry |
| item (I hesitate to call it wine). It will taste | | | | wine with them. They were going home to the |
| disgusting but will certainly pack a punch. Many | | | | real thing. |
| Romans used to do similar. | | | | SEO Solutions and one way linkpublicity services |
| Romans far from home in England had to | | | | provided by LinkAcquire. |
| improvise their wine. No grapes? We will have to | | | | David C Skul - CEO |
| make some wine out of local fruit, and at the | | | | and Relativity, Inc. |
| same time plant some vineyards. So the noble art | | | | |