How to make wine from grapes: secrets of home winemaking. How to make homemade wine from grapes (red or white)

Raisins are made from grapes, jam and juices are made, but they are especially popular homemade wine. Wine prepared at home has an incomparable aroma and unique taste. For those who do not know how to make wine from grapes at home, a recipe with detailed technology is included below. You may not end up with a masterpiece worthy of world renown, but if you follow the right approach, you will be pleasantly surprised by the taste own drink.

Wine from grapes at home: recipe and preparation technology

Preparation grape wine– this is a special art. It takes years to study it, but it’s quite possible to make homemade wine yourself. After some time, the skill and features in preparing your particular drink will appear. This is how new tastes are created.

To create a truly delicious and aromatic drink, not every grape variety is suitable. Only from wine varieties ("Isabella", "Merlot", "Cabernet Sauvignon", "Chardonnay", "Sauvignon" ) you will get great wine. Table grape varieties, unfortunately, cannot provide such a bouquet, aroma, taste and aftertaste.

Preparing and harvesting grapes

For quality wine technology must be carefully followed. For example, prepared containers must be perfectly clean. To do this, they need to be washed with boiled water and wiped dry. Or smoke it with sulfur, as they do in industry.

For cooking delicious wine It is necessary to harvest in dry and sunny weather. All grapes must be dry. Therefore, before the day of collection, there should be no rain for at least three days.

The grapes must be ripe - the golden mean. Make sure that there are no very ripe or unripe berries, as this will only worsen the taste of the wine. The collected berries must be processed within two days.

And all the same, after the grapes are harvested, they need to be carefully sorted and washed thoroughly. Then the berries should be crushed very carefully so as not to damage the seeds, because they give a bitter taste. It is better to do this with your hands or a pestle. Then the resulting pulp should be placed in enamel pan, filling it ¾ full.

Should not be used metal utensils, since it will oxidize, this will affect taste qualities guilt.

Then the pan with pulp (crushed grapes) should be covered with a clean cotton cloth and left for four days in a dark place.

But at the same time, we monitor the fermentation; after 15-20 hours, the grape skins will float to the surface, which should be knocked off twice a day. This can be done either by hand or with a wooden stick.

Proper pulp extraction

After four days the pulp should become lighter. A sour smell and hissing from fermentation will be heard. This
then it's time to squeeze out the juice.

To do this, you need to collect all the grape skins and squeeze them using a press or just with your hands. Then all the juice should be filtered through cheesecloth several times. Thus, the future wine is saturated with oxygen and all foreign impurities are removed.

Then it needs to be poured into containers prepared for further fermentation. It is best if these are bottles or glass jars. Containers should be filled no more than 70% of the volume.

Options for corking wine at home

For proper fermentation and to protect the wine from souring, it should be properly sealed. The valve should not allow oxygen to pass through, but should not allow carbon dioxide to escape.

One way to seal a bottle is to use a water seal made from a tube with a lid and a jar. You can also use a medical glove after making a hole in it.

Initial fermentation stage

After the container with wine is closed, it must be placed in a warm place. For red wine, the temperature of such a place should be 22-28 degrees, and for white wine – 17-22 degrees.

Monitor the temperature, it should not be below ten degrees. In this case, the wine will not work, because... all the yeast will die and the sugar will not be converted into alcohol.

If after two or three days the wine has stopped fermenting, then you need to make a starter. To do this, take a bottle, pour 150 grams of raisins, 50 grams of sugar into it, then fill the container a third warm water.

Place the starter in a warm place for three or four days and let it ferment. As soon as bubbles appear, drain the liquid, add one liter of wort and pour it into a container with wine. Fermentation in the container with the wort will continue.

Sugar addition stage

Often to get good wine, you need to add sugar to it. This is argued by the fact that usually the grapes taken for wine are not very sweet and there is not enough of it to produce required quantity alcohol

And since the sugar content of grapes is determined using a special device (other calculations are not very accurate), then the right way there will be a taste test.

For normal fermentation, the sugar content of the wort should be about 10-15%. To maintain this, it is better to add sugar in parts. We check the wine for taste every two or three days. As soon as it becomes sour, you need to add 50 grams of sugar for each liter.

