Quality homemade wine. Proper preparation of wine at home. Homemade grape wine

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.

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, 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 with boiled water, then wiped 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. To ensure that the wild yeast necessary for fermentation remains on the grapes, it is advisable to pick the 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 enamel dishes 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 from 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 grapes or grapes grown in northern latitudes, in rare cases it may be necessary to add water. If the juice turns out to be very sour (it hurts your cheekbones and stings your tongue), add water - a maximum of 500 ml per 1 liter. The more water, the worse the quality of the wine. It is better to leave the acidity slightly higher, since the concentration of acids decreases slightly during fermentation.

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 of the by-product of 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 of the container with fermented juice, it is necessary to ensure 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 adding sugar, at best the wine will be 10% alcohol 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 it is impossible to determine the initial sugar content of grapes at home without a special device (hydrometer). 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 sediment, place the fermentation container 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 do fortified wine hail wine, adding vodka (alcohol) at the 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 (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.

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, the young wine needs to be provided with a maturation 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. At the 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. Relevant only for northern regions with very sour berries, since adding water worsens the taste.

Homemade grape wine has always enjoyed considerable popularity at any table, so every winemaker, even a beginner, happily tries to create wines according to various recipes, including classic version- from grapes.

Here is a recipe for excellent grape wine: step by step and easy at home (with photos and instructions).

In order for grape wine (and not just homemade wine) to turn out truly tasty and aromatic, it is necessary to use exclusively high-quality and, most importantly, the right product to create it - wine varieties.

The berries of these varieties are characterized by their small size and density on the bunch. Below are some valuable tips from experienced winemakers regarding the selection and preparation of material for wine:

Advice. Grapes collected for making wine should not be washed, because the white coating that forms on them is nothing more than wine yeast. Rinse or even wash grapes only if a starter with high-quality wine yeast is used.

The harvested grapes should be separated from the ridges, sorted, removing all unsuitable berries, including dried and moldy berries. After preliminary selection, the berries are poured in small batches into a deep container and crushed. You can use a regular potato masher or a meat grinder. The berries should be crushed very carefully so that each of them releases all its juice.

Wine making process

Making quality wine is a fairly simple process if you strictly follow all steps of the recipe. The following is a step-by-step process for preparing wine.

Fermentation of pulp

The finished pulp or crushed berries, previously separated from the ridges, are poured into a suitable container and covered tightly with a cotton cloth. Keep in mind that the container should only be 2/3 filled with wine material.

The container with pulp is installed in a room with a strict temperature regime, falling between 18 and 23 degrees. If the temperature is above the second mark, the pulp may ferment too intensely, which will result in it turning into vinegar. If the temperature is below the first mark, the fermentation process may proceed too slowly or may not even begin at all.

So, after a few days, the fermentation process will begin and the must (juice, which is essentially young grape wine) will begin to separate from the pulp. The pulp and wort should be thoroughly mixed every day, otherwise the former will simply turn sour and the taste of the not yet finished product will be spoiled.

Preparation of grape must

5-7 days after the start of fermentation, the pulp should be thoroughly squeezed out, thus separating the wort from it. The first spin is done through a colander, the second through several layers of gauze. The purified wort should ferment. To do this, it is poured into a clean container (it should be filled only 3/4) and tightly closed with a stopper and tube.

Attention! Experienced winemakers believe that separating the pulp from the wort is a mistaken action, which will subsequently deprive the finished product of its valuable deep aroma and delicate aftertaste.

If you want to leave the pulp, you should not squeeze it out to separate the wort: just pour all the product into a new container and close it with a lid with a straw. The tube will serve as a kind of protection against oxygen: one end of it must be lowered into a container of water, the other into wine.

At this stage, it is important to control the strength and sweetness of the wine, which depend, first of all, on the fructose content in the product. You can regulate this indicator by adding this or that amount of sugar. In our area, predominantly varieties with a low fructose content grow, therefore, if sugar is not added during the preparation of wine, it will turn out dry.

The dosage of sugar is usually taken as follows: about 1 tbsp. per 1 liter of semi-finished product. Sugar is added as follows: you need to pour a little wort, heat it and pour sugar into it, stirring the mass until the latter dissolves completely. After this, pour the resulting sweet composition back into the container with wine.

