My dad used to make elderflower wine. He did it properly, with demi-johns and Funnels.

He had the champagne style corks and cages. And his recipe called for an enormous quantity of lemons.

There was nothing to match the scent of that wine. One day, I’ll make it myself. It’s more of a summer drink than anything else and frankly, this is England, the summer always comes as something of a surprise.

The recipe:

800g sugar
Florets from 8 elderflower sprays
Pared zest and juice of 6 lemons
½ tsp yeast nutrient
5g sachet Champagne yeast

Dissolve the sugar in 2 litres of hot water in a fermentation tub. Top up with 3 litres of cold water, and allow to cool.

Add the elderflowers, lemon zest and juice, and the yeast nutrient. Leave to ferment.

After six days, strain the liquid through boiled muslin into a fresh fermentation tub. Dispose of the zest, flower heads and debris.

Leave it to calm down for a few hours, and then siphon into bottles of your choice.

After a week, it’s ready to drink.