Just don’t add it to the container with the wort, but take it from it and pour two liters of liquid into a separate container, add sugar, stir. Now pour the resulting syrup into a common container with wine. Shake.

This should be done three or four times during two to four weeks of fermentation. When the moment comes to stop the reduction in sugar content, this stage of wine preparation is completed.

Stage of removing sediment from wine

This moment comes when the water seal stops producing bubbles (in the case of a glove, it
deflates) and the wort becomes clearer, it needs to be poured into another container.

There should be some sediment left at the bottom of the bottle. These are dead fungi that should not remain in the wine for a long time, otherwise they will spoil its taste, give it bitterness and an unpleasant odor.

One or two days before this procedure, the container with wine should be raised above the floor (put it on a chair, for example). Then, when the sediment falls again, the wine must be poured through a siphon. The tube should be three centimeters higher than the sediment.

The wine that will drain has not yet become clear, so don't worry about its color just yet.

Second addition of sugar to establish the desired sweetness of the drink

This time, when adding sugar, you need to be guided by your taste - some like it sweeter, some less.

If you still lack sweetness, then you do not need to add sugar to all the wine. Do as with sourdough.

Pour some of the wine into another container (one or two liters), add 100-200 grams of sugar and pour it again into a large container. Stir. You can do this several times until the sweetness suits you.

Maturation period of an alcoholic drink

This stage can last from 40 to 380 days. Again, you need to install a water seal on top or cover it tightly with a lid, place the bottle in a dark place with a temperature of 10-16 degrees (optimal). Avoid temperature changes.

The ripening period for white wine is at least forty days, for red wine - 60 or 90 days. Every seven or ten days, the wine needs to be poured into another container through a straw. This process makes it lighter and more transparent.

Spilling and storage

At this point, the process of making wine can be considered complete. All that remains is to choose a beautiful bottle for it and pour it into it. Store, like all wines, in a horizontal or semi-inclined position. The temperature should not be higher than eight degrees, but not lower than zero.

Home winemaking is creative process, which provides ample opportunities to express imagination. Experiment and you will definitely succeed!

How? You haven't read yet:

Winemaking is an art whose secrets take years to learn, but anyone can make homemade grape wine. It is clear that this will not be a masterpiece worthy of world exhibitions, but if you follow the instructions, the taste of the homemade drink will be better than many store-bought ones. I bring to your attention a detailed technology for preparing wines (red and white) at home. The recipe uses only grapes and sugar, in rare cases additional water is required.

For home winemaking The best suited grape varieties are Stepnyak, Platovsky, Rosinka, Druzhba, Regent, Saperavi, Crystal, Festivalny, which do not require special care and have a fairly high sugar content. But this does not mean that you cannot make wine from other varieties, for example, Isabella or Lydia, you just have to add more sugar.

Before starting cooking, take care of all containers and utensils used. To avoid contaminating the juice with pathogenic microorganisms, such as mold, the containers must be perfectly clean and dry. Barrels, bottles, and buckets can be smoked with sulfur, as is done in industry, or washed boiled water, then wipe with a dry cloth. I strongly recommend avoiding containers in which milk was previously stored, since even thorough cleaning does not always help.

Ingredients:

• grapes - 10 kg;
• sugar - 50-200 grams per liter of juice;
• water – up to 500 ml per liter of juice (in rare cases).

It is advisable to add water only if the juice is very sour - the taste stings the tongue and makes the cheekbones cramp. However, remember that adding sugar itself reduces acidity. In all other cases, diluting with water worsens the taste and is therefore not recommended.

Grape wine recipe

1. Harvesting and processing. So that the grapes are guaranteed to retain the nutrients needed for fermentation. wild yeast, it is advisable to pick berries in dry, sunny weather. There should be no rain for at least 2-3 days before.

Only ripe fruits are suitable for winemaking. There is too much acid in unripe grapes, and in overripe berries, acetic fermentation begins, which can subsequently spoil the entire must (squeezed juice). I also do not recommend taking carrion, which gives grape wine an unpleasant earthy taste. Picked berries need to be processed within two days.

