To cook light table wine, the grapes are harvested slightly unripe: the longer the fruits remain on the vines, the stronger the drink becomes. Dessert wine is obtained from fruits that were left on the bushes until they withered.

Do you dream of learning how to make excellent homemade grape wine But you don’t know which way to approach this responsible task? Adopt proven recipes and be sure to pay attention to important subtleties. After all, even the best grape varieties do not guarantee excellent taste wine if you ignore the rules of winemaking.

Photography of grapes

To create truly delicious and aromatic drink Not every variety from your vineyard will do. Using table varieties, you are unlikely to achieve the desired taste and aftertaste, but these popular wine varieties, How Isabella, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Blanc or Pinot Noir, will fit perfectly. Sweet wines are made from Muscat grape varieties, however, they grow best in southern climates.

Grapes begin to be harvested from the end of September, before frost sets in. If the weather is sunny, you can leave the fruits on the vine longer, but if it rains all day, it is better to hurry with harvesting, otherwise the berries will begin to rot and will no longer be suitable for winemaking. An important condition for harvesting is dry bunches.

Video about the secrets of winemaking

The collected fruits should be sorted, discarding dry, rotten, spoiled, etc. Do not forget to also remove the twigs, otherwise the wine will become bitter. tart taste due to the presence of tannins in the grapes. The whole process of sorting berries may take a lot of time, but the drink will have more pleasant taste and aftertaste. As a result, the berries should remain clean, but there is no need to wash them, since the whitish coating on the grapes is wine yeast necessary for fermentation.

Glass containers intended for juice fermentation must be smoked with sulfur before bottling, otherwise mold may appear on the walls of the bottles.

Photo of wine fermentation in glass containers

It is impossible to leave sorted grapes for a long time, since in this form they will ferment earlier than necessary. So proceed immediately to the next stage - thoroughly crushing the berries using a regular wooden masher or a special crusher.

Grape skins contain natural dyes Therefore, to create red wine, the pulp and juice are fermented together, and when making white wine, the juice is separated immediately.

Suppressed grapes are left for 3 days at room temperature in an enamel container covered with a cloth, stirring at least three times a day. Don’t be afraid that the wort will turn sour, because the carbon dioxide produced during fermentation will prevent oxygen from getting inside. After three days, the pulp will float, and it will be possible to strain the juice, also squeezing out the precious drops. Leaving the wort unstrained for 5-6 days will give the drink a more tart taste.

If you want to get a sweet wine, sugar should be added in portions to the strained juice in the first ten days of fermentation, until the drink begins to taste like sweet tea or compote. The amount of sugar added can vary greatly depending on the sugar content of the grapes and the individual preferences of the winemaker. It's best to take a leak small portion grape juice and stir the sugar in it, then pour it back into the bottle. After fermentation is complete, adding sugar is useless, as it will simply preserve the wine.

Photo of adding sugar

Pour strained grape juice with dissolved sugar into bottles to the top and close nylon cover, or a medical glove pierced in several places and secured with an elastic band. Carbon dioxide will escape from under a fairly tightly closed cap and from holes in the glove, and oxygen will not be able to penetrate the bottle.

Place the filled bottles in a dark place with a temperature of +10 degrees. The lower the temperature, the longer the fermentation process will take. While the grape juice is fermenting, it should be filtered once a week so that the sediment does not spoil the taste. And when after a month or two the bubbles stop appearing, taste the drink: if it has acquired strength and pleasant sweetness, and the sugar is not felt, it means grape wine ready!

Amateur winemakers usually make homemade wine from Isabella grapes using the above technology. At the same time, about three kg of sugar is needed for five kg of grapes, and to obtain more mild taste a week after fermentation, 12 liters of water are added to the juice.

Video about homemade wine from Isabella grapes

But the variety of grape wines does not end there, and for those who want to expand the range of homemade drinks, we offer several interesting recipes, which are based on grape juice or finished wine:

• Table wine in Polish - instead of sugar, raisins are used, and they take twice as much as sugar would be needed.
• Hungarian - 5 kg of white selected raisins are poured into a barrel and 6 liters of wine are poured, after which they are left in a warm place for two days, and then yeast is added, the barrel is tightly sealed and buried in the ground for a year.
• Clove - a bag with crushed cloves sewn into it is placed in a barrel of grape juice. After the juice has fermented, the drink is poured into another container.
• Lemon - for 10 liters of grape juice, add the dried zest from one lemon, tied in a bag. When the juice has fermented well, add a pinch of lemon balm and mint, the peel of 1 orange, 1 kg of grapes, sugar, and let the drink brew.
• Moselle - evaporate a barrel with a decoction of elderflowers and mint and do not pour it out until the barrel is saturated with aroma. Then fill the barrel with grape juice, add mint and a little more elderberry flowers, and leave.

