How to make wine: technology and rules for cooking at home

Winemakers keep the secrets of getting a great drink and pass them on from generation to generation. But the technology of making wine has been known since ancient times, knowing simple rules, anyone can make a drink on their own. Consider how to make homemade wine from grapes or other fruits and berries. After the technology is mastered, there will be own recipes and secrets that will make your homemade drink unique and exquisite.

What you need to make a drink

To make wine using home technology you will need:

• tank for pulp fermentation;
• bottles;
• masher, mixing paddle;
• water seal (glove);
• flexible hose for removing wine from sediment.

Containers and accessories are washed, disinfected and dried thoroughly before use.

Steps of making wine at home

Nature seems to have made sure that people can make wine - the substances that cause fermentation are found on the fruits. The main task of beginner winemakers is to properly collect and prepare raw materials, create conditions for starting the fermentation process. In further production, it is necessary to follow the sequence of work, to withstand the necessary time frames for the drink to ferment and ripen.

Rules for selection and preparation

The traditional raw material for wine is grapes. Wine varieties give juice better, ferment. For home cooking, it is better to use them. Basic rules for choosing grapes:

• choose only fully matured brushes - without signs of immaturity, spoilage, mechanical damage;
• cleaning is carried out in dry weather - there should be no moisture on the brushes;
• grapes are not washed - plaque contains substances that start fermentation;
• berries are removed from the brushes.

Processing the plantation with chemicals, if necessary, is done long before the harvest so that there are no traces of harmful substances on the fruits.

Crushing raw materials, or obtaining pulp

The integrity of the grapes must be broken so that the juice begins to drain. To do this, they crush the grapes - with their hands, with a potato masher. Squeezing should not be strong, so as not to damage the bones. Therefore, blenders, presses, meat grinders are not used.

The prepared pulp is placed in containers that are not subject to oxidation - in stainless steel, enameled, glass pans. Traditionally, wooden barrels are used, which are pre-washed and dried.

Pulp fermentation

The container with the wine blank is covered with a cloth, tied to prevent insects from entering. 1-2 times a day, the composition is stirred to facilitate fermentation. When all the cake has surfaced and turned into a dense mass, it is removed, squeezed out. The juice must be free of grape particles.

Wort preparation

Juice should continue to ferment. To do this, it is poured into containers that can be hermetically sealed - glass bottles, jars, barrels. It is required to prevent contact of the wort with air. For this, hydraulic seals are made. The container is tightly closed, a tube is inserted into the lid, the end of it is brought into the water.

During fermentation, gases are formed, so the container is filled to 2/3 of the volume.Gases will exit the bottle through the tube. The easiest way to replace the gas tube is to put it tightly around the neck and tie off a surgical glove by making a few holes in the rubber with a needle.

Wine must fermentation and clarification

How to ensure flavor and proper fermentation:

• the bottle is kept out of direct sunlight, in a bright room;
• temperature - 18-28 °, low temperatures stop fermentation, high temperatures lead to the formation of alcohols that impair taste.

Most grape varieties need added sugar to improve flavor and maintain fermentation. It is injected 2-3 times depending on the taste of the must. First time - 2-3 weeks after bottling.

The volume of sugar is 50 grams per liter. Part of the liquid is poured out of the bottle, the entire volume of granulated sugar is dissolved and returned to the general container.

Before the rest of the inputs of sugar, it is necessary to taste the wort. If it is sweet, fermentation is active, too strong and sugary drink is not required, sugar is not added. During the fermentation process, the wort gradually brightens and matures.

Clarifying wine with gelatin

Gelatin will help remove dregs from wine, clarify, stimulate the formation of sediment. For 5 liters of wine, take an incomplete tablespoon of gelatin. It is poured with a tablespoon of cold water and waited for dissolution and swelling (1-2 hours). Add the same amount of boiling water, knead until smooth. After cooling, pour into the wine with constant stirring.

They put the drink on re-fermentation for 2-3 weeks using a water seal. Waiting for the turbidity to precipitate.