Corking of semi-finished wine

At this stage, you should separate all the sediment from the finished wort (to do this, you just need to drain the wine through a straw, carefully lowering the container with water below the container with wine). Be sure to check the product for the amount of sugar: if you like dry grape wine, you won’t need sugar. Otherwise, be sure to add it to the wine and stir thoroughly.

All that remains is to pour the grape wine into a dark glass bottle and seal it loosely (this is necessary so that the remaining carbon dioxide contained in the wine finds a “way out”).

Product sterilization

This is the last, but no less important stage in making homemade wine. Some winemakers believe that this process should occur naturally: the wine must be left in a dark, cool place for several months (2-3) until the fermentation process stops, having previously installed water seals on each bottle. During this period, you should drain the wine at least several times to remove any sediment.

There is another way to sterilize wine - forced. It is necessary to loosely close the wine bottles, wrap them with cloth and place them in a container filled with water. Place a thermometer in one of the bottles and sterilize the product until its temperature rises to 60 degrees. After this, all the yeast will die and the fermentation process will stop completely. The remaining carbon dioxide will also escape through a loosely closed plug.

Afterwards, you can tightly cork the bottles and send them to a cool, dry place. A product that has gone through all the preparatory stages correctly will be able to gain all that wonderful aroma and depth of taste for which many people love grape wine so much. Good luck!

How to make wine from grapes at home: video

You should start making wine by squeezing the juice. Remember that apples cannot be washed. Their peel contains a huge amount of yeast useful for fermentation. Dirty or damaged apples just need to be wiped and the rotten surface removed. To prevent the wine from turning out bitter, it is necessary to remove the core from the apples.

The apples are peeled - start processing them. If the house has good juicer, then it is best to use it. It will clean the juice as much as possible from the pulp. Instead of a juicer, you can use a powerful mechanical grater. The resulting product must be squeezed out and then placed in a wide-necked container for 2-3 days. During this period applesauce divided into juice and pulp. The pulp forms on top of the juice. It is dense, so the puree must be stirred during the first 2 days - 2-3 times. On the third day, the pulp is left alone, and at the end of the period, removed using a colander. It's time to add sugar. The amount of sugar you add depends entirely on how strong you want the wine to be. If you want to get fortified wine, add 250 grams of sugar per 1 liter of wine. The more sugar, the stronger the wine. Apples themselves are sweet, so the main thing is not to overdo it with the amount of sugar.

The wine is ready for fermentation. Place the juice in a dish or container that can be sealed. Foam forms during the fermentation process, so the container should be 45% empty. During fermentation, gases are formed; to release them, you need to make a small hole in the container and insert a thin tube into it. The outer end of the tube should be released 2-3 centimeters into a glass of water. Place the container in a cool place. Throughout the entire fermentation period, gases escape into the glass. As soon as the gases have disappeared, the wine is ready. However, you should not open it right away. Let it brew. On average, fermentation lasts from 1 to 1.5 months. The longer the aging, the tastier the wine. You can also add juice from apples or pears to apple wine. This will give it tartness.

So, you should start making wine with the most painstaking work, selecting good berries from dry ones. If you want to get a tart wine, then the grapes should be crushed together with the twigs. However, in this case there is a risk that the wine will become bitter. The torn berries must be placed in a large container. It is not advisable to store berries in this form for a long time, since the fermentation process may begin earlier. Once the berries have been sorted, begin processing them. To do this, you need to use any tool that can crush grapes. The grapes are crushed until the pulp remains at the bottom of the container. The resulting grape juice must be squeezed out.

Before pouring the grape juice into the fermentation container, calculate the amount of space needed for the foam to form. Add sugar. Pour the juice into a container and seal thoroughly. A prerequisite for wine fermentation is a special tube for removing gases, which was described above. The container should be placed in the basement for fermentation, which will continue for 2-3 months. To make sure the wine is fermenting, watch for gases and bubbles in the glass. Occasionally the water needs to be changed and the glass washed. After the wine is ready, it should be poured into another container. There is no need to rush when draining, as sediment always remains at the bottom of the container. The wine is ready to drink!