Pictured is Mosel wine

• Muscat - put a bag of sage seeds and elderberry flowers into the young wine while it is fermenting. Leave for 2 weeks, then bottle.
• Apple wine - put the apples in a container where the grape juice has just begun to ferment and periodically replace them with fresh ones until the wine has completely fermented.

Manufacturing homemade wine made from grapes is not particularly difficult, and provides a wide field for the manifestation of imagination. If you didn’t manage to achieve the desired taste the first time, experiment - each winemaker changes the basic technology in his own way, using his own little tricks.

Range of grape wines – white, rose, red

Grapes, when pressed at their most intense, can produce no more than 80% juice, which will contain pulp. After fermentation, the pulp will settle, and after draining the wine from the sediment, you can get approximately 70-75% of the original mass. Sugar in homemade wine is represented by glucose and fructose. The sweetest grape varieties can contain 25% or more.

Grape wine without added sugar is called dry; if sugar is added, the wine becomes sweet, semi-sweet or semi-dry. When adding ethyl alcohol– fortified. Dessert and sparkling wine. When aromatic components are added to a wine, it becomes aromatic. Homemade wine can be prepared from one grape variety, and it will be varietal, or from several varieties - the wine will be sepage or blended.

Making wine at home from grapes is a fascinating process. Traditionally, in families, men are engaged in winemaking, however, this is not at all a prerequisite for success. Housewives often prepare equally wonderful and delicious wines, although it can be difficult for them to lift or move large wine bottles and containers.

Homemade wine is an incomparable pleasure!

About the benefits and harms of homemade wine

Homemade wine, prepared without heating the raw materials, as well as without adding preservatives, dyes and flavors, contains many vitamins, minerals(potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium), which has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the heart. Pectins are beneficial for intestinal function and remove toxins from the body. Phenolic compounds, which are found in the dark-colored skin, are often physiologically active substances and have a protective effect on the body's cells.

Alcohol and high sugar content in homemade wines can adversely affect the condition. nervous system, gastrointestinal tract, pancreas. Making wine at home from grapes according to all the rules that we will discuss will help you get a drink that increases health and brings joy to your home!

Indications and contraindications for drinking homemade wine

It should be noted that the indications are advisory in nature, while contraindications are imperative. Homemade wine is recommended to be consumed in small quantities when there is a loss of strength, as a vitaminizing and tonic that has the property of increasing appetite. Red wine, rich in potassium and phenolic compounds, is recommended to be consumed to maintain heart function, as well as to rejuvenate the body.

Homemade wine is contraindicated for elderly people with disorders of the heart and blood vessels, people with diseases of the stomach, pancreas and liver, those suffering from migraines, as well as pregnant women, children and adolescents under 18 years of age.

Calorie content of homemade wine

In dry light wines from white and red grapes, the calorie content does not exceed 85 kcal/100 g, dessert wines with a high content of sugar and alcohol have a calorie content approaching 200 kcal/100 g of product.

Varieties for homemade grape wine

Varieties that can be taken for cooking homemade wine from grapes vary significantly by region. The northern border of industrial viticulture in the Russian Federation lies at the level of the Volgograd region, where you can find classic European varieties with the highest wine-making properties: Riesling, Rkatsiteli, Saperavi, Chardonnay, Aligote, Krasnostop Zolotovsky and many others. In more northern regions The varieties of the famous breeder A.I. became widespread. Potapenko, for example, Amethyst. They are perfect for making homemade wine from grapes. In the northern regions of the Russian Federation, American grape varieties grow: Isabella, Lydia, but for winemaking they should be taken less and blended with other varieties, for example Moldova. It's connected with biochemical processes occurring during fermentation of these varieties.

Lydia is a winter-hardy, vigorous grape variety with dark pink berries, sweet and pleasant to eat in fresh, belongs to the isabella group of American varieties. The taste is the so-called “strawberry” or, as it is otherwise called, “fox”.

Grape variety Lydia

Isabel- a winter-hardy grape variety with dark blue, almost black berries, the juice is densely colored, resistant to diseases and pests of the vine. Wine made from Isabella grapes at home turns out to be very dark, rich, and can be diluted with water or by adding juice from another variety. It is good only in the first one or two years of preparation; over time it acquires a putrid taste.

Isabella grape variety

Moldova − late variety with dark-colored berries, its taste is harmonious. Wine from Moldova is sweet without any additional added sugar.

