Why is wine bottled in different bottles? The right bottle for homemade wine

PROCESSING AND BOTTLING HOME WINE

Overflow. After fermentation, the yeast and brain particles that have entered the juice gradually settle out. The resulting sediment can become a source of infection

wine by bacteria and deterioration of its quality. When pouring, pure wine is separated from the sediment (Fig. 6).

Light, low-alcohol wines are poured immediately after noticeable clarification, no later than a month later. Apple wine is poured as early as possible. Heavier wines with so much sugar added that the alcohol content exceeds 12% and without a distinct aroma can be decanted later.

2-3 months after the first pouring, the wine is poured a second time.

Pour the wine using a hose; wine in barrels can be poured using a tap installed in the end part.

During the first transfer, unfermented and poorly clarified wine is slightly aerated (saturated with air). To do this, the lower end of the tube is raised 20-30 cm above the surface of the wine; It is not recommended to enhance aeration by squeezing the end of the tube.
Rice. 6. Pouring wine using a rubber tube.

1 - from transparent containers; 2 - braided bottle from an opaque container,

Fining, filtering and stabilization of wine. One of the important indicators of wine quality is its appearance and transparency. Fermented wine clears itself as it ages, and in most cases, after a few months, only fine solid particles remain, which also gradually settle out.

But sometimes it happens that small particles settle slowly, and spontaneous lightening of the visa would take a very long time. In this case, they can be removed by filtration or their precipitation can be accelerated by adding substances (coagulants) that adsorb the turbid particles, precipitating in the form of flakes. It is preferable to use filtration, but in cases where this is not possible, clarification is accelerated by fining. Clear wine is bottled; if sediment continues to form in them, the sediment is removed from the bottle (Fig. 7).

Pasting. As already mentioned, fining refers to the clarification of wine using substances called coagulants. Coagulants react with tannins contained in wine, forming insoluble compounds that precipitate. Gelatin is most often used as a coagulant. The amount of gelatin produced depends on the degree of turbidity and astringency of the wine and ranges from 0.2 to 2.5 g per 10 liters of wine.

Pasting is done as follows: a measured amount of gelatin is poured into a pan and poured with wine heated to 40 ° C. When the gelatin is completely swollen, it is allowed to cool; then add it to the wine, which is mixed well. After this, leave the wine until the gelatin completely precipitates.

Lightening using charcoal. Activated charcoal (in crushed form) is an excellent tool for eliminating such defects in wine as unwanted impurities in its taste and aroma. It eliminates unpleasant tastes and retains bitter and coloring substances. This, of course, is reflected in the aroma of the wine, which becomes weaker. If you use more than 20 g of coal per 100 liters of wine, this will significantly affect its taste, color and aroma. Therefore, it is recommended to add a minimum dose of coal to wine (5 g per 100 l); let the wine sit for 5-10 days, take a sample and, if necessary, add a second dose of coal.

Bottling wine. Wine intended for bottling must be completely clear. First of all (after 3-4 months) aromatic wines are bottled, then light wines with low alcohol and acid content, as well as wine from small barrels, because it ages faster in them. Wines with high alcohol and acid content can be bottled after several years if they are kept in glass bottles.

The wine must be so stable that no sediment will form in the bottles during long-term storage. The occurrence of sediment in bottles, mainly in table wines with low alcohol content and minor sugar residues, is mainly due to the activity of yeast fungi. You can get rid of this either by pasteurizing the wine or by removing sediment from the bottom of the bottles.

Stable wines, as well as wines that cannot be stored for long periods of time, are bottled and sealed with clean corks. The wine is poured using a rubber tube, the end of which must touch the bottom of the bottle so that the wine does not aerate. When filling, leave 3-4 cm of free space.

Pasteurization of bottled wine. Wines with low alcohol content and residual sugar are recommended to be pasteurized. To do this, uncapped wine bottles are heated in a water bath until the temperature in the middle of the bottle reaches 42 °C. Then the bottles are immediately sealed with boiled corks and allowed to cool in a horizontal position at room temperature.

At the bottom of the vessel in which the wine will be pasteurized, a wooden or metal grid is installed, or it is laid with several layers of gauze. The water level in the water bath should be 1 cm below the edge of the bottle neck.

The yeast that provides a certain strength to the wine dies in the alcoholic environment it creates. But in the finished wine, bottled and stored, invisible life continues. In addition to yeast, the wine environment contains various active bacteria and fungi.

For example, lactobacilli convert malic acid, which is found in wine, into lactic acid. After wine fermentation, another chemical process begins - malolactic fermentation. It passes in a hermetically sealed container, without the formation of gas. According to the technology for preparing the drink, such fermentation should begin immediately after the alcoholic fermentation.

What happens in wine

But sometimes, under the influence of various reasons, one of which is the temperature regime of wort fermentation, a malfunction occurs and lactobacilli “fall asleep.”

