A Wee Nip for Joy and Health

It's been said that a small amount of wine each day might aid digestion and help prevent heart disease. In the 1990's the 'French Paradox' caught the attention of many nutritionists and scientist.

According to Wikipedia: The French Paradox is the observation that Frenchmen suffer a relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease, despite having a diet relatively rich in saturated fats. The term French Paradox was coined by Dr. Serge Renaud, a scientist from Bordeaux University in France.

When a description of this paradox was aired in the United States on 60 Minutes in 1991 with the proposal that red wine decreases the incidence of cardiac diseases, the consumption of red wine increased 44% and some wineries began lobbying for the right to label their products "health food".

Note: Elderberries should not be eaten raw. All parts of the plant contain small amounts of the toxin hydrocyanic acid which is completely destroyed by ordinary cooking.

Basic Elderberry Wine

Ingredients

• 4lb Elderberries
• 5 litres (1 gallons) of boiling water
• 3 lb of granulated sugar
• a 'claret' yeast sachet
• 8 oz chopped raisins
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1 orange
• 1 vitamin B tablet
• 1 teaspoon of yeast nutrient

• Strip the berries from the umbrells into a suitably large primary fermentation vessel with a fork.
Add 8 oz chopped raisins, juice of the lemon, juice of the orange, a vitamin B tablet and a teaspoon of yeast nutrient.
• Add the boiling water and stir well.
• When cool enough to handle, squeeze fruit with hands to extract juice.
• Leave for one day to infuse.
• Add 2 1/2 lb sugar and activated yeast and leave covered for three days.
• Strain off liquid into demijohns, top up with another 1/4 lb of sugar in each and, if necessary, with cooled boiled water.
• Leave to ferment in a warm (65-75 degrees), dark place.
• Rack off the lees into a clean demijohn when bubbling has subsided.
• Rack again 6 weeks later.
• Bottle in dark green bottles when wine is clear (I use a desk lamp to shine through from the other side) and there has been no activity for some time.
• Mature for at least 6 months before drinking.