Grape variety Moldova

Bianca– many winegrowers in the north grow this white-berry variety and cover the bushes for the winter. Bianchi berries ripen early, have time to absorb a lot of sugar, they are very juicy, and are easy to crush for making wine from white grapes at home.

Platovsky– a promising white grape variety for northern viticulture, very early, accumulates a lot of sugar, resistant to diseases and pests.

Platovsky grape variety

Preparing to make wine at home

Let's look in detail at how to make homemade wine from grapes. Preparatory stage consists of two actions: collecting or purchasing grapes and preparing containers for fermentation.

If you grow grapes yourself, you should wait until they are fully ripe, otherwise known as “technical ripeness.” Ripe berries are the sweetest, moderately hard, and the seeds are dark in color. If you leave the bunches on the bush too long, they may crumble and the taste of the berries will become bland.

What you should pay attention to when buying wine grapes:

1. The ridges on the bunches should not be shriveled. It is better that they are green or slightly covered with gray bark.
2. There should be no spoiled berries in the bunches.
3. All bunches belong to the same variety.

How to choose a container for homemade wine

When squeezing 10 kg of grapes, you will get approximately 7 liters of juice. For initial fermentation, the container should be 1/3 full. These values ​​are used to guide the selection of container volumes. It is also necessary to provide an additional container in which fermentation will take place parallel to the main one; young wine from it will be used to top up the main container. Some sellers offer beginner winemaker kits.

Plastic container for fermentation.

How to make wine from grapes and stages of fermentation

A few days before making wine, a starter is made. Not a large number of the grapes are mashed and left to ferment, for example, in a 2 liter jar.

Wine grapes should not be washed, since the coating on the skin contains yeast, which will determine the fermentation process. The berries are destemmed and sent for pressing. If there is no special hand press, then pressing can be done manually: mash the grapes well and squeeze them using a hard object, for example, a wooden rolling pin. Many people ask the question: how to make grape wine at home, and is it possible to use juicers? The answer is yes, you can. It is especially good to ferment juice squeezed from white grapes using a juicer, without keeping it on the pulp. The photo below shows a manual press for squeezing grape juice.

Manual press for squeezing grapes

To get wine rich color, fermentation is carried out together with the pulp. The juice is already called wort. Sourdough is added to it and placed in a warm place at a temperature of 18−20 o C. At very high temperature the yeast dies, and at a lower temperature the process will go too slowly. At the optimal temperature, vigorous fermentation begins on days 3–4. The container should be kept under a polyethylene lid, which slightly allows gases to pass through. Another option is a rubber glove in which a slight puncture is made. Another option is to cut a rubber tube into the plastic lid, the free end of which is lowered into water. The degree of fermentation can be determined by the intensity of the water bubbling. At this time, the pulp is stirred several times a day, trying to drown it in the wort. When the bubbling stops, the pulp is finally squeezed out and completely removed from the container. Depending on the temperature, the period of vigorous fermentation lasts from 5 to 14 days. In the photo you can see containers with fermenting wort.

Large bottles for making wine

Containers with fermenting wort

Wine yeast

For better fermentation added to the wort pure culture yeast (can be purchased at specialized stores). This makes the wine more tasty and harmonious.

After the period of vigorous fermentation ceases, sediment accumulates at the bottom of the container. At this time, the wine is carefully poured into another container of smaller volume. For overflow, use a rubber tube and use the communicating vessel method. After a period of vigorous fermentation, quiet fermentation begins (a very weak process). It can last from 1 month to 2-3 years.

Homemade grape wine: recipe and proportions

Crush the grapes removed from the bunches thoroughly in an enamel bowl; if you don’t have a press, squeeze them by hand and pour them into a glass fermentation vessel, add the pulp. If the skins of the grapes are thick and very intensely colored, not all of the pulp can be used for fermentation, but some can be left for another wine prepared on the pulp with sugar. Grape ferment, made in advance, 4-5 days before filling the main container, is added to the vessel with the must. The wort and pulp are mixed daily and the intensity of fermentation is monitored. If the room is warm, the process can be very violent, with the contents splashing out, and the walls and ceiling can get indelible purple stains.

IMPORTANT!

The container with fermenting grape juice cannot be left without attention!

After 7-10 days, the process subsides, and a cloudy sediment settles at the bottom. The wine should be poured into another container and topped up from an additional vessel. The maximum period for which wine can be kept in its original container depends on the temperature. So, if it does not exceed 18 o C, then the wine is kept on the pulp for up to 15 days. The drained wine is kept under a plastic lid for about 1 month. Then bottled and stored in a cool place. This is how dry wine is prepared at home from grapes. The photo shows the pouring and removal of homemade wine from the sediment.