It may take several months before favorable conditions activate these microorganisms. As a rule, this happens in the spring, when bottles of wine are in the basement. In such a situation, malolactic fermentation can spoil the wine.

There are fungi in the intoxicating drink that can cause acetic acid fermentation. They also “wait” for conditions suitable for their life.

If there is access to oxygen in the vessel with wine, then the process of decomposition of alcohol into acetic acid and water will “start”.

Sometimes it is necessary to forcefully stop fermentation before all the sugar has been converted into alcohol. This situation arises when they want to speed up the process of preparing a drink or get the desired sweetness and strength.

In home winemaking, there are generally three main methods used to stop fermentation. They are suitable for all types of homemade wines (grape, etc.):

• - increasing the strength of the wine.
• Pasteurization is a heat treatment to suppress the activity of bacteria and other microorganisms.
• Cryostabilization is a cold treatment that stops fermentation, corrects wine defects, and reduces its acidity.

Fixing with alcohol

The simplest effective method to stop fermentation. This method guarantees long-term preservation of wine.

To stop fermentation and the development of “diseases”, it is enough to increase the strength of the wine to at least 17 degrees. This alcohol content is considered optimal for stabilizing wine.

Artificial fortification is carried out by adding vodka or alcohol (preferably grape distiller) to the finished wine.

The most difficult thing in this method is to correctly calculate the dose. It is customary to proceed from the following calculation data: to increase the strength of the drink by 1 degree, add 2% 40-proof vodka or 1% 90-proof pure alcohol.

Having calculated and measured the required portion, vodka/alcohol is poured into the finished wine and stirred vigorously. After adding vodka/alcohol, the wine will become cloudy.
It will take time to assimilate liquids (completely combine vodka and wine). Remove the sediment and pour the wine into a clean container only 15–20 days after fixing.

The disadvantages of the method include an increase in the strength of the drink, which changes its taste; in addition, vodka can give off an unpleasant odor.

Cryostabilization

Winemaking, which develops in areas with cold winters, has its advantages. One of them is natural cryostabilization, which involves treating wine with cold.

The finished wine is stored in cellars and cellars from October to December. The temperature in storage areas is usually below 15 degrees. And on frosty days it can drop to 0 0 and stay at this level for a long time.

This temperature regime has a very beneficial effect on the quality of the drink.

Low temperatures promote stabilization; solid microparticles settle to the bottom, which makes the wine more transparent.

At home, in order to improve wine, stop fermentation and, most importantly, prevent disease, this operation is specially carried out. To do this, the wine is kept for two to three weeks in the refrigerator at temperatures from +5 to 0 °C. The main thing is to prevent freezing, which can occur at –4 °C and below.

After cryostabilization, a solid precipitate is obtained. The wine is removed from the sediment, poured into clean bottles, and sealed with high quality.

Cryostabilization disinfects the drink, removes tartar and significantly improves its taste. This is the only method that, when carried out correctly, does not change the taste and aroma of the wine at all.

Pasteurization

This process leads to an increase in its shelf life and prevents the development of harmful microorganisms that could lead to spoilage of the product or a change in its taste and nutritional qualities.

The use of pasteurization in home winemaking allows you to stop fermentation and protect wine from many diseases, increasing its shelf life.

• At home, pasteurization is quite simple, if the volume of the wine container is not very large. As a rule, amateur winemakers develop wine into standard bottles. They are placed in a large saucepan.
• A wooden lattice or terry towel is first placed on its bottom. Water is poured into the pan. It should cover the liquid level in the bottles. The water is heated to a temperature of 60–70 °C, and this temperature is maintained for 20 minutes.

It is important not to overheat the wine, so you need to constantly monitor the temperature. To do this, along with the wine bottles, you need to place a bottle of water and a water thermometer.

Heating of the wine should occur as quickly but smoothly as possible. The wine must be chilled before pasteurization. There should be no air access to the wine. Only when these conditions are met, a high-quality result is obtained.

After pasteurization, the container with wine must be quickly cooled, hermetically sealed, and transferred to a cool room.

The considered methods for stopping fermentation are most suitable at home. They allow you to preserve high taste and aroma as much as possible.

To stabilize wines, various chemicals (preservatives) are used, for example, sulfuric anhydrite or sorbic acid. But you shouldn’t use such techniques in home winemaking.

A knowledgeable person can make homemade wine that tastes several times better than what is sold in stores. This drink has a mild taste and rich aroma.

The most interesting thing is that making homemade wine is not a complicated process; you need a little experience and constant analysis of your actions. If you want to try your hand at home winemaking, but don’t know how or where to start, try starting with the folk recipes below. These recipes are used in many countries and are very popular. All you have to do is use them correctly and, as they say, “get your teeth into it.”

Homemade wine recipes

Absolutely every recipe has its own concept that must be preserved. Any winemaker, taking into account personal preferences, can modify only minor nuances in the recipe. Review several detailed recipes to choose one to begin gaining personal experience with.

