Wine is one of the most popular alcoholic drinks around the world. There are many types and varieties of wine, depending on the country of origin, technology, material from which the drink is prepared and many other factors. Many people prefer a home-made equivalent to store-bought wine, which, if prepared correctly, can be no worse than industrially made alcohol. Dry and semi-sweet wines are considered the most popular, as they go well with almost all dishes and snacks. How to make semi-sweet wine from grapes yourself at home, we will consider further.

What grape varieties are best to choose?

Almost all grape varieties are suitable for homemade white wine. By the way, red berries also make white wine, but provided that the juice of the berries is colorless. For white wine, pure grape juice is used without skins, which can turn the wine red. It is still better to give preference to white (light) grape varieties if you want to get white semi-sweet homemade wine.

Which varieties are suitable for making white wine:

• Aligote;
• Riesling;
• Chardonnay;
• Muscat white;
• Rkatsiteli.

White raisins are often used for homemade white wine.

Red wine is made exclusively from dark grape varieties. For fermentation, not only the juice is used, but also the skin of the berries. The shade of the final product can range from light ruby ​​to rich cherry. A homemade recipe for red semisweet grape wine is simpler than a recipe for white wine. The fact is that white wine is more often at risk of turning into berry vinegar, so it is advisable to sterilize it. Red wine does not require additional sterilization, so the preparation time of the drink is reduced.

On a note! Rose wine is also made from red grapes. First, the base of the must is made on the pulp, left to ferment for a short time, after which the pulp is removed, and then fermentation of the grape juice proceeds.

Suitable varieties for homemade red wine:

• Kishmish black;
• Isabel;
• Muscat of Hamburg;
• Ichkimar;
• Saperavi.

There are a variety of ways to prepare wine, but most often the classic recipe for a homemade semi-sweet drink is used.

Features of semi-sweet grape wine

Semi-sweet wine has many fans among women and men. The recipe does not use too much sugar, so the taste of the wine is not as cloying as that of sweet or dessert alcohol.

Semi-sweet homemade grape wine goes perfectly with meat, fish and vegetable dishes. It is also served with desserts, ice cream, and pastries.

A glass of semi-sweet wine helps improve digestion, stimulates appetite, and has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the stomach. Even people with gastrointestinal diseases are allowed by doctors to drink a glass of good semi-sweet wine once a week. Of course, during an exacerbation, any alcohol is excluded.

Semi-sweet white wines are more popular. At home, the drink is prepared from Riesling, Rkatsiteli, White Muscat, and Kishmish grape varieties. Red wines are also popular, but many still prefer to make dry or sweet red wines at home.

To ultimately obtain delicious homemade alcohol, only fully ripened grapes are used. A small white coating, similar to a thin film, should appear on its skin. This means that live yeast lives on the berries, which will actively help the fermentation of the future wine.

Classic recipe

To make a simple version of semi-sweet homemade wine, you only need two ingredients: grapes and sugar.

Semi-sweet grape wine at home, recipe:

1. Sort the grapes (about 10 kg), remove spoiled and rotten berries, leaves and twigs.
2. Under no circumstances should grapes be washed! The berries are poured into a container and mashed with your hands or a wooden masher. Metal utensils are not used in the process of making homemade wine.
3. Cover the resulting mass with clean gauze folded in 4 layers. You can also cover the container with a piece of natural fabric. Air will enter the container, but insects will not be able to penetrate the grape mass. The fermentation temperature should not fall below 24 degrees.
4. After a few days, fermentation should begin. This will be evidenced by hissing, floating grape skins, as well as a characteristic yeasty smell.
5. At this stage of preparation, the juice is carefully poured into the fermentation container, the pulp is squeezed out and the resulting juice is added to the bottle. The fermentation container is not filled to the very neck. 1/3 of the space should remain empty.

On a note! Grape pomace can be used to make strong homemade grappa.