Pouring and removing young homemade wine from the sediment

Sweet and semi-sweet grape wine at home, a simple recipe

For semi-sweet wine, the grapes are removed from the ridges, crushed and squeezed. The fermentation process begins by adding starter. After 5 days, add sugar at the rate of 50 g of sugar per 1 liter of grape juice. The fermenting wort is kept for another 5 days and the same amount of sugar is added. The further process is the same as for making dry wine.

To get a sweet wine, sugar should be added three times. The third time is before draining the young wine and sending it for quiet fermentation. Many people add sugar to wine before drinking to taste. This is wrong, since the sugar will not be fermented, although many will find such a wine very tasty.

Recipe for strong homemade grape wine

Fortified wine is first prepared in the same way as sweet wine, but at the time of the third addition of sugar, alcohol or vodka is poured in at the same time. The easiest way is to add vodka at the rate of 5 parts of new wine - 1 part of vodka. Adding ethyl alcohol will stop fermentation and the wine will taste more like fresh grapes. This is how dessert wines are made, which can be drunk at the end of a meal with various desserts, including sweets.

A simple recipe for homemade wine from Isabella grapes

Wine from Isabella pure form very rich, and it is advisable to do it with a slight dilution with plain water. If you make sweet or semi-sweet wine, then water is added when sugar is first added at the rate of 800 ml of juice per 200 ml of water. Next, the wine is prepared according to the recipe for semi-sweet, sweet or fortified wine.

In a special publication on our portal, we will tell you in detail how to make homemade wine from Isabella grapes. You will learn the main stages of preparation and get acquainted with five wine recipes.

Wine from Lydia grapes

The Lydia grape variety is very sweet, and for a harmonious taste it can be prepared according to the recipe for semi-sweet wine, but add sugar only once in the proportion of 40 g/1 l of juice.

Wine from grape pomace at home

After squeezing the juice, there are still a lot of coloring substances left in the cake, and the grape seeds contain oil, tanning and physiologically active substances. All these valuable components can be extracted if everything is done in a simple way. step by step recipe Making homemade wine from grapes:

• Add water to the cake at the rate of 200-300 ml and sugar 40-50 g per 1 kg of cake.
• Place the mixture on low heat and heat to a temperature of 75−80°C.
• Drain into a container, add yeast starter and leave to ferment.
• After fermentation is complete, the wine is poured into another container for quiet fermentation, after 1 month they are bottled.

Maturation and aging of homemade wine

After passing through the stage of quiet fermentation, the drink is bottled and corked. In general, grape wines ripen for a long time, within 2-3 years. Maturation occurs in bottles when stored in a basement, refrigerator or cool room. The shortest period from production to use fortified wines. They can be tried within 3-4 weeks after preparation. Sweet and semi-sweet wines should be allowed to mature for 3-6 months. Dry wine It is better to try between 6 months and 1 year.

Wine capping

Homemade wine storage options

Connoisseurs rightly call this drink “nectar of the Gods.” It’s impossible not to fall in love with its intoxicating aroma, rich flavor bouquet and delicious aftertaste from the first sip! Of course, we are talking about wine.

Delicate table wine, sweet muscat wine, intoxicating fortified and even homemade wine from blue grapes always and everywhere considered the most popular drink. Not a single feast, be it romantic dinner or a chic wedding cannot be complete without this delicious alcoholic product.

We invite you to plunge into the world of wine, and at the same time learn how to make wine from blue grapes at home.

Secret and blessed

The history of wine is shrouded in unsolved mysteries. No one knows for sure where the first wine was made and how long ago it happened. Heated debates continue to surround this topic to this day.

Scientists claim that already many thousands of years before our era, our distant ancestors drank grape juice fermented in the sun.

Theologians assure that the first wine was made from the grapes that the Lord gave to Noah. There are many references to this drink in the Bible. According to Holy Scripture, Jesus Christ loved wine, therefore the Christian ban on drinking alcoholic beverages does not apply to wine. The clergy use the famous church wine "Cahors" for communion, weddings and baptisms and claim that it is for good.

Be that as it may, wine is loved and drunk in all ages. Even during the adoption of Prohibition in the Soviet era, craftsmen made it with their own hands and used it both for their home parties and for underground sale.

Impressive variety

Manufacturing grape wine- this is quite profitable business. Wine is perhaps the only alcoholic drink that is available in a wide variety of flavors and recipes. Its taste varies depending on the aging method and how much sugar the producers added to the grape wine. Even the material from which the container for fermenting grape juice is made affects the aroma and taste qualities.

Curious facts about wine

True connoisseurs and collectors of wine can spend hours with obsessive passion telling stories about this drink. There is even the science of oenology, which studies this product.

