Fall asleep under an Elder tree in full bloom on Midsummer’s eve and you will encounter fairies & be protected from any evil spirits. The Elder symbolises protection & in Anglo Saxon times it was also believed that if you removed an elder tree from its position a witch would take its place.

Similarly, in ancient myth, fairies are also believed to shelter from harm in the prickly bushes of gooseberries.

So elderflower and gooseberry fruit are a good match and perfect for our home made wine.

The flowers are appearing in abundance now so it is time to collect enough to make a few gallons.

With a fork the tiny creamy white flowers are stripped from the green stalks.

Having a vacuum pack sealer is perfect and they take little room in the freezer where they hibernate until the gooseberries are fully ready in July.

We have a lot of bullfinches who enjoy our gooseberry bushes in Ireland so once the buds show in Early May it needs to be covered.

Details to follow on the gooseberry crop & how to process the wine & a tasting of last year’s to follow in the July post.