Wine pasteurization: home rules and temperature selection

A fragrant, low-alcohol drink dating back thousands of years is popular with hundreds of millions of people. The desire to keep the wine for a long time without changing the taste and aroma was the reason for its heat treatment. Pasteurization of wines from any raw material and strength is used by amateur winemakers. The wine industry uses sulfites to preserve the product.

History of occurrence

Louis Pasteur discovered a method of fighting wine diseases at the request of French winemakers in the middle of the 19th century. He proved that the cause of souring, the appearance of mold are microorganisms that feed on wine sugar.When heated to 50-60 degrees, they die. Spores are more resistant to high temperatures, which can only be destroyed by sterilization: heating to 100 degrees and above.

Why pasteurize wine

Pasteurization of wine is needed to destroy bacteria, yeast fungi. Each type of wine requires its own temperature and aging time. For grape wines, it also depends on the degree of sweetness: dry, semi-sweet, sweet.

When You Might Need It

Microorganisms develop within 6 months. If the wine is used before this time, it will not be pasteurized.

Varieties of method

In practice, several methods of pasteurization are used:

• long;
• short;
• instant.

During long-term pasteurization, the liquid product is heated at a temperature of 60 to 65 degrees from half an hour to forty minutes. Short pasteurization means heating up to 80-90 degrees for 30-60 seconds. Instant lasts 3-5 seconds at 98 degrees.

At home, long-term pasteurization is used for wine to avoid the taste of compote in the drink.

How to pasteurize wine at home

Any wine can be subjected to the pasteurization process, at any aging time:

• grape;
• apple;
• cherry;
• currant;
• cherry;
• young;
• aged.

The pasteurization process goes through several stages that must be strictly observed.

Product preparation

Wine must be pre-cleaned from yeast and turbidity. Clay bentonite or gelatin is used as a clarifier. Then you need to let it settle so that a precipitate falls out.

After sedimentation of the turbidity, the wine is poured into a container in which it will be pasteurized and stored. These should be glass bottles or jars that have been heat treated with steam or boiling water. To avoid air getting into the wine and its further release when heated, a plastic tube with a diameter of 1 centimeter is used.

The tube is lowered into a container with wine to a level 1-2 centimeters above the sediment. They create a vacuum in it and pour it into the prepared container.

Pasteurization process

In jars of wine, the neck is closed with screw metal lids. The bottles are sealed with corks. The level of the drink in the jar is up to the neck, in the bottle - 3-4 centimeters to the cork. Free space in the container during pasteurization is necessary to expand the liquid during heating.

A wooden grate is installed in the pan or a fabric is laid in several layers to insulate glass with hot metal. Put jars or bottles. To control the temperature, a jar filled with water is needed, placed next to the wine containers.

Containers with bottles/cans are filled with water to the level that the wine will have when heated. Medium fire turns on.

Bottle holding time:

• 0.7 liters - 1/3 hour;
• 0.5 liters - ¼ hour;
• 1 liter - 25 minutes.

Pasteurization temperature depends on the strength of the drink (degrees):

• for dry - 55;
• semi-sweet - 60;
• sweet - 65.

Water thermometer measures the temperature in a jar of water. At the end of pasteurization, the fire is removed. Bottles of wine are cooled in a pot of water to 30 degrees, after which they are put away in a cool dark place. For better tightness, corks are covered with sealing wax on top.

Wines packaged in jars are pasteurized in the same way as bottles:

• set in container;
• fill the container with cold water above the shoulders;
• turn on medium fire;
• held at 60 degrees for 35 minutes;
• cool at room temperature.

Wine product storage - in a dry, cool place with ventilation.

Other ways to fix wine

Amateur winemakers use pasteurization methods that differ from traditional ones. For example, they use homemade containers made of stainless steel or aluminum.

Without fail, the wine, as with conventional methods, must be cleared of tartar and sediment. A homemade stainless steel pan can have a volume of up to 20-30 liters. Pour the drink through the hose. For speed, connect the pump from the aquarium.

Temperature control is carried out using a thermometer with an external sensor.

The meter is placed on the lid of the container. A saucepan filled with wine is placed on the stove. Gas burners give uneven heating. The best solution would be to use an electric stove, in which the size of the burner matches the bottom of the pan.

Based on the thermometer, the wine is kept at 65 degrees for 30 minutes. Electronic devices give the result with an error of 0.2-0.3 degrees in the direction of overestimation. The actual temperature of the wine during pasteurization will be 62-63 degrees.

With this method of pasteurization, cold bottling is used. Wine in a stainless steel pan is cooled to room temperature. Warmed up to 150 degrees for 15 minutes, the bottles should cool to 20-22 degrees.

There is a faucet at the bottom of the homemade pot for pouring pasteurized wine. A sterilized adapter and a piece of polyethylene tube are put on it, through which the bottles are filled with wine to the level of the cork.

How to sterilize wine bottles

There are several ways to prepare bottles for bottling pasteurized wine: traditional (in a saucepan), or using an electric oven.

Sterilization in a container is carried out without a thermometer. Cleanly washed bottles are filled with warm water up to the shoulders, placed on a pallet in a container, the edges of which should be higher than the bottles. Fill with water at 40-50 degrees to the level of the shoulders. Turn on the fire and bring to a boil. When the water boils, the fire is reduced so that the boil is even.

The sterilization time is counted from the moment of boiling in the container. For bottles, 10-15 minutes is enough. Then the fire is removed. The bottles are removed, the water is poured out of them, turned upside down over a clean cloth. After draining the water, put it upside down, cover with a sterile towel.

Dry sterilization in an electric oven is no less effective if the washed bottles are kept at temperatures up to 150 degrees for 10 minutes.

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