Go Back
Spring time wild champagne drinking - Foraging - preserving - preserving courses
Print Pin

Elderflower Champagne - Lower Alcohol and Gentle Fizz

This is a really good champagne recipe if you are looking for a refreshing mildly alcoholic drink to sip in the sunshine with a good book.
Course Drinks
Cuisine British
Keyword British, Champagne, Elderflower, Flowers, Foraged, Sparking wine
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Brewing time 1 day
Total Time 1 day 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 5 Litres
Cost £2.5

Equipment

  • Muslin
  • 5 liters of Clean Bottles that can take pressure - Old Sparking water or lemonade bottles are ideal.

Ingredients

  • 6 Heads Elderflowers
  • 1.5 Pounds Sugar white
  • 2 Tbsp Cider vinegar
  • 1 Lemon zest and juice
  • 4.5 litres Water

Instructions

  • Pick your elderflowers - give them a sniff test, some smell sweet and summery - others like cats wee. Leave the latter ones for elderberries later in the year. Don’t pick a tree bare. But with only 6 heads you should be able to gather this all from a good smelling tree without making much impact. Do check out our blog on foraging and the law here.
    Picking Elderflowers - Foraging Courses - Preserving Courses - Preserving Courses South London - Preserving Courses East Surrey
  • Leave them out for a short while in the shade for the creatures inhabiting them to escape.
    Picked Elderflowers - Foraging Courses - Preserving Courses - Preserving Courses South London - Preserving Courses East Surrey
  • Cut off the majority of the stems, leaving just the flowers. The wood and the leaves of elder contain trace elements of cyanide that is best avoided.
    Removing the stems - Elderflowers - Foraging Courses - Preserving Courses - Preserving Courses South London - Preserving Courses East Surrey
  • Add the water and sugar together, stir well to dissolve the sugar.
    Add Water and stir till sugar dissolved - Elderflower - Foraging Courses - Preserving Courses - Preserving Courses South London - Preserving Courses East Surrey
  • Add all the other ingredients. Stir well.
    Adding the lemon - Elderflower - Foraging Courses - Preserving Courses - Preserving Courses South London - Preserving Courses East Surrey
  • Leave for 24 hours covered with a muslin, outside in a cool slightly breezy space. This will help it collect more wild yeasts.
    Cover with a tea towel or muslin - Elderflower - Foraging Courses - Preserving Courses - Preserving Courses South London - Preserving Courses East Surrey
  • Strain though a muslin.
    Strain through a muslin - Elderflower - Foraging Courses - Preserving Courses - Preserving Courses South London - Preserving Courses East Surrey
  • Bottle into bottles that are designed to take some pressure.
    Bottle the champagne - Elderflower - Foraging Courses - Preserving Courses - Preserving Courses South London - Preserving Courses East Surrey
  • Leave in a cool dark place for two weeks.
  • Enjoy chilled in the sunshine.
    Spring time wild champagne drinking - Foraging - preserving - preserving courses

Notes

I’ve had success with swapping the elderflowers in this recipe for dandelion petals. I did strip the petals off the stems though - a very time consuming process. The green stem tastes very bitter however.