Separation of wine from sediment

The completion of fermentation is evidenced by:

• lack of gas release through the water seal (dropping gloves);
• clarification and transparency of the liquid;
• formed precipitate.

Wine should be drained promptly so that the taste does not deteriorate. The bottle is placed on a raised platform, a flexible hose is lowered and, having sucked, they begin to overflow into another container. It is important not to touch the sediment - leave it in place.

Important: if the wine is not sweet enough, you can add sugar and put it into fermentation by installing a water seal.

The container is filled to the top, then there is a process of quiet (inactive) fermentation. The wine is regularly drained from the sediment.

Bottling and storage

When the sediment ceases to form, the drink is transferred into bottles, leaving a gap of a couple of centimeters to the cork, corked. Store in a dark cool place (cellar). Ripening occurs from several months to one and a half years. The quality is constantly improving.

Features of making different types of wine

At home, you can make different types of wine, including the most useful, according to nutritionists, dry drink. The color of the product depends on the types of grapes used, the strength - on the percentage of sugar and alcohol.

Dry

For the preparation of a dry drink, sugar is not used at all - fermentation provides fructose in grapes. Therefore, only the sweetest grape varieties are chosen - with a sugar content of 15-22%. If you put wine from low-quality raw materials, it is no longer possible to improve the taste.

Reference: dry wines are obtained with a strength of 8-11 °, the taste depends only on the quality of the grapes.

Red

After clarification during the fermentation process, dark grapes give a red color drink. These are the most tart and fragrant types of natural wines. To prepare a quality product, it is required to maintain a temperature of 22-29 °.The sweeter the grapes, the more refined the taste. Artificial addition of a large amount of sugar is undesirable; in this case, it will not be possible to make wine with a natural taste. Readiness comes 2-3 months after bottling.

White

White wines are recommended to be put on pure juice - the solid components are separated immediately. Green grapes are used as raw materials.

Making such drinks is easy and fast - quiet fermentation takes no more than 2 months.

Pink

Mixing dark and green grapes to make homemade wines will produce a rose-colored drink. It is necessary to prepare the composition taking into account the combination of grape flavors, not forgetting that dark varieties are more fragrant and tart, they can completely cover the delicate aroma of light varieties.

Fortified

The following technologies are used to make fortified wine:

• increased sugar input - when adding 1% sand, the fortress rises by 0.5%;
• fixing with alcohol - allowable additive - 2-15% of the volume.

Note that the latter method worsens the taste, introduces an alcoholic smell into the finished product, deprives it of naturalness.

Sparkling

To make the wine sparkling, it is poured when fermentation begins to weaken (after 14-28 days). Champagne bottles are used for bottling. The main thing in cooking is to properly cork with natural stoppers with bridles. The bottles are stacked at an angle for storage so that the cork is damp.

Beverage storage rules

The ideal storage location is a dark basement with a constant temperature of 6-8°. At home, you need to provide the wine with a dark place with a temperature of 10-15 °. Humidity is maintained within 60-80%.Bottles need complete rest. With natural corks, the bottles are placed horizontally.

Popular recipes

Step-by-step recipe for making dry wine - from sweet Pinot Noir, Solaris:

1. Juice preparation. Crush the fruits and keep in a container for 12-18 hours. Squeeze out the juice and pour into a bottle.
2. Install a water seal.
3. Let the must ferment for 3 weeks at 22-28°.
4. Drain from sediment. Leave to ferment for 3 weeks in a closed jar.
5. Remove from the sediment and leave for another month.

Bottling and storing.

You can make delicious wine from the popular Lydia variety with your own hands. It will take 3 kilograms of sugar per 10 kilograms of raw materials.The pulp is kept in a container closed with a cloth for 5 days. Then the juice is drained and squeezed. Pour into a bottle with a water seal or a simple rubber glove, introducing 2 kilograms of sugar. The remaining sugar is added after 14 days. The total fermentation time is 3-4 weeks. After bottling, age in the cellar for at least a month.

Homemade wine making is creative and exciting. In the process of preparation, recipes are improved, winemakers acquire the necessary skills and secrets. To prepare the wine, it will take a lot of time, but the result will pay off all the effort.

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