Fruit Wine: 4 Easy Homemade Recipes

Wine from fruit platter at home is put by many. But, before starting production on a serious scale, you should know the specifics of the use of fruits, the classification of drinks by strength. In terms of bouquet, low-alcohol drinks made from fruits are able to compete with grape ones. In addition, new, previously unknown methods will not be superfluous in the home library.

The specifics of making fruit wine at home

Homemade intoxicating fruit drinks allow you to fully use the gifts of summer and autumn. Not only berries will be used - cherries, raspberries, currants.Apples, pears, plums, tart quince will also fit. Even watermelons and melons make light, refreshing drinks with a rich flavor.

It is no coincidence that such factory-made wines are popular in Europe. So what prevents us, using the experience of the best winemakers, from realizing the plan at home? Ready - let's get started.

Classification of fruit wines

Berries and fruits are used to make wines of different tastes and strengths. They are classified as:

dry;
sweet;
blended;
vermouth.

The first category is drinks obtained by fermenting pure juice. It should be remembered that in garden fruits, unlike grapes, there is little natural sugar. Without additional components, the drink will turn out sour, that is, “dry” according to the generally accepted designation principle.

The next category - sweet wines - is obtained by adding sugar and fortifying with alcohol. And there will be connoisseurs for them.

And blends are produced by mixing wine materials of different origin, taste, sweetness.

The last group is vermouth. In fact, these are complex mixtures of herbal infusions, fruit extracts. Their preparation is almost an art.

How to make homemade fruit wine

There are no restrictions, division into “correct” and “unsuitable” fruits for wine. Any fruit will do, the finer the flavor, the more the wine will benefit from it. Juice is recommended. It has higher extraction of useful substances and natural dyes.

In extreme cases, large fruits (pears, apples) are crushed to a mushy consistency.To do this, use a blender, knife, juicer. Cake is not needed, so it is permissible to get rid of it already at the initial stage. And having received the juice, it is fermented, blended, and fantasy is used.

There are no limits for creativity: drinks from apples and plums, peaches, watermelons and melons, quince-raspberry and others are suitable on the table.

Dry fruit drinks

A simple recipe for making homemade dry wine is based on using literally the first sweet and sour fruit that comes across. Ripe, unspoiled apples are washed, peeled from the stalks, and rotten places are cut out. Next, the fruits are crushed into puree, squeezing the juice.

Sourdough (wine yeast) is prepared in advance, 3-5 days before the start of wine production. For her, you will need a small berry, raisins, which must be left to ferment with sugar. The homemade sourdough recipe is quite simple and easy to find, so we will not give it separately.

Then the juice is mixed with wine yeast, sugar is added. The wort is placed in a warm, constant temperature place. The installation of the shutter is mandatory: after the start of intensive fermentation, gas will begin to be released, the mixture will boil. It is recommended to stir it periodically.

When the shutter stops gurgling, the wine is ready. We try to taste, if everything suits, filter, bottle. It is allowed to add rowan or raspberry juice.

Consumption of ingredients based on approximately 10 liters of finished product:

apple juice - 7 liters;
granulated sugar - 2.6 kilograms;
water - 1.5 liters;
sourdough - optional.

Apples are easily replaced by peaches, quince, pears. When fortified with vodka and additional sweetness (honey, sugar), you get dessert wine.

Sweet fruit wines

For sweet wines, there is not enough sugar content in the source material. In addition, the finished product will need to be fixed. The drink is prepared, for example, according to the following recipe:

peaches - 3 kilograms;
sugar - 1.5 kilograms;
honey - 100 grams;
water - 3 liters;
alcohol - 1 liter.

Ripe, strong peaches cut in half, remove the stone. Next, the pulp must be crushed - in a blender, meat grinder, to make a slurry. We squeeze juice from it. The resulting semi-finished product is poured into a fermentation tank with water, add honey.

In this state, the future wine remains for 20-21 days. The state of fermentation is periodically monitored, the wort is mixed.

At the next stage, the mixture is filtered through several layers of gauze. Alcohol and sugar are added to the resulting wine material. You can use ingredients such as nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. After 20 days, the infused drink is bottled.

Blended winemaking

Blending allows you to diversify the taste of the finished wine, bringing it to fantastic combinations. More often than others, 2 common methods are used:

Squeezed juices are prepared, added to the general fermentation tank.
Each wine material is fermented separately. Then the finished drinks are blended in the required proportion. To do this, you need to have experience, feel the nuances of taste.

Fragrant vermouth

Vermouth making is the pinnacle of winemaking. It will be necessary not only to master the art of making drinks, but also to know their properties, features, and mutual influence.The basis of vermouth, herbal tincture, such as wormwood, is prepared with vodka. And further components are added gradually, enriching the taste of wine.

Terms and conditions of storage

Dry wines are stored in sealed containers, without air, for at least six months. In the presence of preservative additives, alcohol or vodka, this period is extended.

In addition, sweet wines and vermouths are not limited to standard storage conditions at room temperature in a dark place. They are not subject to fermentation, they can safely stand in a closed cabinet.