Winemaking is akin to art, the art of its manufacture has been studied for years. But who does not dare, he does not create. Observing the technology, it is easy to prepare a fragrant natural drink at home.
General principles for making black grape wine
Stage 1. Spin. Mash-picked berries for a wine with a wooden rolling pin. Attention! This should be done carefully so as not to crush the grains, they give bitterness to the wine. That is why some winemakers believe that it is better to crush the berries with gloved hands, and in the old days the grapes were crushed with their feet, this episode is shown in the movie “The Taming of the Shrew”.
Stage 2. Fermentation. Prepared raw materials should be folded in containers for making wine, filling them into three-quarters, cover with a towel and put in a warm place for 3-5 days. At this time, the pulp will rise to the surface, during the day it must be mixed with the wort, so as not to soured. A hissing and sour smell will indicate successful fermentation.
At the expiration of the due date, squeeze the pulp through gauze, colander or press. Filter the wort and pour it into a clean bottle (another dish), close the cork with a tube for the release of carbon dioxide or a medical glove. This is done to ensure that the wine is not in contact with oxygen and the future of domestic wine is not sour. Two days later add sugar.
Technology of making sugar
Pour a little wort into the pan, heat and pour out the sugar. Then pour the sweet wine syrup into the bottle and close it again with a cork or glove for further fermentation.
On average, the fermentation process takes from thirty to fifty days. An indicator of the cessation of fermentation is the absence of bubbles in the jar of water. During this time, the yeast sinks to the bottom, and the wine brightens.
Stage 3. Filtering. Place a bottle of wine on an elevation, lower the empty container and drain the young wine from black grapes through a straw. Strain through cheesecloth folded in several layers. Check the sweetness of the drink, add sugar if necessary, stirring until completely dissolved. At this stage, the wine from the table can be turned into a dessert or fortified. In the manufacture of fortified wine add vodka or alcohol. Fortified wine is stored longer, but the taste and aroma suffers.
Stage 4. Maturation. A full bottle of wine is stored in a cellar or a dark basement from 60 days to a year. This is a time of quiet fermentation. If sugar was added at the 3rd stage, then the container with wine should be plugged with a water seal plug. At this time, you can not allow sudden changes in temperature, this taste of the wine deteriorates.
When a sediment of a few centimeters appears at the bottom of the bottle, it is time to pour the wine into a clean bottle. This process can be repeated several times, so the wine is clarified from black grapes.
Stage 5. Final. After ripening, the wine is poured into bottles. Store in the basement in a horizontal position.
Utensils and equipment for black grape wine
One of the rules in the process of making wine from black grapes is the need to use absolutely dry and clean dishes to avoid infection by pathogenic microorganisms. At home, large glass jars and bottles are used for these purposes, food plastic containers and wooden barrels are suitable. The size of the dishes depends on the number of grapes. From two buckets of grapes you can get 10 liters of juice.
During the fermentation process it is necessary to ensure the release of carbon dioxide from the tank. The ideal option for this would be a water seal, constructed of a cap and a tube. One end of the tube is placed in a container with wort and the other in a jar of water. The presence of bubbles in the bank will serve as an indicator of the normal course of the fermentation process. For these purposes, suitable and medical glove, fingers which need to pierce the needle. Until the fermentation process is over, the glove will be inflated.
Some enterprising wine-makers use medical droppers as a water gate. The hose must be passed through the cap by placing one end in a container with wine material and the other in a jar of clean water.
Utensils for ripening wine should be filled with pulp and juice only three quarters. In the process of fermentation, empty space will be occupied by foam.
Preparation of raw materials for black grape wine
Harvesting grapes with berries is carried out in dry weather in late September or early October, before the first frost. For the preparation of good wine from the black grapes select ripe fruits, without rot and mildew. It is important! Immature grapes will give the wine excess acid. However, over-ripe berries can spoil the drink, turning it into vinegar. Experienced winemakers are not advised to use carrots, it will give the wine an earthy taste.
It is impossible to wash the gathered grapes, because natural yeasts are on the surface of the berries, which ensure the fermentation of the wine. After harvesting the grape brushes tear off the berries, removing the spoiled and unripe. It is necessary to recycle the collected raw materials within two, three days.