Depending on the strength, wine can be: dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet, dessert, liqueur, fortified. In terms of taste, it can be: table, vintage, collectible. The color of the wine is also pleasingly varied and can be: white, amber, pink, red, ruby ​​and even black.

Separately, it is worth noting the homemade grape wine. How to make it? Read on!

Home winemaking

To taste delicious wine, you don’t have to run to the supermarket to get it and spend hours studying the labels on the bottles - you can make grape wine with your own hands, taking into account your individual taste preferences.

Don't be afraid to try yourself as a winemaker! Making grape wine is not a very complicated and exciting process, which has a great chance of turning into a hobby.

The first thing to do is make a list necessary ingredients and tools. The second stage is to decide what kind of drink you want to get. Beginners are recommended to start making wine from blue grapes - at home this is the most successful option.

All about blue wine grapes

The most simple, but nevertheless incredibly tasty and aromatic wine is blue grape wine. It is most often prepared at home due to the availability and low cost of this variety of berries.

The most the best varieties Such grapes are considered “Livadian black” and “dove”. These are unpretentious species that do not require special care and can be found in almost every summer cottage. Ripens wine grapes at the beginning of autumn, and then the fences of neighboring plots and market stalls are simply bursting with an abundance of these berries.

Blue grapes contain great amount vitamins and others useful substances. Each berry contains 50-80% juice saturated with pectin, natural sugar, vitamins A, C, E, PP, H, B, as well as macro- and microelements, such as magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium, sulfur, chlorine, phosphorus, iron, zinc, chromium, copper, manganese, iodine, molybdenum , fluorine, silicon, boron and others.

The interesting thing is that homemade wine from blue grapes does not detract from all its useful properties and can be not only an alcoholic drink, but also, to some extent, a vitamin cocktail.

Getting started with winemaking

Before you start making blue grape wine at home, you need to make sure that you have everything you need:

• blue grapes - 10 kg;
• granulated sugar - 3 kg;
• stainless steel container 30 l;
• a pair of glass bottles of 20 l;
• medical gloves;
• gauze;
• colander;
• tube 2 m long and 1 cm in diameter;

Stage one, preparatory

So, let's start making wine from blue grapes, the recipe for which is
is described below and for convenience is divided into several stages.

1. The first step is to pick ripe grapes. You need to collect it directly from the branches, without tearing off the berries themselves. Then we separate them from the bunches and put them in a stainless container. You cannot wash grapes, because it is in the skin of the berries that there is a substance due to which the fermentation process occurs.
2. After this, you need to crush the berries with your hands until a large amount of juice is released. It is recommended to immediately wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, as the juice can stain the skin and cause a burning sensation and itching.
3. Then carefully cover the container with crushed berries with gauze and leave to ferment in a warm room for 5 days.

Stage two, the most important

After 5 days, if everything was done correctly, the pulp should rise in the container. This is what is left of the berries after squeezing out the juice.

1. Everything needs to be strained through a colander, then the pulp should be thrown onto cheesecloth and the remaining juice should be squeezed out of it.
2. Purified grape juice should be carefully poured into bottles and equal portions of sugar should be added. It is important to stir it very thoroughly.

Stage three, final

Keep in mind that sugar does not dissolve too quickly, so you should be patient.

Most likely, guests will appreciate your homemade grape wine. The newly minted winemaker will be happy to tell them how to make it and what is needed for it.

Variations on the theme of wine

In addition to the traditional method of preparation, there is one with water. It is slightly different from the usual one, but the wine is no less tasty. To make such a drink, you need to calculate the measures of water and sugar in relation to grape juice. For 1 kg of berries you need 1.5 liters of water and 0.7 kg of sugar.

1. After squeezing the grapes, add required amount water and sugar and mix well.
2. Leave to ferment for a week, stirring 3-4 times every day to prevent mold from forming.
3. Then the juice should be filtered and bottled. A medical glove with punctures on the fingers is put on the neck of the bottle, and then everything is as in traditional recipe making wine.

Secrets of home winemaking

In order for the wine to turn out right the first time, the process does not become tedious, and the result does not bring disappointment, it is worth familiarizing yourself with some secrets that will be very useful for a novice winemaker.

• Juice can be obtained not only by squeezing by hand, but also using a juicer.
• Instead of bottles, you can use ordinary three-liter jars.
• In the absence of medical gloves, a condom will do.
• The sweetness and strength of the wine depends on the amount of sugar, so for dry wine you need less sugar, and for fortified wine - more.
• To keep wine longer, it is best to bottle it in glass bottles, not plastic ones.
• The best place for it is a basement or cellar.
• To ensure that the wine is crystal clear, before bottling it, it is recommended to place specially prepared bentonite in a container.

