Elderflower Champagne

Toast the abundant hedgerows with a glass of summer bubbly!

Ingredients to makes around 6 litres:

4 litres hot water
700g sugar
Juice and zest of four lemons
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
About 15 elderflower heads, in full bloom

Directions:

A. Put the hot water and sugar into a large steralised container and stir until the sugar dissolves, then top up with cold water so you have 6 litres of liquid.

2. Add the lemon juice and zest, the vinegar and the flower heads and stir gently.

3. Cover with clean muslin and leave to ferment in a cool, airy place for 2 days. Check fermentation and a pinch of yeast if none.

4. Leave the mixture to ferment for a further four days.

5. Strain the liquid through a sieve lined with muslin and decant into sterilised strong glass bottles with champagne stoppers (available from Easy Weigh, Newport) or sterilized screw-top plastic bottles (a good deal of pressure can build up inside as the fermenting brew produces carbon dioxide, so strong bottles and seals are essential).

6. Seal and leave to ferment in the bottles for at least a week before serving, chilled. The champagne should keep in the bottles for several months. Store in a cool, dry place.

Cheers!