How to make wine from plums

Plum is a universal berry; it is perfect for making both white and red wine, depending on the variety of the plum itself. Plum wine cannot be called an elite drink, but it is tasty and deservedly loved. The taste of this drink, of course, is specific, the aroma is original, connoisseurs of grape wines with a rich bouquet may not like it. But plum wine goes well with many dishes, ideally complementing them and highlighting the taste.

Before preparing wine, like apples, it is also better not to wash plums, but simply wipe them lightly to remove any dirt. When this is done, carefully separate them from the seeds and place them in a suitable container, it should be large enough. Right there, use a masher, preferably a wooden one, to crush the berries, turning them into a homogeneous (homogeneous) mass. Add water to the mashed plums in a one to one ratio. Then cover the mixture with a clean cloth or towel and immediately put it in a warm place. Carefully monitor the resulting raw material: after a while, bubbles and foam will begin to appear on the surface of the mass. This means that fermentation has begun, that is, you did everything absolutely right. When the fermentation process becomes a little less intense, that is, after about a week, strain the liquid through cheesecloth and pour into a previously prepared clean bottle or large jar.

Next, you need to mix the liquid with sugar, the amount depends on what kind of wine you plan to make. If dry or semi-dry, 250 grams will be enough. If it’s sweet or semi-sweet, you need at least 350 grams. Stir granulated sugar until completely dissolved and close the jar or bottle with either a rubber glove or a lid with holes through which gases will escape. It is even better to remove the tube from the hole in the lid and lower it into a jar of water so that the bubbles come out there. Slivovitz will infuse for about one and a half to two months, the temperature in the house should be room temperature. At the end of the process, the wine must be carefully poured into a clean container, leaving the resulting sediment at the bottom. That's it, the plum wine is ready, you can bottle it and treat your guests.

So, how can we easily and hassle-free make pretty decent wine at home? Let's consider the basic (key) rules, if followed, the result will be good

The most important forFor summer residents, gardeners and winegrowers, the topic is how to make wine yourself. Moreover, it is already the beginning of September, and soon it will be time to start making it. I think everyone understands why this topic is so important. But I still can’t resist saying a few more words about this. The fact is that those wines that can be bought in stores (except for the most expensive ones) are not wines at all. These are some drinks made from special powder, dyes, flavors, and with the addition of alcohol. And to healing properties They have nothing to do with real grape (or even fruit and berry) wine. Real, but at the same time ordinary and inexpensive wines can still be bought where the technical varieties of grapes from which they are produced are grown in large quantities, that is, in the south (in Crimea, Moldova, southern Ukraine and Russia, etc. .). And even then, lately it’s becoming more and more difficult to do this - the “powder” penetrates there too. And for this reason, there is only one thing left - to make wine yourself. And, even if you don’t get it quite perfect, it will still be real wine,and it will be incomparably better than store-bought powder.

So, how can we easily and hassle-free make pretty decent wine at home?

Let's consider the basic (key) rules, if followed, the result will be good.

What is wine made from? From what raw materials? Naturally, best option- these are grapes. It is especially good if these are technical grapes (wine). Industrial varieties contain more sugar than table varieties, and high sugar content is the most important condition for obtaining good wine. It is sugar that wine yeast converts into alcohol. If the grapes are not sweet enough, you will have to add regular sugar. This, of course, degrades the quality of the wine, but it will still be an excellent homemade wine. The hotter the summer, the more sugar in the grapes, the better the wine. That's why,

connoisseurs demand wine from “such and such a year” in restaurants. Even such widespread uncovered grape varieties as Lydia, Isabella, etc. are excellent for homemade wine. Therefore, if you have similar grapes growing in your dacha, then this is an excellent raw material for making wine. If there are no grapes at all (although this is a mess for a dacha), then other sweet and juicy fruits and berries, such as plums, cherry plums, raspberries, etc., will do. (you can also take a mixture of them, and then you will get a blended wine). It’s just that then you’ll have to add more sugar and water, since the acidity of other berries and fruits is higher, and the juice is less than that of grapes. In the future, in this article, for definiteness, we will assume that we make wine from grapes, although this is not so important.

