Wine from grapes at home

Create drinks that are exceptional in taste and aroma, an exciting and painstaking task. Making homemade grape wine will take several months. They study recipes, observe production technology and, as a result, delight guests with a noble drink.

Wine grapes

Making an aromatic wine with the expected aftertaste is a welcome goal even for a beginner in winemaking. It is ideal to use technical varieties with medium-sized dense clusters, consisting of small berries with a high sugar content:

• Sauvignon 25-30%;
• Nutmeg up to 27%;
• Saperavi (Pridonye) 23-25%;
• Cabernet 20-22%.

The following examples of breeding science meet the required requirements and are simple in agricultural technology:

• Friendship;
• Crystal;
• Dewdrop;
• Regent;
• Stepnyak;
• Platovsky;
• Festival.

Varieties of table varieties do not give the right bouquet of wine and therefore it is better to plant bushes of Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Dove.

In private courtyards cultivation of Moldova, Lydia, Isabella is widespread. Good wines are made from these varieties with the addition of more sugar and water.

Wine from Isabella has a very recognizable aroma and astringent taste. The blend of varieties Isabella and Lydia give an interesting result.

Red wine from Moldova is useful, but with the addition of herbs and spices you can try an unusual product. A pillow with cloves in a bottle of drink will add flavor. We stand it in a barrel with elderberry flowers and mint leaves and get the famous Moselle wine.

Preparation of berries for processing

You can get wine with different tastes, even picking grapes from one bush. Weather conditions and harvest time are the foundation of a good home product.

Table wines are obtained from berries that have just begun to ripen.

Dessert drinks are good from overripe, even slightly dried clusters. Sweet wines should preferably be made from muscatel berries. Their strength will be directly dependent on the number of sunny days that make grapes especially sweet. The wasps invasion will tell you about the maximum sugar content of berries.

Long dry sunny weather is the best time to harvest grapes.

Bunches can be cut from the bush from the moment they ripen and until the first frost begins. Low temperatures kill microflora, and this negatively affects the fermentation of wort. Long rain also rinses off the wine yeast, so they try to collect only dry brushes. Unripe or rotten berries are removed. If you leave small twigs and ridges, the taste of wine will be bitter and tart. It is better not to pick up the fallen berries, they will give a taste of the earth.

Sorted berries must be processed as quickly as possible. Grape must not be washed before crushing. You can use special equipment or a meat grinder to prepare the pulp. The grape seed will remain intact if you crumple the grapes with your hands. If the volume of raw materials is large, then you can do it in the basin, wearing clean rubber boots.

They only wash grapes when used in the fermentation processes of a special yeast with high-quality yeast.

Preparation for making wine at home

Before harvesting, a number of preparatory work is necessary. Stock up on dishes to get pulp and store the wort. It should be made of materials that do not enter into chemical reactions with acids and alcohol juice - these are enameled, clay, wooden or glass containers. The use of food grade plastic is not very desirable.

Wooden barrels are cleaned, washed with baking soda and fumigated with sulfur. To obtain Moselle wine, they are poured with a decoction of elderberry and mint and kept until the wood is saturated with the aroma of herbs.

An ideal container would be 10-20 l glass bottles. They are affordable and can be bought at many hardware stores or ordered online. The container is thoroughly washed with calcium bicarbonate, rinsed with running water, dried for several days in the sun for UV treatment

A wide range of equipment for producing pulp: wine presses, juicers, special crushers. It is important that the metal parts of the devices are made of stainless steel. Contact between grape juice and copper or lead surfaces is excluded. It is desirable to limit the duration of interaction with other metal products, this will preserve the taste of the wort.

Sugar and wine strength

The sweetness of the wort is determined by a hydrometer, and the strength of the wine with an alcohol meter. At home they use the organoleptic method: they taste it. For a successful fermentation process, the juice should not be too sweet. The recommended sugar content in the wort is in the range of 15-20%. The first month every 3-4 days they try the wort, and if it is acidic, add sugar.

