The Zeiger Family Homestead Blog

Back in the early ’70s, long before I ever tasted wine, let alone learned to like it or make it, I loved a song by Elton John called Elderberry Wine (paid link). The B side of his hit 45, Crocodile Rock, it became almost as popular as the A side in Sitka, Alaska in those years (confused by these archaic terms? Ask your parents, or even grandparents!).

One variety of elder grows prolifically in Southeast Alaska, so I naturally wanted to try making elderberry wine eventually. Earlier this year, I bottled my first batch, and it’s time to taste it.

Elderberry wine from the Zeiger Family Homestead (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).

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