Where can I get wine yeast? No problem, you don’t need to take them anywhere, since they are always on the surface of grapes (as well as other berries and fruits). Only one condition! Gather

The berries should be harvested in dry weather, and there should be no rain before that for at least a few days, or better yet a week. Why is it clear, right? Rain simply washes all that yeast off their surface. And in dry, warm weather, new yeast will appear within a few days. And for the same reason, the collected bunches should never be washed! Even if they are dirty! The dirt will eventually settle and go away, so it's no big deal.

The next most important issue is maintaining the temperature regime during fermentation. The temperature should be between 18 - 23 degrees. If the temperature is above 23 degrees, then along with wine yeast, which produces alcohol, microbes that produce vinegar will be active. And thus, the wine will become too sour, or even completely turn into vinegar. If the temperature is below 18 degrees, then fermentation will proceed more slowly, and the wine may even become sick. Wine has many diseases, and we will not list them all here, but we must

Just understand that they develop when the temperature regime deviates from the norm, when microbes enter the wine from the outside, as well as when it comes into contact with air.

Therefore, the utensils for preparing wine must be clean.

And the absence of direct contact with air is another most important condition for obtaining good and healthy wine. But you shouldn’t be too scared by all this. If all these conditions are met perfectly, then your wine will be perfect. If you didn’t manage to do everything absolutely perfectly, then the wine will turn out a little worse. But, all the same, it will be a real natural wine. To him

to completely ruin it, it has to be done all wrong.

Grape seeds and skins improve the taste and aroma of wine, so it is better to leave them in the initial stages of fermentation.

Excess acidity in wine can be reduced by adding water. Although, of course, within certain limits.

Well, that’s all the basic rules for making good wine at home.

And now, knowing them, let's move on to the specific process of its manufacture.

We must try to carry out the grape harvest

so as to comply with rules 2 (dry) and 3 (no longer hot). Of course, if you have the conditions to ensure the required temperature of 18-23 degrees in any weather, then you can collect it in the heat. For example, we don’t have such an opportunity; we make wine in a city apartment, and therefore we harvest grapes when the temperature outside is no higher than 20 - 23 degrees. For us this usually happens towards the end of September. So, the grapes have been collected, but under no circumstances should they be washed (rule 3!).

Let's prepare a suitable container in which the pulp (crushed berries) will ferment, that is, wash it and wipe it dry. A large (for several buckets) enameled (this is a must, in no case aluminum, zinc, steel, etc.) pan, bucket, etc. is ideal for this. And let's get to work. For example, I'm confused

grapes like that. I sit on the sofa in front of the TV. Nearby on the floor there are buckets (we have plastic ones) with dry bunches of grapes, a trash can (for torn bunches, remaining leaves, etc.), and a large enamel pan for pulp. On the stool there is a small enamel saucepan with a capacity of 3-5 liters. In my hands I have an ordinary “mashed potato masher”. Wooden is better. I pick the berries from the bunches into a small saucepan, fill it about 1/3 (if more, it’s inconvenient to crush), and that’s it. So as to crush all the berries. It turns out pulp. I pour it into a large saucepan, and then the same thing is repeated: I tear it off, use it, pour it out, etc. Three or four buckets of grapes are processed faster than the end of the next episode of some TV series.

Cover a large pan with pulp tightly with gauze or a light cloth and tighten it around with some kind of rubber band so that there are no gaps and it does not touch the pulp. This is important because the fruit midge

it starts up very quickly, and then you won’t be able to drive it away from the pulp. You can cover the top with a lid and place it in a secluded place. It is important to observe the specified temperature regime: 18 - 23 degrees. (at night you can do less, but during the day no more). If it is cool or drafty, you can cover it with a blanket. If, on the contrary, it is too warm, we put it in a draft, etc. In general, the better we provide this, the better for the wine.

At least twice a day (morning and evening), the pulp must be mixed well, since its upper layer comes into contact with air, and harmful microbes can grow in it (see rule 5).