It is bred in a couple of liters of specially cast juice and then returned to the bottle. Usually for 10 liters of juice is 0.5 kg of sugar. The proportional alcohol content and sugar content of homemade wine are given in the table:

Types of wine from grapes

The variety of varieties of vines allows you to create drinks for every taste. Delicate, light or tart, bright in taste and color, the wines will decorate any feast. Cabernet

Dry

Isabella table variety is well suited for making healthy, tasty wine. Its sugar content of 15-20% is suitable for the production of dry wine without added sugar. Glucose and fructose wort as a result of the activity of wine yeast is transformed into alcohol. As a result, we get a product with a sugar content of 0-0.3%. It remains to enjoy the pleasant color and delicate taste of the drink.

Semisweet

This wine is preferred for a pleasant, delicate aroma and characteristic taste. The moderate content of sugar and alcohol serves as a reason to choose it for a feast.

Sweet

Good wine is obtained from blue grapes with high sugar content, such as Moldova. Its acidity is not higher than 0.8%. At the fermentation stage, 50-100 g of granulated sugar is added per liter of juice. Before sending for maturation, the winemaker regulates the sweetness of a home-made drink, based on its taste sensations.

Fortified

The fermentation process in this category of wines is stopped by the addition of alcohol. Blending grape must with fruit and berry juices allows you to get the following types of homemade wine - port, sherry, vermouth. The required strength of the drink is achieved by adding portioned sugar to the wort and vodka (alcohol) for fixing. Isabel

Proportions:

• 6 kg of grapes;
• 0.6 kg of sugar for fermentation;
• 100 g / l ethanol.

Grape wine recipe

Following the recommendations of practitioners will help to avoid mistakes in making the desired drink.

The first stage: pulp

The prepared container is filled with crushed berry in 2/3 of its volume. During fermentation, the pulp is saturated with carbon dioxide and increases in volume. Daily mixing will prevent souring of wine material.

The tub with the pulp is tightly tied with a cotton cloth. This measure will protect against all kinds of insects.

It is important to observe the temperature regime of the initial fermentation: + 18 ... +23 ° С. The fermentation process can occur very slowly or completely stop if the temperature drops below the recommended +18 ° C. Exceeding the upper threshold threatens to turn wine into vinegar, as a result of excessively violent oxidative reactions.

Second Stage: Wort

After 3-5 days, it's time to squeeze the cake. It can be stored for making chachi - grape vodka. Clean, sterilized bottles are filled with un clarified juice by 70%. Install a water shutter. Carbon dioxide is a product of fermentation. It is removed through a tube lowered into a jar of water. If a special cap is used, then gas bubbles pass through the holes and the water layer. Successfully use a rubber glove. It is convenient to determine the completion of gas evolution from it. Provide tightness by wrapping the joints with the bottle with tape.

The semi-finished wine is periodically drained from the precipitate. Check the sweetness of the wort, and add sugar to extend the life of the yeast.

The rapid fermentation of red wines takes place at a temperature of + 20 ... +25 ° С, for whites + 12 ... +18 ° С. Fermentation of the wort is carried out with a water lock and lasts 3-4 months. The wine is clarified, and sediment appears at the bottom of the bottle. Therefore, once a month they do overfill, while saturating the product with oxygen. Before sending the wine for ripening and aging add sugar for the last time, in accordance with the tastes of the manufacturer.

Stage Three: Fortress Regulation

Initially, 1% sugar gives 0.5% alcohol content in the finished product. Therefore, the desired strength and sweetness of wine is achieved by the portioned introduction of sugar. During fermentation, the fungus processes glucose and fructose into alcohol.

Dry wine production occurs without additional sugar. The strength of the drink will depend on the initial sugar content of the grapes harvested.