Apricot

Preparing apricot wine takes a long time and requires constant monitoring of the process. In order to get an excellent drink, you will have to be patient.

Apricot has a beautiful yellowish tint and clearly defined sweetish notes. The unforgettable taste completely covers the lack of a bright aroma and will repay the effort spent on its preparation.

You will need:

• Granulated sugar - 3.5 kg.
• Ripe apricots - 3.5 kg.
• Water - 11 l.

It is advisable to choose fruits that are not dirty, so as not to wash them, but simply remove excess debris from them and remove seeds. We make a homogeneous mass from the apricots; you can crush them with your hands, it’s easier. Place everything in a large saucepan and fill with warm water.

Using gauze folded in several layers, cover the pan and place it in a warm place. To prevent souring, it is necessary to stir the wort every six hours. This continues for six days. During this time, the mixture begins to ferment.

On the seventh day, drain all the juice through cheesecloth and squeeze. Add sugar and pour into a bottle on which you need to install a water seal. It can be replaced with a medical glove, after first piercing it with a needle. Now you should leave the bottle in a dark place for two weeks, room temperature 18-28 °C.

When the fermentation process ends (air will no longer be released through the water seal and the wort will become lighter), it is necessary to drain the young wine. Using a plastic tube when transfusing, you can get rid of sediment.

Pour into bottles, seal the container securely and leave to ripen in a dark, cool place. This will take at least three months, after which you can taste it.

Cherry plum

Red cherry plum varieties are excellent; they have a high sugar content. If you don’t have one, any variety of cherry plum will do. The recipe for homemade wine is very simple and requires only attention and patience.

You will need:

• Cherry plum berries - 3 kg.
• Raisins - 100 g.
• Granulated sugar - 4.5 kg.
• Water - 4 l.

Mash clean and washed berries into a homogeneous mass, pour out all the raisins and fill with water. Pour the resulting mixture into a large container, a ten-liter bottle works well. The neck should be tied with gauze and left to ferment in a dark room with a temperature of 22−28 °C.

After three days, drain the juice and squeeze the wort through cheesecloth. Try not to stir the sediment and leave it in the bottle. Add 4 kg of sugar to the liquid and mix well. When pouring into a separate container, you should leave 20% of the volume for gas and foam that subsequently forms.

After installing the water seal or medical glove, place the container in a dark room with a temperature of 16−25 °C. After 20 days it is necessary to check the condition of the wort. Depending on the temperature, it may already lighten, which means the fermentation process is complete. This process can take up to 50 days.

Transfer the wine into a new container, mix in the rest of the sugar - 0.5 kg. Close with a tight lid and place in a dark room. Recommended storage temperature is 11−15 °C. Final fermentation can last up to three months, after which the wine is considered ready for consumption. You can bottle it and hide it in the basement.

Pear

Anyone who has tried pear wine knows that this drink is very soft, has a wonderful aroma and a refined taste. Ripe pears are rarely used to prepare the drink due to their low tannic acid content. Take not fully ripened fruits along with seeds.

You will need:

• Pears - 5 kg.
• Granulated sugar - 2.5 kg.
• Water - 5 l.

First, prepare sugar syrup, but dissolve the sugar not in boiling water, but in cooled boiled water. While the water is boiling and cooling, cut the pears. When cutting the fruit into pieces, remove the stem and any rot.

When the gases stop escaping or the glove deflates, the fermentation process will end. Drain the juice, squeeze out the wort and bottle the young wine. To be completely ready, you need to keep it in the basement for two months.

After this, you can offer to try the alcoholic drink.

Berry liqueur

The berries are very capricious, and turning them into wine is not easy. Because of these difficulties, winemakers began to use vodka in the production of berry drinks, which complicates the process, but helps to avoid the loss of raw materials. The resulting drinks are very popular among the people. Cherries, currants, rowan berries, cranberries, raspberries, etc. are prepared with vodka.

Familiarize yourself with the general scheme for preparing homemade liqueur; it differs from the scheme for preparing homemade wine.

You will need:

• Berry juice - 7 l.
• Granulated sugar - 3 kg.
• Vodka - 1 l.
• Water - 1.5 l.

You will need a 20 liter glass bottle. Juice and water are poured into it, and 2 kg of sugar is added. Place it in a dark place with a water seal installed, or, as usual, you can wear a medical glove with a puncture.

After ten days, add vodka, mix and leave for a week in a room at a temperature of 18−22 °C to complete fermentation.

After this, you need to filter the liquid and add the remaining sugar. The resulting drink is bottled and sealed. Residual fermentation will be completed in seven to eight days. You can leave it like this and serve it, or strain it again and pour it into a new bowl.