Most likely, the first wine production will be followed by a second, and a third, and a fourth. Gradually, this process will become a kind of annual sacred rite. A few years later, many varieties of homemade wine will be invented. In addition to blue grapes, varieties such as Lydia, Isabella, Nastya, and Kesha can be used for production.

In addition, wine can be made not only from grapes! A unique alcoholic drink can be obtained from fragrant raspberries, sweet blackberries, ripe apples, juicy currants, tender plums. The scope for imagination and experimentation is enormous.

Homemade wine is so tasty and healthy that, after trying it once, you will never want to buy its likeness in a store again. Natural, a huge amount of useful substances, divine aroma and the taste makes you fall in love once and for all...

Water is added very rarely, unless the juice turns out sour. In other cases, it will degrade the taste of the wine, so care should be taken.

The process of making wine from grapes at home

Harvesting grapes

It is carried out at a time when it has not rained for several days, it should be dry and warm outside, the sun is shining, and nothing prevents you from studying the berries.

Only ripe fruits are suitable for fermentation and should be processed within 2 days. They are sorted through, getting rid of twigs and foliage, the remaining good raw materials are crushed by hand, placed in enamel pan or plastic basin, the container is filled to 70% of its height to avoid the foam cap falling out.

It is covered with clean gauze, which protects from flies, and stored for 3-4 days in a dark, warm room where the temperature is maintained at 18-27 degrees.

The product will begin to ferment after 8-20 hours, at which point a “cap” of peel and foam appears. This pulp is periodically stirred with a wooden stick, and the “cap” gets lost, without this the wort will turn sour.

Separation of juice from pulp

When the pulp brightens, hissing will begin and you will feel sour smell, which means the fermentation process has begun, and the juice can already be squeezed out. To do this, squeeze the juice from the grape pomace into a separate vessel through several layers of gauze.

If the grapes were unripe or grew in northern latitudes, you may need to add water at the rate of 400 ml per 1 liter of juice, this is the maximum volume, otherwise the wine may be spoiled. Glass containers (bottles or jars) are filled with the resulting juice to a maximum of 2/3, so that during fermentation the foam does not come out.

Water seal

When making wine from grapes at home, using a simple method, it is protected from interaction with oxygen, this will avoid souring and ensure disposal of carbon dioxide formed as a result of fermentation.

To achieve this, you need to install a water seal on the bottle consisting of a cap, a tube and a jar. You can use a water seal in the form of a medical glove with a hole in one finger; it is pierced with a needle. This option is used if the drink is poured into cans.

The process of active fermentation at the initial stage

In order for wine from grapes to ferment well, it should be maintained in the room where the containers are stored, desired temperature. For making red wine, the optimal level is 22-28 degrees, white - 16-22 degrees.

It is undesirable for the temperature to be below 15 degrees, otherwise the yeast will stop working and the sugar will not be converted into alcohol, as a result the drink will be spoiled.

Adding sugar

If this is not done, in best case scenario It will be possible to achieve 10-13% strength and no sweetness. It will not be possible to obtain a higher alcohol content, because wild wine yeast will not have enough sugars for further alcohol production.

The most difficult thing is to understand the level of initial sugar content of grapes; without this it is impossible to do this, and using average values ​​for varieties is useless and very problematic. It remains to be guided by your own taste; the juice should be sweet, not cloying.

In order for the fermentation of wine prepared at home to proceed normally, the sugar content of the wort should be no more than 15-20%; for this, sugar must be added in parts - 50 g of sugar per liter of drink. And after a couple of days, taste the juice; if sourness appears, then the yeast is still working and you need to add more sugar.

A couple of liters of wort are poured into a separate vessel, sugar is diluted in it, after which the syrup is added back to the bottle. This method is used several times during 2-3 weeks of fermentation, and when the sugar content decreases slowly, there is already enough sugar.

Taking into account fermentation conditions, the process takes 30-60 days. If after this period fermentation is not completed, in order to avoid bitterness, the wine is poured into another bottle without sediment and placed under the seal to ferment under the same conditions.

Removing wine from sediment

At the moment when bubbles do not appear from the water seal for a day or two, the wort has taken on light shade, a loose sediment appears at the bottom of the bottle, the young wine is poured into another container. This will make it possible to avoid education unpleasant odor and bitterness because of the dead (from already high content alcohol) yeast fungi that are at the bottom.

A couple of days before this moment, the container with wine is placed on a slight elevation and when the sediment is completely at the bottom, the wine is poured into another bottle through a siphon - a soft silicone hose.