Sweet wines have a higher percentage of alcohol in their composition. Sugar is added during fermentation. Its amount is calculated depending on the desired result.

Fourth step: sedimentation

The formation of sediment at the bottom of the bottle with a thickness of 2-5 cm indicates that it is time to pour the new wine. The wort container is gently lifted to an elevation. It is convenient to put the full bottle on the table, and the second empty on the chair. The so-called siphon is lowered into the wort - a silicone transparent hose of a small diameter or the same tube. Holding one end of the tube a few centimeters from the sediment, through the second, the wine material is pulled by the mouth onto itself. Then, with a sharp movement, the hose is moved to the neck of the receiving container. It is convenient to transfuse wine together. One person holds a tube, and his partner carefully tilts the bottle or rearranges smaller containers.

Timely removal from the sediment prevents the appearance of an unpleasant odor and bitterness. This operation is carried out before adding sugar and before bottling.

The final type of wine is not yet formed, so it is not yet completely transparent. If the drink remains cloudy after ripening in the basement, it is clarified with gelatin or egg white. Activated carbon pulverized into dust is sometimes used.

Last step: sterilization

There are two approaches to completing fermentation processes.

Some manufacturers prefer the natural course of such an important stage. The bottles are placed in a basement or other dark room. They install water locks. The wine is kept for 2-3 months at a low constant temperature.

The second method allows you to lighten the drink. Subsequent high-quality aging is accompanied by a soft, velvety taste and a pleasant aroma. To do this, sterilize the bottles with the semi-finished product as follows:

• Wine bottles are placed in the container. They are wrapped in cloth and covered with corks. Pour water to the level of "shoulders" and begin to warm it. A thermometer is placed in one of the bottles.
• In a "water bath" the temperature of the wine material is brought to +60 ° C. The death of the yeast stops the fermentation process completely. Carbon dioxide escapes and the container is sealed.
• Sterilized bottles cool at room temperature and store them in a cool, dark room.

Bottling and storage of wine

Wine is filtered before bottling. Do this at choice through flannel, tissue paper or paper filters. If a technological operation for artificial clarification was carried out, then it will be enough.

Special wine bottles are washed with a solution of soda and thoroughly rinsed. Dark glass containers protect the product from exposure to sunlight. For corking use long plugs. They will remain resilient and will close the neck tightly if the bottle is stored in an inclined position. Pour wine into a container so that 1-2 cm of air is up to the cork. The neck of the vessel is sealed with wax to retain aromas.

A cool, dry cellar is a good place to store a drink. The optimum room temperature is +8 ° C, it is suitable for both white and red wines.

Preservation of taste is possible up to 5 years, subject to the recommended conditions.

Jam wine

At home, you can make a wine drink from other raw materials. Use any jam: cherry, raspberry, currant. The strength of the wine will be similar to semisweet grape samples: 10-13%. Perform the same cooking steps. Raisins are used as wine yeast. Proportions of ingredients:

• 3 liters of old jam;
• 50-300 grams of sugar;
• 300 gr raisins;
• 3 liters of water.

Calorie content and benefits of homemade wine

The magic drink contains:

• vitamins B1, B2, C, P;
• trace elements Ca, K, Mg, Na;
• proteins, amino acids, peptides, carbohydrates, glucose, fructose;
• mineral acids (tartaric, malic, salicylic).

Therefore, moderate consumption of wine has a beneficial effect on the brain. It lowers blood pressure and cholesterol. The walls of blood vessels strengthen, blood clots resolve, and heart function is stimulated. The digestive tract works more actively. Introduction to the diet of wine prevents the deposition of salts and strengthens bones, destroys pathogenic microflora in the body. The drink favors good sleep and relaxation, improves lung function. In hot form they are used to treat colds.

100 ml of wine contain 80 kcal.

Permissible daily serving of wine (in ml):

• men - 300-350;
• women -150.

Watch the video: How to Make Wine from Grapes at Home (May 2024).