Apples

Thanks to the massive cultivation of apples, a drink made from them is very popular. Anyone can make wine from them; you just need to follow the rules recommended by winemakers. You can take any recipe for homemade apple wine, but to get a guaranteed result you should use proven technologies.

You will need:

• Ripe apples - 10 kg.
• Granulated sugar - 200 g for each liter of juice.

We wash the apples, peel them and cut them into several parts. The core is removed, after which we weigh the apples, pass them through a meat grinder and fill a large bottle. It is very important to leave free space for foam and gas, after which we install a water seal or a rubber glove with a puncture.

To ensure uniform distribution of wild yeast throughout the container, you should periodically stir the apple pulp for four days - three times a day: early in the morning, at lunch and late in the evening. After this, you need to strain the entire mixture through cheesecloth, separate the juice and cake.

Pour the juice into a new container, leave room for fermentation products and add sugar in the specified proportion - 200 g of sugar per liter of juice. We install the shutter and place the container in a dark place. To complete fermentation, it is necessary to maintain the room temperature at 21−28 °C.

After fermentation is complete, carefully pour off the young wine, leaving sediment at the bottom of the bottle. To ensure that the alcoholic drink is fully prepared, winemakers recommend pouring it into glass containers and letting it sit in the basement for several months. Storage temperature should not exceed 17 °C.

Grape

Many people grow grapes in their summer cottages, but in a good year they don’t know what to do with them. For those who want to try their hand at winemaking, there is a simple wine recipe that is easy to use at home.

White grapes

The process of preparing grape nectar may take some time, so be patient. If the result is successful, you can surprise your friends and acquaintances with an excellent aperitif.

You will need:

• Grape berries - 10 kg.
• Granulated sugar - according to the proportion to achieve the desired result.

Only good ripe berries are used to prepare the drink. They need to be kneaded, using your hands, to get a homogeneous mass. Add three cups of sugar, pour into a bottle and leave in a warm place to ferment. In order for the process to proceed evenly, it is necessary to stir the wort three times a day.

Three days after clarification of the pulp, the liquid should be filtered, the juice and cake should be separated. To obtain the desired taste, add sugar in the following proportions:

• Dry wine - 1:8.
• Semi-sweet - 1:6.
• Sweet - 1:4.

Pour into a suitable bottle, close with a shutter and place in a dark room for maturation. Store for three weeks until sediment appears at a temperature of 20−27 °C.

Using a tube, we express the young wine and bottle it. Now you need to let the drink mature. After two months in the cellar, the drink is considered ready for drinking, and if you did everything correctly, the taste of the wine will delight not only you, but also those around you.

Blue grapes

Using dark grape varieties, you can make a drink with an exquisite taste, delicate aroma, and medium strength. With your own vineyard, you can learn how to make a solar drink at home.

Necessary:

• Ripe grapes - 10 kg.
• Granulated sugar - at the rate of 170 g per liter of juice.

We sort through the grapes, select ripe berries, remove dry and cracked fruits. The berries cannot be washed before cooking; the skin carries wild yeast necessary for normal fermentation.

All grapes must be crushed, turned into a homogeneous mass and placed in a large bottle. Cover with a water seal or a pierced glove and place for fermentation in a dark place with a room temperature of 12-16 °C.

Stirring three times a day every day will help fermentation proceed evenly. Be sure to remove raised berry skins from the surface, as they can cause the juice to spoil. This is how the first two weeks will pass.

After this, you need to filter the wort. If you fold the gauze in several layers, it will be easy to clear the juice from the pulp. Mix the resulting liquid with sugar at the rate of 170 g of sugar per liter of liquid. Pour into jars or a clean bottle and put on a water seal or the same glove.

Residual fermentation will continue for about a week, and sediment will fall to the bottom of the jar. Pour the new wine into new jars, straining through cheesecloth - try to leave sediment in the old jar. We repeat this procedure in another week.

After this, you can bottle the drink and send it to rest in the basement for two months, although you can already drink it.

Pasteurization of alcoholic beverages

Pasteurization makes drinks cleaner and gives a subtle taste. Thanks to this processing method, the wine becomes resistant to the formation of microorganisms, due to which souring occurs very quickly. Winemakers have come up with a fairly simple way to increase the shelf life of finished products.

The temperature at which pasteurization is carried out ranges from 55 to 65 °C. Heat treatment for 20 minutes kills all viruses, fungi, and harmful microorganisms. Pasteurized wine becomes resistant to oxidation and bloomed. The processing procedure itself is simple, but there are several points that must be completed.

Procedure:

Attention, TODAY only!

After the secondary fermentation has completely finished, which, again, you can tell by the liquid swinging back in the blocker or the retracted rubber glove, strain the wine using a siphon hose into a clean glass or plastic container (this process is called “decanting”), where it will be aged further. Wait a week after the end of fermentation for a coarse sediment to form: this way you will kill two birds with one stone - at the same time you will remove the wine from the sediment and transfer it for further storage and aging. When pouring wine using a siphon hose, place the end of the hose in the neck of the receiving bottle so that it is slightly turned to the side so that the wine flows down the wall and does not foam under the stream. When wine foams, air collects in the foam bubbles, and although some air is useful during the initial fermentation period, it will now only spoil the wine and oxidize it. Try to minimize the entry of air into the wine when pouring. This is especially important for white wines!