Already on the 2nd day, the pulp will begin to ferment vigorously, all will be covered in gas bubbles (this is carbon dioxide) and foam. On the 3rd, maximum on the 5th day, juice (wort)

It separates from the pulp much better than at the very beginning. Therefore, it’s time to squeeze it out and pour the wort into bottles. It is not worth keeping the pulp in a pan for more than 5 days; after all, this is unnecessary contact with air, and the wine has already received enough aroma from the seeds and skins during this time (see rule 6).

And now we simply squeeze the wort out of the pulp and pour it into prepared clean bottles. It is best to use large bottles of 10, 15, or 20 liters with a narrow neck. But if they are not available, you can use ordinary three-liter jars. We have a couple of 20-liter bottles, but I feel like we need to buy more. The bulk of the wort is squeezed out quite easily (through a colander with gauze), and the remaining pulp is wrapped in gauze, placed in a large colander, and

pan or bowl and let it drain for a few more hours (you can leave it overnight). The reward will be an additional liter - one and a half wine.

And now the wort is already in bottles. Just fill the bottles with no more than 2/3 - 3/4 of the wort, since fermentation continues and the wort will rise. At this time, a shutter is usually installed: a hole is made in the bottle cap, into which a cambric (flexible transparent tube) with a diameter of 4-7 mm is tightly inserted, the second end of which is inserted into a regular bottle of water (the end below the water level). Then, during the fermentation of the wort, the resulting gases will be able to escape through this tube into the water, and nothing will come back when the fermentation decreases. This is important to comply with rule 5 - no contact with air. Another way is to put it on

bottle of rubber medical glove. It will first inflate and then deflate, and also acts as a shutter. If you use three-liter jars, then there are special lids for them. A very simple and convenient thing. Water is poured directly into the recess in the lid, and a cap placed on top allows gas to escape from the can through the water, and nothing will come back (see photo below). But for large bottles with a narrow neck, I have not yet seen such closure caps. It’s a pity... But, in principle, you don’t have to install a shutter at all, but simply loosely cover the neck of the bottle with a lid, at least at the beginning of fermentation, while it is vigorous. The fact is that, as already mentioned, carbon dioxide is released during the fermentation of wort. And, as you know, it is heavier than air, and therefore, settling down, protects the wine from it. If you bring a burning match to the neck of a bottle and it goes out, it means the bottle is filled with carbon dioxide, and there is no air anywhere near it. And the shutter, therefore, is not needed yet.

At first (several days, and sometimes even weeks) a rather vigorous fermentation takes place. Then it decreases and goes into quiet fermentation. This means that the sugar has run out, and the wine yeast has nothing left to “eat”. Let's try the wine. If the strength of the wine suits you, then, in principle, do nothing

no longer necessary. We wait another 2-3 weeks, or a little more, until fermentation is completely over, the wine ceases to be “carbonated”, becomes lighter, and sediment falls to the bottom of the bottle, and you can already pour it into bottles or jars for storage and consumption. But, if the wine is rather weak (and most likely it will be at first), then it needs to be fed with sugar in order to continue fermentation. In general, we must remember that simple fermentation of the wort cannot produce wine with an alcohol content of more than 12%. The fact is that the alcohol that wine yeast produces during fermentation is a waste product of their own vital activity when they “eat” sugar. And for this reason, when the amount of this waste (alcohol) becomes too large (more than 12%), then it is probably somehow unpleasant for them to “sit up to their ears” in all this, and, apparently, their “appetite” is completely "disappears". Therefore, all fortified wines are obtained only by “fixing” the wine, that is, by adding alcohol to it. So,

You can, in principle, do it this way. But I, for example, prefer dry and semi-sweet wines without fortification, since the alcohol that you add is unlikely to be real grape alcohol, which means the quality of such a wine will no longer be the same.

And therefore, if fermentation is almost over and you can no longer taste sugar, but the strength is still insufficient, then add sugar. I usually make it thick and warm (but not hot) sugar syrup and pour it into the bottle. Usually, the wine immediately “boils”, so the yeast “rejoices” at the new food. How much sugar should you add? It’s impossible to say for sure, it all depends on the condition of the wine and what you want to get. To avoid mistakes, it is better to add several times, but little by little. For example, 30 - 50 g of sugar diluted in 20 - 30 g of water (thick syrup) per 1 liter of wine. And if the wine is sour, then the amount of water can be increased. As a result,

You can gradually increase the strength to the coveted 12%, and at the same time, there will either be no free sugar left in the wine at all, that is, you will get a dry wine, or it will remain, and you will get a semi-sweet or sweet (but not fortified) wine. It is also necessary to achieve the maximum strength of wine (12%) because it is stored better and longer this way.