Carefully sort the harvested grapes, removing twigs and leaves, unripe, rotten and moldy fruits. Then crush the berries, place the pulp along with the juice in an enamel pan or plastic bowl, filling the container to a maximum of ¾ of the volume. It is better to crush the grapes with your hands so as not to damage the seeds, which contain substances that make the wine bitter. If there are a lot of berries, you can carefully crush them with a wooden rolling pin (pestle).

Avoid contact of juice with metal (except stainless steel), as this causes oxidation, which impairs the taste. That is why the berries are kneaded with hands or wooden tools, and the pulp (crushed grapes) is placed in an enamel container with a wide neck - a bucket or pan. You can also use food-grade plastic containers or a wooden barrel.

Cover the container with the pulp with a clean cloth to protect it from flies, and place it in a dark, warm (18-27°C) place for 3-4 days. After 8-20 hours, the juice will begin to ferment, a “cap” of skin appears on the surface, which should be knocked off 1-2 times a day, stirring the pulp with a wooden stick or hand. If this is not done, the wort may turn sour.

2. Obtaining pure juice. After 3-4 days, the pulp will lighten, a sour smell will appear and hissing will be heard. This means that fermentation has begun successfully, it’s time to squeeze out the juice.

Collect the top layer of peel in a separate container, squeeze it out with a press or by hand. Filter all the juice (drained from the sediment and squeezed out of the pulp) through gauze, pouring from one container to another 2-3 times. Transfusion not only removes small particles, but also saturates the juice with oxygen, which contributes to the normal functioning of wine yeast at the initial stage.

When working with unripe or grown in northern latitudes In rare cases, grapes may require the addition of water. If the juice turns out to be very sour (it makes your cheekbones ache and stings your tongue), add water - a maximum of 500 ml per 1 liter. The more water, the worse quality guilt. It's better to leave it a little increased acidity, since during fermentation the concentration of acids decreases slightly.

Fill the containers (maximum 70% of the volume) intended for fermentation with pure juice. Ideally, these are large glass bottles; in extreme cases, if the volume of wine is small, jars are also suitable.

3.Installing a water seal. To prevent homemade grape wine from turning sour, it must be protected from contact with oxygen, while simultaneously ensuring the release by-product fermentation – carbon dioxide. This is done by installing one of the water seal designs on the container with juice. The most common option is the classic water seal made of a lid, tube and jar (pictured).

The design of the water seal is not of fundamental importance, but in terms of convenience, it is better to put a classic water seal on large bottles, and a glove or lid-shaped seal (sold in stores) on jars.

4. Initial (active) fermentation. After installing the water seal, containers with fermented juice must be provided with suitable temperature conditions. Optimal temperature fermentation of red homemade wine – 22-28°C, white – 16-22°C. Do not allow the temperature to drop below 15°C, otherwise the yeast will stop before it has time to process all the sugar into alcohol.

5. Adding sugar. Approximately 2% sugar in the must yields 1% alcohol in the finished wine. In most regions of Russia, the sugar content of grapes rarely exceeds 20%. This means that without added sugar in best case scenario the resulting wine will be 10% ABV and zero sweetness. On the other hand, the maximum possible strength is 13-14% (usually 12), with a higher alcohol concentration wine yeast stop working.

The problem is that determining the initial sugar content of grapes at home without special device(hydrometer) is impossible. Focusing on average values ​​for varieties is also useless, since this requires data on the sugar content of the selected variety in a specific climatic zone. In non-wine-growing areas no one makes such calculations. Therefore, you have to focus on the taste of the juice - it should be sweet, but not cloying.

To maintain normal fermentation, the sugar content of the wort should not be more than 15-20%. To ensure this condition, sugar is added in parts (fractionally). 2-3 days after the start of fermentation, taste the juice. When it becomes sour (the sugar has been processed), you should add 50 grams of sugar for each liter of juice. To do this, pour 1-2 liters of wort into a separate container, dilute sugar in it, then pour the resulting wine syrup back into the bottle.

The procedure is repeated several times (usually 3-4) during the first 14-25 days of fermentation. At a certain point, the sugar content of the wort will decrease very slowly, which means that there is enough sugar.