When pouring, you need to gradually lower the end of the tube into the container and then make sure that sediment is not absorbed from the bottom. The resulting wine will not yet have the desired shade and crystal transparency; it needs to ripen.

Checking the sugar content of wine

Since the active cooking stage has already completed, sugar added at this point will not be converted into alcohol, but will only add sweetness. It should be poured at a rate of no more than 150 g per liter; taste preferences must also be taken into account.

You should not get carried away with strong sweetening, since pure sugar, present in any alcoholic drinks, may cause headaches.

Quiet fermentation stage

When the final taste of the drink is formed, its duration is 40-380 days. Grape wine should not be aged longer; this does not affect the properties of the drink in any way.

For final ripening, you need to place the bottle of wine with a water seal or lid in a dark cellar or basement, where the temperature is maintained at 5-16 degrees. If this is not possible, you need to ensure the ripening temperature is around 18-22 degrees, no more.

It is better to avoid changes in conditions so as not to spoil the taste of the drink. When a sediment 2-5 cm thick appears, you need to pour the wine into another container through a straw, the wine will gain transparency.

Bottling and storage of grape wine

At the final stage, grape wine is bottled and stored, its final strength is 11-13%. At the moment when sediment no longer appears, you can pour the drink into bottles and seal them with spacers. The product can be stored at a temperature of 5-12 degrees for 5 years.

Winemaking and the process of preparing wine from grapes is a real art, the rules and basic secrets of which must be learned over many years. If you know some cooking conditions and follow the instructions, you can make high-quality grape wine with your own hands. It is clear that this will not be a masterpiece, but if all conditions are carefully observed, it will be guaranteed to be better than those wines that are usually purchased in stores.

Below we will present to your attention the process of preparing wine from white and red grapes and cherries in ordinary home conditions. All recipes are quite simple, often the cooking process requires only sugar, berries and a little water, as well as following a certain technology.

Before you start preparing wine from cherries or grapes, you should make sure that the equipment for preparing wine and containers are prepared. To avoid contaminating the juice with various pathogenic bacteria, such as mold, such containers should be as dry and crystal clear as possible.

Bottles, barrels and buckets can be smoked with sulfur. This is what is usually done in modern industry. You can also rinse all containers boiled water, and then wipe everything very thoroughly with a dry cloth.

After preparing the necessary containers, you will need to prepare necessary ingredients. Among them are:

• 10 kg of grapes;
• Approximately 100-200 grams of sugar in proportion to a liter of juice;
• Water in the amount of 100 ml, but sometimes it is not required.

Water is needed if the juice is very sour. In this case, it is important to remember that the use of sugar itself reduces acidity. In all other cases, the process of preparing and diluting wine with water significantly worsens its overall taste, so it is not recommended to do this.

The most popular grape wine recipe

Processing and harvesting must be done in such a way that the yeast necessary for fermentation remains on the cherry or grape fruits. To do this, berries should be removed from the bushes in dry weather. There was no rain for about two or three days before harvest.

The step-by-step process of making wine from grapes at home will be correct if you take only fully ripe berries. If the grapes are unripe, if there is a lot of acid in them, and fermentation begins in the berries, after a certain time it can spoil all the squeezed juice, that is, the wort. In addition, it is strongly recommended not to collect and add carrion to the collection, as it gives the wine an unpleasant taste, reminiscent of the taste of earth. All picked berries should be processed within no more than two days. Next, the following sequence of actions is carried out:

1. All harvested grapes It is necessary to sort very carefully, remove all leaves and twigs, as well as rotten, unripe or moldy berries.
2. After this, the berries need to be crushed, and the resulting pulp and juice placed in an enamel bowl. A plastic basin is also suitable.
3. The container is filled with the mixture to approximately three-quarters of its volume.
4. You need to crush the berries with your hands, so as not to damage the seeds. They contain substances that give wine a bitter taste. If there are a lot of fruits, they should be crushed as carefully as possible with a special wooden rolling pin.

It is best to use wooden devices, since contact with metal often causes severe oxidation, which significantly impairs the taste of the wine. For this reason, the berries are always kneaded with wooden spoons and rolling pins or by hand, and the resulting composition is placed in an enamel bowl or pan; you can also use containers made of special food-grade plastic or wood.

The container with pulp must be covered with clean material to protect the composition from flies. All this is placed for about 3 days in a dark place where the constant temperature is 25 degrees. After 15-20 hours, the juice starts the fermentation processes, and a cap of collected skin immediately appears on the surface. It needs to be beaten a couple of times a day, constantly stirring the pulp with your hand or a stick. If this process is not carried out, the composition can turn sour quite quickly.