When vigorous fermentation ends, you can add wine from other bottles so that the bottles with wine are almost full (in a narrow neck there is less area of ​​contact with air). And here we need a shutter. After 2-3, sometimes 4 weeks, quiet fermentation will end, the wine will lighten and become transparent, and a sediment several cm thick will form at the bottom. And now you need to be very careful, so as not to stir up this sediment, and not to grab it from the bottle, pour the wine into bottles,

other banks, etc.

We pour it in the classic way - using a flexible tube (the same transparent cambric that is used for the water seal). Very carefully, so as not to stir up the sediment, place the bottle on some elevation: a chair or table. Below it should be placed containers into which we pour (their necks should be below the bottom of the bottle). To avoid picking up sediment from the bottom when pouring, it is better to immediately make a “transfusion device”. For example, I do it this way: to a wooden or plastic stick, the length of which is slightly longer than the height of the bottle, I thread an overflow tube so that one of its ends is approximately at the level of the lower end of the stick (this tube

she tries to bend over all the time, but the wand won’t let her do that). Then we apply a stick with a tube attached to the side of the bottle so that the end does not reach a few mm from the sediment, and from above, at the level of the edge of the neck of the bottle, we attach a large clothespin to the stick. And now, if you lower this “structure” into the bottle, the clothespin will lie on the neck, and the lower end of the tube will be slightly above the level of the sediment. That's what is required. Well, then it’s simple. We sipped the wine with our mouths from the straw until it flowed (naturally into our mouths), and then quickly lowered it into one of the overflow containers. The wine begins to flow into this container. When one container is full, we move the end of the tube to the other (just don’t raise it above the level of the wine in the bottle, otherwise it will stop flowing). And so on until the end, until we have poured all the wine from all the bottles. Naturally, all these

The containers must then be sealed tightly so that air does not penetrate into them. We close three-liter jars with nylon lids intended for preservation, preheating them (as with conventional preservation). We seal wine bottles with their own corks.

I highly recommend sticking labels on bottles and/or cans of wine, on which you write the year of harvest, the grape variety, and, as briefly as possible, the entire history of its production: when the pulp was made, when the must was pressed, how much sugar and when it was added, what the average temperature was, when they poured it. This is very useful information for the future. And then, when tasting and treating guests, there will be something to talk about.

If the wine has not completely fermented, that is, it is still slightly “carbonated,” then it can then pull the cork out of the bottle, or even break it, especially if it is not kept in the cellar, but in room temperature. In this case, the wine can be pasteurized to kill any remaining live yeast and stop all fermentation completely. Pasteurization of wine is done in hot water at a temperature of about 70 degrees.

for 30 - 40 minutes. But I prefer to ferment it well in bottles, and do without pasteurization (after all, pasteurization spoils it a little beneficial properties real wine). At the same time, we bottle wine mainly three-liter jars, close them with nylon lids for canning, and safely store them in the apartment even in the summer. And nothing has ever exploded yet.

When can you start drinking wine? In principle - immediately after bottling. But if it sits for at least a couple more months after spilling, it will ripen better and become tastier. We usually don't open the first bottle of our wine of the current year until New Year's Day.

How long can homemade wine be stored? If in the cellar, then

How to make your own wine. And here is the result (on top of the jars there is a “transfusion device” - a tube tied to a stick, the distance from the neck of the bottle to the sediment level is marked with a clothespin)

a few years and it will only get better. In general, the stronger and sweeter the wine, and the lower the storage temperature (but, of course, it should be positive), the longer the wine will be stored. But, unfortunately, my knowledge in this area is only theoretical, since somehow we have not yet been able to store wine for longer than a year, since for some reason it always ends earlier.

Well, that's all, friends. As you can see, there is nothing difficult about making your own homemade wine!

And therefore, let’s raise a glass to our Health, our Success, and drinking culture!