Depending on the temperature, sugar content and yeast activity, the fermentation period for homemade grape wine is 30-60 days. If fermentation has not stopped 50 days after installing the water seal, in order to avoid the appearance of bitterness, you should pour the wine into another container without sediment and place it under the water seal to ferment under the same temperature conditions.

6. Removing wine from sediment. When the water seal does not release bubbles for 1-2 days (the glove has deflated), the wort has cleared, forming a layer of loose sediment at the bottom, it’s time to pour the young grape wine into another container. The fact is that dead fungi collect at the bottom; staying in the wine for a long time, they cause bitterness and an unpleasant odor.

1-2 days before removing the wine from the lees fermentation tank place it at a height above the floor (50-60 cm). This could be a bench, chair or any other device. When the sediment is again at the bottom, pour the wine into another container (clean and dry) through a siphon - a transparent soft hose (tube) with a diameter of 0.7-1 cm and a length of 1-1.5 m. The end of the tube should not be brought closer to the sediment; than 2-3 centimeters.

Drained homemade wine will not be completely clear. It's not scary appearance the drink has not yet formed.

7.Control of sugar content. It's time to decide on the sweetness of the wine. Since active fermentation has already ended, all the sugar added at this stage will not be converted into alcohol.

Add sugar based on taste preferences, but not more than 250 grams per liter. The application technology is described at the 5th stage. If you are satisfied with the sweetness, there is no need to sweeten it additionally. Lovers of strong alcohol can make fortified grape wine by adding vodka (alcohol) at a rate of 2-15% of the volume. Fixing helps preserve the wine, but makes the taste harsher and the aroma less intense; alcohol notes appear.

8. Quiet fermentation(maturation). The stage during which the final taste is formed. Lasts from 40 to 380 days. Longer aging of homemade grape wines is not advisable, since it does not improve the properties of the drink.

Place the bottle of wine (preferably filled to the top to avoid contact with oxygen) under the water seal (recommended if sweetening was done) or close it tightly with a lid. Store the container in a dark cellar or basement at a temperature of 5-16°C. If this is not possible, young wine you need to ensure a ripening temperature of 18-22°C, but not higher. It is important to avoid sudden temperature changes, for example, day and night, otherwise the taste will deteriorate. The minimum aging period for white wine is 40 days, for red wine – 60-90 days.

When sediment appears at the bottom in a layer of 2-5 cm, pour the wine from one container to another through a straw, leaving the sediment at the bottom, as described in the 6th stage. As a result, the drink will gradually lighten.

9. Artificial lightening (pasting). Even after several months in the cellar, homemade grape wine may remain cloudy. The problem is solved by removing impurities. The most common methods are pasting with gelatin or egg white.

Lightening only improves the appearance, but does not affect the taste in any way, so I recommend cleaning only as a last resort.

10. Spilling and storage. On last stage(when sediment no longer appears) the wine can be bottled and tightly capped.

Shelf life at a temperature of 5-12°C is up to 5 years. Strength – 11-13% (without fixing with vodka or alcohol).

The video shows the technology for making wine from sour grapes, in which the squeezed juice is diluted by half with water. Valid only for northern regions with very sour berries, since adding water worsens the taste.

Winemaking is an art whose secrets take years to learn. Despite this, each of us can make homemade grape wine. You may not create a masterpiece worthy of world exhibitions, but with the right approach, the taste of your own drink will pleasantly surprise you. I bring to your attention a detailed technology for preparing wines (red and white) at home. This recipe uses only grapes and sugar, making the drink completely natural.

The best grape varieties for home winemaking are Stepnyak, Platovsky, Rosinka, Druzhba, Regent, Saperavi, Crystal, Festivalny, which do not require special care and have a fairly high sugar content. But this does not mean that you cannot make wine from other varieties, for example, Isabella or Lydia, you just have to add more sugar.

Before starting cooking, you should take care of all containers used. They must be perfectly clean and dry. Otherwise, third-party fungi will get into the drink, which will ruin the taste of the wine. Barrels, bottles, buckets, etc. You can smoke it with sulfur, as is done in industry, or simply rinse it with boiled water and wipe it with a dry cloth. I strongly recommend avoiding containers in which milk was previously stored; even cleaning them thoroughly does not always help.