After transferring, instead of sealing the bottle with a strong cap, I usually install an air blocker. If the wine undergoes natural lactic acid fermentation (LAF), or gas formation and release occurs for some other reason, gas will escape completely unhindered through the air blocker. Don't forget to fill the blockers with fresh pyrosulfite solution. Then I send the cylinders to the cellar and forget about them for a couple of months, until the time comes for the next transfer before long-term storage or bottling.
In principle, you can bottle wine after two or three months, but I don’t recommend doing this unless there are compelling reasons: the wine is too light, cannot be stored, tastes ready (completely suits you), or you urgently need it for other reasons reasons. 😉 At this stage, the white wine will only be six months old. It may taste pretty good, but it will get even better over time. Light red wine or young wine that is drunk young, like Beaujolais, can be bottled now, but even such a wine will benefit from aging for at least six months to a year after.

Now the wine will perhaps be somewhat cloudy - not very cloudy, but still not entirely clear. By the way, nothing causes more suspicion in homemade wine than suspension or cloudiness. The cloudiness is most likely caused by spent yeast particles, and if the wine is bottled now, the gradual decomposition of dead cells in the wine will inevitably add off-flavors and odors. Usually all clouds and suspensions settle on their own, except in cases of persistent colloidal clouds, or they can be eliminated by doing the things that usually precede bottling of wine - fining and/or filtration, which I will talk about later.

Here overflow schedule which I advise you to stick to:

First: within a month after the end of secondary fermentation.
This usually happens in November.
Second: two to three months after the first. The standard time for this is starting at the end of December and throughout January.
Third: in three months. The standard period is mid-March - April.

How long should wine be aged?

How long to age wine before bottling? Ultimately, this will be up to you, but here are some general guidelines to help you make a healthy decision:

Velvety, dense red wines: I would say they should be aged for at least a year, even two, before bottling. Eating them while they are young and unseasoned is like eating bun dough before they are baked. For those who have not eaten baked goods, or as one of my good friends says, “I have never eaten anything sweeter than carrots,” 🙂 and the dough may even seem too attractive, but a more experienced person knows very well that the dough cannot be compared with well-baked baked goods .

During storage, the wine will “calm down”. The aromas will become more subtle and refined. Tart and bitter tastes will disappear: tannins will ripen and transform. Extraneous odors and tastes of young unaged wine will be smoothed out during aging. The cloudiness typical of young wines will completely dissipate, and you can do without the clarification procedure. This point: when aged in large containers and in large quantities, the wine becomes softer and more refined than if it were aged in individual bottles. For various reasons, wine ages faster in small containers than in a 20-liter bottle. After the third racking (decantation), such wine can be left in the cellar for years.

Light red wines: one year is quite enough, but in general you can limit yourself to six months. These wines are best fresh and should be drunk between one and two years of aging.

Full-bodied, aromatic white wines: First of all, I’m talking, of course, about Chardonnay, Bianca and others, the grapes for which scored 22...23 Brie and above. The minimum aging period is from six months to a year after the third pouring.

Light white wines with fruity aromas: Three to six months of aging after the third decantation is sufficient.

Storage and holding conditions

The main requirement is that the room where the wine is stored should be cool. The ideal temperature is 13…14 0 C, suitable from 10 to 16 ° C. In a warm room with an air temperature of about 25°C, wine will age twice as quickly as at a temperature of 13°C, if it is stable enough not to spoil at all. The wine storage room should be dark. When exposed to light, especially sunlight, wine very quickly loses quality. This should remind you that when leaving the cellar or basement, you need to turn off the lights. Wine bottles are made of dark glass to protect the wine from light. Try to create the same conditions for the wine in your cellar. And finally, find a place to store wine where there are no vibrations that cause the wine to shake (I hope your cellar is not under a tram line? :)), and where there are no frequent temperature fluctuations. I won’t exaggerate and convince you that you can’t even raise your voice in a room where there is wine, but a quiet place, unaffected by fuss and noise, is still preferable. Wine is a very delicate material. Quite a lot has been said about the “disease of moving” inherent in wine. Shaking on a train, car or plane is unlikely to do any good to the wine. If you have to transport wine from place to place, you need to leave it in the cellar for a month or at least a couple of weeks before opening the bottle. It often happens that the wine you brought with you when going to visit distant friends does not surprise them; it is not at all the same as it was when you poured it in your cellar. This is due precisely to the illness of moving.
The ideal place for storage is a closet or cellar, protected from sudden temperature changes. At the very least, the place should be dark and cool.