Homemade black grape wine
For the manufacture of simple homemade wine enough to take the berries of any wine variety.
Ingredients:
• Grape juice and pulp - 10 l
• Sugar - 2.5 kg
Preparation Method:
This ratio of ingredients in the recipe is the average and most used among domestic winemakers. But this does not mean that each of them cannot have his own, well-thought-out family recipe.
Black grape wine with honey
Ingredients:
• Grape juice - 10 liters
• water -10 liters
• natural honey - 3 kg
• wine yeast or yeast from 500 g of raisins.
Preparation:
Pour juice and water into prepared dishes, add 1 kg of honey and sourdough. The process of fermentation and maturation takes place according to the technology described above. The remaining honey is added during the filtration.
Semi-sweet black grape wine with added water
Ingredients:
• grape pulp (pelts, pulp)
• sugar - 300 g per 1 liter of water;
• The amount of water is equal to the amount of pulp.
For reference: when producing dry wine, sugar is placed less than 200g per 1l of water, for dessert wines - 400g of granulated sugar.
Preparation: 1. Add water to the bottle to the grape pulp, pour out the sugar, mix everything thoroughly and tie the neck with gauze. Infuse wine material 10-12 days.
2. After the expiration date, the pulp must be removed and the wine must be filtered through gauze folded in several layers or sterile cotton wool. Filtered wine is drained into a clean bottle, wearing a glove on the neck. Follow the fermentation process.
3. After fermentation, it is necessary to conduct a tasting of young wine in order to understand whether it is sweet enough. At this stage, you can add sugar, focusing on your taste.
4. Black wine grapes ripen 3-4 months. At this time, you need to pour the drink twice a month into a clean dish, removing sediment.
5. Then pour the wine into bottles, put it in the basement.
Aromatic black grape wine with spices
For 5 liters of finished wine, take 1 tablespoon of cinnamon or 1 teaspoon of cloves (be guided by your own taste preferences), chop and put in a linen bag.
Prepared spice is put in a vessel with young wine, close with a cork and leave for 2 weeks. Strain and pour into the container.
Black grape fortified wine
Ingredients:
• 5 kg of black grapes;
• 600-800 g of sugar;
• 1 liter of medical alcohol
Cooking Recipe:
Knead the berries until mush, put in a clean container and leave for three days. Then add 600 grams of sugar to the pulp with juice, close the container with a tube with a tube or a fermentation glove.
When the fermentation process is completed, the grape must must be drained and alcohol added, at the rate of 18-20 percent of the resulting wine. To carry out the consolidation, add alcohol to the filtered grape mash.
After two days, the fortified drink must be filtered again and left to ripen for 2 weeks in the cellar or basement. Finished products bottled. Store horizontally in a cool place.
Tips and tips for making black grape wine
Experienced winemakers are advised to take into account some of the nuances in the manufacture of wine from black grapes. • In the process of wine production do not recommend using metal utensils, tools, equipment. Contact of juice and metal will worsen the taste of the future drink and oxidize it.
• The quality of the wine depends on the amount of water: the bigger it is, the worse the quality. Tip: water should be added if the grape juice is so sour that it reduces the cheekbones. At 1 liter of juice of water should be no more than 0.5 liters.
• Before you begin to crush the grapes in the pulp, it must warm up to room temperature.
• To get a rich aromatic wine from black grapes with a refined aftertaste, you must use not only juice, but also pulp.
• If the fermentation of wine stopped at the beginning of the process, the yeast died. To help rectify the situation unwashed raisins. A handful of dried grapes, added to the wort, will resume the fermentation process.
• Some winemakers use home sourdoughs for true fermentation. A glass of raspberries, raisins and fresh grapes pour the same amount of warm water, adding 0.5 cups of sugar. Insist in a warm place until sour. Add leaven at the rate of 1 cup per 10 liters.
• At all stages of fermentation, it is necessary to maintain a temperature of 22 o C.
• Sometimes after re-adding sugar, the young wine starts to ferment again. There are several solutions to the problem:
1. Leave the wine matured in the bottle, sealed with a water cap or glove.
2. Pasteurize wine. For this, bottles of wine are closed with corks and heated in a saucepan with water up to 65 o no more than 20 minutes.