Ingredients:

• grapes - 10 kg;
• sugar - 50-200 grams per liter of juice.

Grape wine recipe

1. Harvesting and processing. To ensure that the wild yeast needed for fermentation remains on the grapes, the berries should be picked only in dry, sunny weather. There should be no rain for at least 2-3 days before.

Only ripe fruits are suitable for winemaking. Unripe grapes have too much acid, which affects the taste ready drink. In overripe berries, acetic fermentation begins, which can subsequently spoil the entire wort (squeezed juice). I also do not recommend taking carrion, because then the grape wine may develop an unpleasant earthy taste, which is very difficult to correct. The picked berries must be processed within two days, after which they become unsuitable for making homemade wine.

The harvested grapes are carefully sorted, removing clusters, unripe, rotten and moldy fruits. Then the berries are crushed and, together with the juice, placed in an enamel pan, filling the container to a maximum of ¾ of the volume. It is best to crush the grapes with your hands, then you will not damage the seeds, which contain substances that make the wine taste bitter. If there are a lot of berries, then they are carefully crushed with a wooden rolling pin (pestle).

Wooden fixtures only

Avoid contact of juice with metal (except stainless steel), as this causes oxidation, which worsens the taste of homemade wine. That is why the berries are kneaded with hands or wooden tools, and the pulp (crushed grapes) is placed in an enamel container with a wide neck - a bucket or pan. You can also use food-grade plastic containers or a wooden barrel.

Next, the container with the pulp is covered with a clean cloth and placed in a dark, warm (18-23°C) place for 3-4 days. After 12-20 hours, the juice will begin to ferment, and a “cap” of skin will appear on the surface, which needs to be knocked off 1-2 times a day, stirring the pulp with a wooden stick or hand. If this is not done, then acetic fermentation may begin in the wort, which will ruin all our wine materials.

Violent fermentation of pulp

2. Obtaining pure juice. After 3-4 days, the pulp will lighten, it will have a sour smell and a hissing will be heard. This means that fermentation has begun successfully, it’s time to squeeze out the juice.

The top layer of peel is collected in a separate container and squeezed out with a press or by hand. All juice (drained from the sediment and squeezed from the pulp) is filtered through cheesecloth, pouring it from one container to another 2-3 times. Transfusion not only allows you to get rid of foreign impurities, but also saturates the juice with oxygen, which contributes to the normal functioning of wine yeast.

3.Installing a water seal. To prevent homemade grape wine from turning sour, it must be protected from the flow of oxygen, while simultaneously ensuring the release of the main fermentation product - carbon dioxide. This is done by installing one of the water seal designs on the container with juice. The most common option is the classic water seal made of a lid, tube and jar (pictured).

Diagram of a classic water seal

At home, a regular medical glove with a hole in one of the fingers has also worked well.

Wine fermentation with a glove

The design of the water seal is not of fundamental importance, but in terms of convenience, it is better to put a classic water seal on large bottles, and a glove or a lid-shaped seal on jars (sold in stores).

Lid with water seal

4. Initial (active) fermentation. After installing the water seal of the container with fermented juice, it is necessary to ensure suitable temperature conditions. The optimal fermentation temperature for red homemade wine is 22-28°C, white – 16-22°C. The temperature should not be allowed to drop below 10°C, otherwise the yeast may die before it has time to convert all the sugar into alcohol.

In force various reasons after 2-3 days you may find that the wine must has stopped fermenting. Since alcohol yeast you cannot add it; to resume fermentation you need to make a starter for wine. The simplest recipe: pour 150 grams of raisins, 50 grams of sugar into a bottle and add warm water to a third of the volume. Close the bottle with a cotton wool stopper and place it in a warm place for 3-4 days. When the raisins ferment (bubbles appear), the starter is drained, mixed with 1 liter of wort and added back to the container with wine. Fermentation will resume.

5. Adding sugar. Approximately 2% sugar in the must yields 1% alcohol in the finished wine. In most regions of Russia, the sugar content of grapes rarely exceeds 20%. This means that without adding sugar, at best, you will get grape wine with an alcohol content of 10-12%. On the other hand, the maximum possible strength of the drink is 15-16%, since at a higher alcohol concentration the wild yeast dies.