Cryostabilization or cold stabilization

Winemaking in areas where winter temperatures are low has its advantages, especially when it comes to cryostabilization, the process of briefly aging wine at low temperatures. New, freshly filled cylinders are lowered into the basement. This occurs between late October and December, depending on how long the secondary fermentation has taken. In a standard basement, the temperature at this time is only ten to fifteen degrees Celsius, but in January it can drop to five or zero degrees, or lower, and stay at this level until the end of February. This cold period has a very beneficial effect on wine. Solid particles dispersed in the wine settle, which makes the wine more transparent over these two to three months, in addition, the wine is stabilized by exposure to cold. Cryostabilization helps remove the bitartrate - a creamy or creamy substance from the wine - and the crystalline components settle to the bottom, forming a hard crust on top of the sediment layer. This significantly brightens the wine and facilitates the third racking of the wine, which should be done in March-April, or three to four months after the second racking.
The sediment that is present in the wine before the first or second decantation is loose, easily rises from the bottom and falls into the siphon tube. During the third pouring, after cryostabilization, the sediment is already compacted quite tightly and does not hang around the entire bottle. However, it is still not recommended to shake the bottle. 🙂
Unless you have a basement where, depending on the weather outside, the temperature can naturally drop to zero degrees and stay at this level for two months, I would suggest that you splurge on a used refrigerator that will fit the cylinder perfectly, if you remove the shelves from it. Two to three weeks in a refrigerator at about zero degrees Celsius will be enough for the cream of tartar to fall out. If you have made a large batch of wine that is too big for such a refrigerator, and if there is no corner in your house where it is cold enough, you can ask the owners of an industrial refrigerator to let you keep your bottles there for a while. If you don’t have such acquaintances or you don’t want to get involved with this, you’d better give up the idea of ​​cryostabilization altogether. Potassium bitartrate in dissolved form does not harm wine - it does not need to be destroyed by hook or by crook.

And, undoubtedly, the wine becomes softer and less acidic - excess acid falls out along with the tartar (potassium bitartrate is its salt). If after this the acidity of the wine is increased, you can use, for example, potassium bicarbonate (calinate). To reduce the total acidity by 1 g/l, it is necessary to add 67 g/100 l of calinate.

You can take bottles of wine outside in winter, but I would not recommend it: you need to avoid strong temperature fluctuations. The wine must spend a couple of weeks in the cold, and only God knows what will happen to the weather during this time. Unless in an unheated room such as a barn or veranda, the temperature in which you can at least somehow control. I do not recommend cooling wine below -4 0 C. Ice crystals may fall out in it, and after they melt, the wine will taste like it has been diluted with water. And if it happens that it cools down to this temperature or lower, under no circumstances open the cap of the bottle(s) in which it is located until it warms up again to 0 0 C! If you do this, the wine will instantly turn into an icy slurry.

There are many of my colleagues who experiment with freezing wine, but I don’t do it, and, accordingly, I can’t recommend it to you. If you want, try it at your own risk. Between the first and second transfers, I keep the wine for a couple of winter months in a weakly heated winery, where I maintain the temperature at +5...6 0 C. As a rule, this is enough for the tartar to fall out and significantly clarify the wine.

If wine that has not undergone cryostabilization is then bottled and then placed in the cold, almost freezing, the crystals will settle directly in the bottle. This is not a defect in the wine and does not affect the taste at all. But cryostabilization has its advantages in any case: it helps to get rid of crystalline particles in the wine, which, in general, is not bad for aesthetic purposes. And, I repeat, cryostabilization reduces acidity and softens the taste of wine.

Well, before serving, pour yours into bottles. It is both convenient and aesthetically pleasing. You can come up with and make your own label, or a gift label for a friend’s birthday, you can choose fancy bottles, in general, experiment! 🙂 The surroundings of wine consumption are no less important than the quality of the wine itself.

Well, that's all that is minimally enough to get decent homemade wine. Later I will talk about clarification, filtration, and oak (using oak chips). But I don’t even know if this will be considered home winemaking, or will it be necessary to smoothly move to the section of author’s winemaking, or garage winemaking? I have repeatedly heard reviews that even the operations that I describe here are, for a “simple home winemaker,” higher mathematics. What do you think? 🙂

Wine has long been considered a sacred, healthy drink, the secrets of which were passed down from generation to generation. Nowadays, there are also a huge number of connoisseurs of the variety of its aromas. And home-made grape wine is a completely natural, exquisite creation, largely dependent on hard work and maintaining the standards of the technological process of its production.

The secrets of making wine have been passed down from generation to generation since ancient times. Now everyone can try their hand at making wine at home.

