Although this bush looks dramatic you can make elderberry wine from the berries when they are ripe in late summer

Gerda black elderberry is a showy shrub with dark purplish-black leaves and clusters of pale pink flowers that appear in early summer. The flowers are followed by edible black berries which can be used in cooking or wine-making. This elderberry can grow to about ten feet in height and about eight feet in width and will sucker profusely if left alone. It is recommended that unwanted suckers and dead canes are removed early in the spring to retain a suitable size and shape. This elderberry likes sunny spots and consistently moist soils.