The problem is that it is impossible to determine the initial sugar content of grapes at home without a special device (hydrometer). It is also useless to focus on average values ​​for varieties, since for this you need to have data on the sugar content of the selected variety in your climate zone. In non-wine-growing areas no one makes such calculations. Therefore, we will focus on the taste of the juice.

To maintain normal fermentation, the sugar content of the wort should not exceed 10-15%. To ensure this condition, sugar is added in parts (fractionally). 2-3 days after the start of fermentation grape must taste it. When it becomes sour (the sugar has been processed), add 50 grams of sugar for each liter of juice. To do this, pour 1-2 liters of wort into a separate container, dilute sugar in it, and pour the resulting wine syrup back into the bottle and shake well.

The procedure is repeated several times (usually 3-4) during the first 14-30 days of fermentation. At a certain point, the sugar content of the wort will stop decreasing, which means that vigorous fermentation has ended and it’s time to move on to the next stage.

6. Removing wine from sediment. When the water seal does not release bubbles for 1-2 days (the glove is deflated), and the wort has cleared, forming a layer of loose sediment at the bottom, the young homemade wine is poured into another container. The fact is that dead fungi collect at the bottom; staying in the wine for a long time, they impart bitterness and an unpleasant odor to the drink.

1-2 days before removing the wine from the sediment, the fermentation tank is placed at a height above the floor (50-60 cm). This could be a bench, chair or any other device. When the sediment is again at the bottom, the wine is poured into another container (clean and dry) through a siphon - a transparent soft hose (tube) with a diameter of 07-1 cm and a length of 1-1.5 m. The end of the tube should not be brought closer to the sediment than 2-3 centimeters.

The process has begun

Drained homemade wine will not be completely clear. There is no need to be afraid of this, the appearance of the drink has not yet formed.

7.Control of sugar content. It's time to decide on the sweetness of young homemade wine. Since active fermentation has already ended, all added sugar will not be processed and will remain in the drink.

Sugar is added based on your own taste preferences. First, drain 1-2 liters of wine, add sugar (no more than 100-200 g per liter), mix, pour the wine with the diluted sugar back into the bottle, and then mix again. If you are satisfied with the sweetness of the drink, then you don’t have to add sugar at all, as you did with dry wine.

8. Quiet fermentation (ripening). The stage during which the final taste is formed. Lasts from 40 to 380 days. Longer aging of homemade grape wines is not advisable, since it does not improve the properties of the drink.

The bottle of wine is again placed under the water seal (recommended) or tightly closed with a lid. It is advisable to store the container in a dark cellar or basement at a temperature of 10-16°C. If this is not possible, then the young wine should be provided with a maturation temperature of 18-22°C, but not higher. It is important to avoid sudden temperature changes, otherwise the taste of the drink will deteriorate. The minimum aging period for white wine is 40 days, for red wine – 60-90 days.

Every 7-10 days, it is advisable to pour the wine from one container to another through a straw, removing it from the sediment, as we did in the 6th stage. As a result, the wine will become lighter and lighter. At the same time, you control its taste.

9. Artificial lightening (pasting). Even after several months in the cellar, homemade wine may remain cloudy. If this does not suit you, then you can use wine purification methods from impurities. The most common methods are pasting with gelatin or egg white.

It should be remembered that clarification only improves the appearance of the drink, without affecting its taste in any way, so I recommend clarification only in extreme cases.

The wine is ready!

10. Spilling and storage. At the last stage, the wine is bottled and tightly corked. Homemade wine should be stored in a cool, dry (6-8°C) place in a lying position. The temperature can be even lower, the main thing is that the drink does not freeze, because then it will lose its taste, and defrosting will no longer help.

From the moderator- I’m in the process of storing wine and I found this material, I’m sharing it - not for experts, but for “dummies”, probably. Clearly written.

Grape wine is obtained by fermenting grape juice.

Due to its high sugar content and relatively low acidity, there is no need to add water to it, as is done to deacidify ordinary fruit and berry mash.

A little sugar is added to some varieties - 1.2-2 kg per 10 g of wort.