Wine has long been considered a sacred, healthy drink, the secrets of which were passed down from generation to generation. Nowadays, there are also a huge number of connoisseurs of the variety of its aromas. And home-made grape wine is a completely natural, exquisite creation, largely dependent on hard work and maintaining the standards of the technological process of its production. Anyone can easily master the art of creating their revered drink. To do this, you just need to carefully study the recommendations for carrying out sequential actions in creating a wine product.

Preparation for processing

Grapes are considered to be the most ideal berry for making wine. To make high-quality wine at home, you need to use only well-ripened fruits, collected in dry weather, and never after rain. This is necessary so that natural wild yeast remains on the fruit in the form of a whitish coating, which is indispensable for the fermentation process. The berries should not be rotten or frozen. Also, you should not use crumbled fruits to avoid an unpleasant aftertaste. Cut grapes must be processed within 2 days. Harvesting is best done no earlier than the second half of September.

You should know that not all grape varieties are suitable for producing delicious homemade grape wine. Muscat varieties that contain large amounts of sugar are ideal for creating sweet wines. Table varieties are best made from not quite ripe berries, using Isabella, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, etc. varieties.

Grape wine with the addition of water has a subtle taste and becomes less cloying. You can complement the aroma of the drink by adding a little vanilla or almond powder.

The process of selecting berries is quite labor-intensive, but necessary to achieve the result of producing high-quality grape wine with a pleasant aftertaste and aroma.

To avoid contamination of raw materials with pathogenic microorganisms, it is necessary to properly prepare containers, as well as all accessories used. They need to be dry and completely clean. It would be a good idea to disinfect with boiling water, after which the surfaces should be wiped dry with a clean cloth.

Recycling

Prepared fruits must be carefully crushed with your hands or with a wooden rolling pin to avoid crushing the seeds, which makes the product bitter. The resulting pulp is sent to the prepared container, filling about 3/4 of its total volume. It is allowed to use glass, enamel, wood and plastic containers, but not metal.

It is recommended to cover the container with pulp with gauze or cloth, thus avoiding flies and other insects from getting into it, and put it away for three days in a warm place out of direct sunlight. After a short period of time, fermentation of the grape juice will begin, creating a foamy cap formed from the skin of the fruit on the surface. It must be broken twice or thrice a day, while gently mixing the pulp with your hands or with a wooden pestle to avoid peroxidation.

After three days, the juice in the pulp will lighten and a slight hiss will be heard. This will be a signal that it is time to move on to the next stage of preparing grape wine.

Transfusion and installation of the valve

So, we remove the pulp and peel that has accumulated in the outer layer into another container, while squeezing the juice out of it. Next, you need to filter all the freshly squeezed juice 2-3 times using gauze cloth. At the same time, the process of transfusion fills it with oxygen, launching the action of wine yeast.

If a recipe for making grape wine with the addition of water is used, then at this stage of production it must be added to the juice in an amount of 30% of the total volume of liquid.

Place the resulting amount of prepared juice in glass containers, approximately 70% of the total volume of the bottle, for further fermentation. To avoid peroxidation of wine, it is necessary to prevent oxygen from entering it, while at the same time allowing carbon dioxide to escape. To do this, you will need to install any of the water seal devices on the container. This can be a water seal consisting of a lid, tube and jar, which is usually used for large-volume bottles, or a fairly common method using a medical glove, puncturing a hole with a needle at the location of any of the fingers.

Adding sugar

At this stage, it is necessary to control the amount of sugar in the resulting wort, focusing on sufficient sweetness to taste.

To make good wine without disturbing the normal fermentation process, the addition of sugar must be gradual. This means that every 3 days it is necessary to add it in a dose of 50 g per 1 liter of liquid, having previously dissolved it in a small amount of drained wort. This manipulation should be done about 4 times in the first 2-3 weeks of fermentation.

An important condition for the technology of preparing high-quality wine is further adherence to the temperature regime, which becomes: 22-28 C for red and 16-22 C for white wine varieties. It is not permissible to lower it to a limit of 15 C, since at this temperature the fermentation process will stop.

Initial vigorous fermentation

The duration of the rapid fermentation stage depends on several factors:

• yeast activity;
• quantitative composition of sugar;
• temperature conditions.

The process continues until the yeast has completely processed almost all the sugar. This can be determined by the following signs:

• stopping the release of bubbles by the water seal;
• blowing off a medical glove;
• yeast sediment falls to the bottom.

If fermentation continues 50 days after installing the water seal, in order to avoid a bitter taste, it is recommended to drain the liquid part into another container, leaving the sediment in the same container, and again place it under the water seal for final fermentation.

After this, you need to move on to the next stage of production, namely the first transfusion followed by quiet fermentation.

Pouring and quiet fermentation

Place the container with the drink on a raised surface and carefully pour it into another, filling it right up to the neck using a rubber tube. It is very important not to affect the sediment. Otherwise, the taste of the wine will deteriorate, become bitter, and spoil the overall pleasant aftertaste.

The produced product is not yet transparent enough, since its appearance has not yet been fully formed, and it needs to be further fermented and also lightened.