The process of preparing and extracting juice

After about three or four days, the pulp becomes an order of magnitude lighter, a slightly sour smell appears, and a slight hiss is heard. All this suggests that fermentation has started successfully, which means that it is time to squeeze out all the resulting juice.

Most upper layer, which consists of peel, must be collected in a separate container and carefully squeezed with a special press or by hand. The entire volume of juice that is drained from the sediment, as well as the mixture that is pressed from the pulp, must be filtered through previously prepared gauze. You need to pour from one container to another two or three times. Such transfusion not only effectively removes small particles, but also saturates the juice with oxygen beneficial to the wine. All this ensures normal operation wine yeast, and at the very initial stage.

When working with unripe fruits or fruits growing in northern latitudes, it is often necessary to add water. The amount of water is in the proportion of 100 ml per liter, no more, as a large amount of water will spoil overall quality guilt. It's much better to leave some increased acidity wine, since during normal fermentation the total concentration of acids decreases slightly.

The resulting pure juice is used to fill containers intended for fermentation. Filling is carried out to a maximum of 70% of the total volume. For this purpose, it is better to use bottles made of glass, and jars are also suitable if the volume of the bottles is insufficient.

Water simple shutter

To prevent homemade wine from becoming sour, it must be protected from constant contact with air. This provides an exit by-product from fermentation, that is, carbon dioxide. This process can be carried out by installing a structure called a water seal on a special container with juice. A classic water seal made of a tube, a jar and a lid is ideal. A simple medical glove with a hole made in one finger has proven itself relatively well.

The design features of the water seal are not particularly important, but if convenience is achieved, it is better to put a regular classic water seal on the bottles used, and put a seal or glove on the containers themselves.

Active initial fermentation

Immediately after installing the water seal, all used containers in which the juice has already fermented will need to be provided with the most comfortable temperature conditions. The optimal temperature regime for homemade red grape wine in this case is the range from 22 to 29 degrees. For white will do mode up to 22 degrees. It is strictly forbidden to allow the temperature to drop below 15 degrees. If this is allowed, the fermentation of the yeast will stop, that is, the sugar will not be converted into alcohol.

Sugar addition process

There are several features and patterns regarding how sugar should be added. It is worth highlighting the following requirements:

1. 2% sugar in grape juice gives approximately 1% alcohol in the finished wine drink.
2. In almost all regions of the country, the total sugar content of grapes much less often exceeds 20%. Without added sugar, the wine can turn out with zero sweetness, but with 10% strength.
3. On the other hand, the maximum possible strength of home-made wine is approximately 14%, usually 12%. If this alcohol concentration is exceeded, the yeast will immediately stop working.

It is impossible to determine the initial sugar content of grapes under normal home conditions without the use of a special device. It is called a hydrometer. Many people believe that it is possible to rely on numerous average values ​​for varieties, but this is also ineffective, since it will be necessary to obtain data on the level of sugar content of the selected variety in a particular climatic zone. In areas that are not wine-growing areas, no one usually makes such complex calculations; for this reason, one has to rely on taste characteristics guilt. It should be sweet, but not too much.

To maintain the optimal level fermentation, the total sugar content of such wort should not be more than 20%. To ensure this important condition, sugar is added in parts, that is, fractionally. After fermentation begins, the wine should be tasted. As soon as the taste of the wine becomes sour, as soon as the sugar has been processed, you will need to add sugar in the amount of 50 grams per liter of juice formed. For this purpose, approximately two liters of wort are poured into a separate container, and sugar is diluted in it. Only after this the resulting syrup is poured back into the bottle or barrel.

A similar procedure is repeated approximately three times and must be carried out in the very first 14-21 days of fermentation. As soon as the overall sugar content decreases very slowly, this will be proof that there is enough sugar.

Directly dependent on the general temperature regime Depending on the amount of sugar and overall yeast activity, the fermentation time for homemade wine is approximately 50 days.

Important! If fermentation does not stop even after 50 days after installing the water seal, in order to avoid the appearance of a bitter taste, it is worth pouring the wine into another container so that there is no sediment. The grape juice is also placed under a water seal and fermented under the same conditions.

Wine maturation

The time during which the final taste is formed lasts approximately 60-360 days. Longer aging of homemade grape wine is not advisable, since it does not improve the basic properties of the drink.

The container with wine, preferably filled to the very top, is again placed under the water seal or very tightly closed with a lid. Wine should be stored in a dark place. This can be a basement or cellar, where the temperature is usually maintained from 5 to 12 degrees. In the absence of such a room, the young wine will need to be provided with a ripening temperature of approximately 20 degrees, but no more.