Preparing starter for homemade wine

• In the absence pure culture wine yeast to prepare the so-called sourdough, the ripest and most undamaged fruits are selected. You can even take them along with the twigs, which also contain a lot of wild yeast.
• Do not wash the berries, mash and pour sugar syrup, place in a bottle.
• Close the hole with a cotton plug.
• Place the container in a dark place with a temperature of 20-24 °C.
• After a few (5-6) days, when the juice has fermented, it needs to be filtered through gauze.

Take 300 g of this starter to prepare 10 liters dessert wine and 200 g for the same volume of dry or semi-sweet wine.

The strained starter can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 10 days.

Sourdough can be prepared in another way.

In this case, the berries are not washed, they are kneaded, and a handful of raisins are added to the resulting pulp. Bread and brewer's yeast cannot be used.

Grape juice (must or pulp) is fermented in bottles or barrels. The container is filled 2/3 with wine material and wine yeast is added - 2-3% of the volume of the wort.

For better fermentation, the container with the wort is placed in a dark place or covered with a thick dark cloth. The optimal temperature at this time is 20-22 °C. Fermentation at temperatures above 30° is undesirable, as this leads to loss of alcohol and the appearance of bitterness in the drink.

The bottles are closed with a special water seal, which consists of a stopper with a hole and a glass or rubber tube.

For example, a glass tube is inserted into the hole and sealed with plasticine, sealing wax or paraffin to prevent air from passing through.

A rubber tube is put on a glass tube and its end is lowered into a vessel with clean water.

Currently, the industry produces special polyethylene caps for wide-neck bottles used for wine fermentation. The principle of their design is similar to a water seal.

At first, fermentation proceeds vigorously, abundant foam forms on the surface of the wort, and bubbles of carbon dioxide are intensively released into the container with water through the shutter.

After 10-12 days, the intensity of fermentation decreases. It lasts about 1.5-2 months. (sometimes up to 3 months).

How to determine when the fermentation process has ended?

The end of fermentation is judged by external signs:

• the upper layers of the wine begin to lighten;
• CO2 emission almost stops through the shutter;
• Abundant sediment forms at the bottom of the container.

How to separate young wine from the sediment?

Young wine must be immediately separated from the sediment so that it does not acquire the unpleasant taste of decomposition products of yeast cells.

Our advice:

To do this, carefully place the container with wine on a table, for example, on a stool, so as not to disturb the sediment, and place another container below the hose. Using a rubber tube, begin to pour the wine, making sure that the end does not touch the sediment.

Light fermentation: why is it necessary?

The young wine removed from the sediment is again poured into a bottle with a water seal and placed in a room where a constant temperature of 10-12 ° C is maintained.

Under such conditions, light fermentation occurs lasting from 1 to 3 months.

Outwardly, it manifests itself only in the fact that at first CO2 bubbles are occasionally released through the water seal into a vessel with water - one every 5-10 minutes. Gradually the release of gas decreases and stops.

At this time, a thin layer of brown sediment forms at the bottom of the vessel. The wine becomes even more transparent, its aroma bouquet and taste develop.

By pouring it into another vessel, they again get rid of the sediment. Usually such wine is called wine material.

Our advice:

The wine must be crystal clear, even a slight cloudiness is unacceptable for the product high quality. Therefore, wine material that is poorly clarified requires additional processing - filtration and clarification.

How to properly filter wine?

Filter the wine using a cloth filter (a cone-shaped bag made of white flannel, canvas or thick paper). It is passed through such a filter several times.

You can also filter wine through filter paper. To do this, place it in a glass or enamel funnel in one or two layers and pass the wine through.

How to clarify grape wine at home?

If the wine cannot be filtered, then other clarification methods are used. At home, this can be treatment with heat, cold, casein, egg white or gelatin.

Heat treatment

• When processing with heat, sealed containers are used, for example, bottles sealed with corks.
• Bottles of wine are placed in a saucepan with cold water poured to the level of wine, slowly heat to 45-50 ° C and leave in water until completely cooled.
• After cooling, the wine is filtered or left to clarify itself.

