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Wine Details
Price:
$18.00 per bottle
Description:
Elderberries are reputed to be the one fruit other than red wine grapes that can produce a Bordeaux style wine. We treat the Elderberry just as we would a Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. That is, we ferment the elderberries on the skin in small French oak barrels and then press off the juice. The wine produced is aged in the same French barrels for 18 months. Blacksmiths Elderberry is a dry red wine with a pronounced peppery flavor. Most of the elderberries we use are wild Maine elderberries that we pick on an annual pilgrimage to Brooksville, Maine. Every September we drive through the Maine countryside and stop wherever we see ripe elderberries on the roadside. Eventually we get to Brooksville where we get fruit from some named cultivars grown by a photographer who produces outstanding elderberries.
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Varietal Definition
Cabernet Sauvignon:
Cabernet Sauvignon is the most widely planted and significant among the five dominant varieties in France’s Bordeaux region, as well as the most successful red wine produced in California. Though it was thought to be an ancient variety, recent genetic studies at U.C. Davis have determined that Cabernet Sauvignon is actually the hybrid offspring of Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc. Cabernet Sauvignon berries are small with black, thick and very tough skin. This toughness makes the grapes fairly resistant to disease and spoilage and able to withstand some autumn rains with little or no damage. It is a mid to late season ripener. These growth characteristics, along with its flavor appeal have made Cabernet Sauvignon one of the most popular red wine varieties worldwide.
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Merlot:
Merlot is known as a Noble Bordeaux varietal. Although it came to France in the first century, it was not named until the 1880s. Merlot was originally used only for blending, as it is soft and compliant, very useful in softening other Bordeaux wines like Cabernets. Recently in California and Chile it became popular as a 100% varietal wine. Merlot tends to be easier to grow in a variety of soil conditions and is harvested earlier in the year than Cabernet. Although most Merlots are made to be drunk earlier, there are many with complexities of a Cabernet. Flavors of plum, black cherry, violet, chocolate and orange pair well with rich, red pasta dishes, hearty chicken dishes, and any beef combination that you fancy. The perfect match of course is chocolate. Not only does the chocolate compliment the wine and vice-versa, but the essence of both flavors linger eternally.
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Elderberry:
Sometimes referred to as the “Englishman’s grape,” the common elderberry has been used to make wine for hundreds — possibly thousands — of years. By themselves, elderberries make a rich, flavorful wine, but they have long been added to other fruit and berry wines, including grape, to add color, tannin and complexity. Indeed, over the years, several “scandals” occurred when commercial wineries were discovered to have adulterated their grape wines by adding elderberry to improve their color. Home winemakers, of course, can use them for this purpose, if they so desire.
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