Quiet fermentation of the intoxicating drink lasts approximately 3-4 months at a temperature of about 10-12 C. If desired, a water seal can be installed on the container due to the slight accumulation of carbon dioxide. During the quiet fermentation stage, the color of the drink will become lighter, leaving sediment at the bottom. Therefore, there is a need for its transfusion once every 30 days. At the same time, the wine will be saturated with oxygen, necessary for its full ripening.

When the process of quiet fermentation ends, there is a need to add sugar from dessert wine varieties. You need to learn how to do this correctly.

Semi-sweet wines are sweetened by adding 50 g of sugar per 1 liter, dessert types - 100-150 g - per 1 liter, liqueur types - from 200 g - per 1 liter.

You can also add alcohol or vodka, thereby obtaining a fortified wine, but making the taste less aromatic and more harsh.

The presented recipe for preparing a wine drink is universal.

Creating a quality wine product is a creative process that requires specific knowledge and certain skills. Proper conditions must also be met to ensure that the correct temperature conditions are maintained.

Maturation

Full-bodied red wines need to be aged for about 1-2 years, light reds - about 1 year, dense aromatic whites - six months, light ones - 3 months at a temperature of 10-15 C in a dark, dry room. The most suitable places for the product to fully mature are wine cellars, where the same air temperature is always maintained.

To obtain the ideal aromatic drink, it is recommended to use wine cryostabilization. The idea is to keep it for a short time at a low temperature, for about a couple of weeks. You can use a refrigerator or basement for this purpose in winter. This procedure helps to lighten the product, and also helps to quickly and effectively get rid of crystalline particles and tartar. Exposure to cold also helps to cope with excess acid, making the taste of wine softer and more pleasant.

Wine bottling and storage

Next, we proceed to the next stage of technology for the production of grape wine, which requires very simple steps. Before you start bottling, the wine needs to be filtered. This is done using a soft cloth or special filter paper.

It is better to pour wine into special durable bottles, sealing them with long corks, having previously treated the container with soda solution and then rinsed thoroughly with water.

The container should be filled completely, almost to the level of contact with the stopper, with a small air gap of 1-2 cm.

It is recommended to store wine at home in the basement, provided that there is no high humidity and the air temperature does not exceed 10 C. Bottles filled with intoxicating products should only be stored in a lying position, thereby maintaining the tightness of their sealing.

Of course, making wine with your own hands is not so easy. But having gone through all the stages of its production, while observing general recommendations as much as possible, a worthy result of labor is achieved in the form of a most pleasant and not only tasty, but also very healthy drink.

Useful properties of hop products

Grape wine contains a rich chemical complex of valuable substances, indicating its medicinal effect on the human body. This has been proven by scientists who have studied the properties of the intoxicating product. Thus, according to their conclusions, any wine, especially homemade wine, is a valuable healing drink that has a positive effect on the human body to a greater extent than other food products.

The following medicinal qualities of grape wine can be distinguished:

• has a general strengthening effect;
• has an antiseptic and disinfecting effect;
• prevents the development of atherosclerosis;
• is an analgesic and wound healing agent;
• serves as a source of vitamins, various microelements and amino acids;
• helps improve immunity;
• slows down the aging process of the body.

Even in ancient times, some unusual observation was discovered. It consisted in the fact that entire states were dying en masse due to epidemics of various terrible diseases. But in areas where winemaking was widespread, where people made and constantly drank wine, the impact of disease was much lower, and the cure rate was much higher.

Grape wine has strong healing effects in the fight against various viruses and infections, and also helps to quickly and effectively cope with colds. Mulled wine lovers should know that this drink was created by one of the ancient pharmacists to treat tuberculosis, colds and for general health promotion.

Nowadays, obesity has become a rather pressing disease, even in children. Drinking grape wine can contribute to a significant reduction in body weight by restoring metabolic processes in the body, as well as normalizing the process of fat breakdown.

Following a therapeutic dosage, drinking wine significantly improves the normal functioning of the heart muscle, removes excess cholesterol from the blood, treats depression and gives an incredible surge of strength and energy.

You can make applications and small baths from a medicinal drink, which give the skin elasticity, while making it smooth and soft, smoothing out folds and wrinkles, and also help get rid of cellulite.

The healing effects of grape wine prepared according to various recipes are as follows:

• renewal of the body's immune forces;
• disinfectant property;
• strengthening the heart muscle and vascular system;
• normalization of metabolic processes;
• filling with valuable chemical elements;
• rejuvenating effect on the skin.

The provided technology for creating a noble, delicious drink from grapes is suitable for making different types of wine.

You can use all kinds of simple recipes, and more complex ones, using different varieties of grapes. In any case, you will get a unique taste of the wine drink. It is only important to have an idea of ​​how to make homemade wine, and also to put maximum effort into this process.

Grape wine at home