Cold treatment

Lowering the temperature to -2 °C for table wines and to -5 °C for unfortified wines leads to the precipitation of colloids, which adsorb suspended turbidity, brightening the drink.

The wine should be cooled quickly and immediately filtered through a flannel bag, filter paper or cotton wool, without allowing the temperature to rise.

Casein bleaching

When lightening with casein at home, use low-fat cow's milk(1 teaspoon per 1 liter of wine). The wine is thoroughly mixed and after a few days filtered or removed from the sediment.

Lightening with egg white

• When lightening with egg white, take 1-2 fresh eggs for 50 liters of wine, separate from the yolk, beat into foam, gradually adding half a glass of cold boiled water and a little wine.
• Then slowly, in a thin stream, add this mixture to the wine, mix everything.
• After 10-15 days, the wine is removed from the sediment.

Clarification with gelatin

When clarified with gelatin, 1 g of gelatin is poured with cold water and left for 24 hours, changing the water 3-4 times.

Then the swollen gelatin is dissolved in 1 glass of warm wine, heated to 35-40 ° C, and mixed thoroughly.

The resulting solution is poured into 10 liters of wine, mixed and left to clarify for 10-15 days at a temperature of 15-20 °C. The clarified wine is removed from the sediment.

Fruit wine recipes

Apple wine

2 kg of apples, 4.5 liters of boiling water. For every 4.5 liters of juice - 6 cups of sugar, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of yeast, juice from two lemons.

• Cut the apples into small slices.
• Pour boiling water over and press with a press. Leave for 4 days.
• Strain the juice and measure its quantity.
• Add sugar, add yeast and lemon juice. Place in a warm place (temperature 18-24 °C) for fermentation.
• After fermentation stops, stir well.
• Pour into bottles, seal and store in a cool, dark place for several months.

Blackberry wine

3 kg of blackberries, 3.5 liters of boiling water, for every 4.5 liters of juice - 5 cups of sugar and 0.5 tbsp. spoons of yeast.

• Place the blackberries in a vessel and pour boiling water over them.
• Leave for 4 days, then strain.
• Measure the amount of juice and add sugar and yeast.
• Place in a warm place (temperature 18-24 °C) for fermentation.
• After fermentation stops (2-3 weeks), stir well.
• Allow the sediment to settle for 3 days.
• Strain through a flannel bag or thick muslin into a barrel or other container.
• Seal and leave for 4 months.
• Pour into bottles and store in a cool, dark place for several months.

Blackcurrant wine

2.5 kg of black currants, 4 liters of boiling water, for every 4.5 liters of juice 6 cups of sugar and 0.5 tbsp. spoons of yeast.

It is made in the same way as blackberry wine. The readiness period is not 4, but 7-9 months.

Plum wine

2 kg plums (better different varieties), 0.5 kg of sugar, 3 liters of boiling water, for 4.5 liters of juice - 3 cups of sugar, 0.5 tbsp. spoons of yeast.

• Remove the pits from the plums and sprinkle the plums with sugar.
• Pour boiling water over it.
• Leave for 4 days.
• Strain and measure the amount of liquid.
• Add sugar, yeast, crushed plum pits.
• Place in a warm place (temperature 18-24 °C) for fermentation. Let sit for 3 days.
• After fermentation stops (1-1.5 months), mix well.
• Strain through a flannel bag or thick muslin into a barrel or other container.
• Seal and leave for 6 months.
• Pour into bottles, seal and store in a dark place. cool place several months.

Elderberry wine

2 kg of elderberry, 5 liters of boiling water, for 4.5 liters of juice - 5 cups of sugar, 0.5 tbsp. spoons of yeast, 7 g ginger, 225 g raisins.

It is made in the same way as plum wine.

Let's sum it up

It is advisable to store finished products in a cellar or refrigerator. So, choose the recipe you like, prepare the wine, invite your friends and... be healthy!

True, we should not forget the wise lines of Omar Khayyam:
“Wine is prohibited, but there are four buts.” It depends on who drinks wine, with whom, when and in moderation. Subject to these four conditions, wine is permitted to all sane people.”

Lyubov DUDCHENKO, Candidate of Biological Sciences
© Ogorodnik magazine
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