1. Pour 2.5 kg of granulated sugar into the berry juice. Using a large wooden spoon, stir the juice and sugar until the sugar crystals are completely dissolved.
2. A thin rubber glove is pulled over the neck of the bottle (you need to make a hole in two fingers using a thin needle) or a water seal is placed.
3. The wine is placed in a warm place and left for 30-60 days for active fermentation.
4. The completion of fermentation can be determined by the following signs: the glove is deflated, air bubbles do not come out of the water seal, a layer of sediment has fallen to the bottom, the liquid will become lighter.
5. Drain the drink from the sediment using a rubber tube. There should be no sediment in the final product, otherwise the fermentation process may start again.
6. Pour into bottles, place in a cellar or any other cool place. It is necessary to age the wine for several months. During this time, sediment forms at the bottom of the bottles again, so the homemade wine is again carefully poured into a clean container.

The result is a semi-sweet grape wine with a sugar content of 20-40 grams per liter of drink.

Wine from Isabella grapes

To get the perfect semi-sweet drink, you must follow the basic rules:

• Isabella is harvested from mid to late October, but always before the first frost. By this time, the berries gain the necessary sweetness and juiciness. After harvesting, the harvest should be left to sit for a week. During this time, the berries will acquire even greater sweetness due to a natural increase in the amount of sugar.
• The fermentation container must be perfectly clean. Already used bottles should be thoroughly washed, doused with boiling water and wiped dry.
• To obtain the pulp, a wooden mashed potato masher is used. You can crush the berries with a special press.

For the recipe for semi-sweet wine from Isabella grapes you need the following ingredients:

• Grapes – 10 kg;
• Granulated sugar – 3 kg.

How to make semi-sweet wine from grapes at home:

1. The berries should be sorted, but under no circumstances should they be washed. Place the prepared grapes in a container and crush.
2. Cover with gauze or cloth and place in a warm place for a week. Stir the contents with a wooden spoon every day.
3. Next, strain the juice and pour it into a glass bottle. Squeeze out the pulp and add the resulting liquid to the juice. Pour granulated sugar into the bottle and stir.
4. Use a water seal or put a rubber glove on the neck. Don't forget to pierce a hole in one or two fingers. Leave the bottle in a warm room to ferment.
5. After the fermentation process is complete, carefully drain the wine so as not to disturb the sediment at the bottom. Pour into bottles, which are sent to the cellar or basement for several months.
6. The final stage: once again drain the contents of each bottle from the sediment and pour it into a new, clean container. Bottles should be stored in a cool place.

The recipe for semi-sweet wine from Isabella grapes is very simple, but the result is a homemade drink of rich red color, with tart notes and a pleasant sweetness in taste.

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 with boiled water, and then wipe everything very thoroughly with a dry cloth.

After preparing the necessary containers, you will need to prepare the 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 must be very carefully sorted, all leaves and twigs, as well as rotten, unripe or moldy berries must be removed.
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.

The topmost layer, which consists of the 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 the normal functioning of 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 the overall quality of the wine. It is much better to leave some increased acidity in the wine, since during normal fermentation the overall 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 ensures the release of a 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, a mode up to 22 degrees is suitable. 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 focus on the taste characteristics of the wine. It should be sweet, but not too much.

In order to maintain an optimal level of fermentation throughout the preparation of wine, the total sugar content of such must 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 depending on the general temperature regime, the amount of sugar and the general activity of yeast, the fermentation time of wine prepared at home 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.

Homemade grape wine has always enjoyed considerable popularity at any table, so every winemaker, even a beginner, happily tries to create wines according to various recipes, including the classic version - from grapes.

Here is a recipe for excellent grape wine: step by step and easy at home (with photos and instructions).

Choosing the right vintage for wine

In order for grape wine (and not just homemade wine) to turn out truly tasty and aromatic, it is necessary to use exclusively high-quality and, most importantly, the right product to create it - wine varieties.

The berries of these varieties are characterized by their small size and density on the bunch. Below are some valuable tips from experienced winemakers regarding the selection and preparation of material for wine:

Advice. Grapes collected for making wine should not be washed, because the white coating that forms on them is nothing more than wine yeast. Rinse or even wash grapes only if a starter with high-quality wine yeast is used.

The harvested grapes should be separated from the ridges, sorted, removing all unsuitable berries, including dried and moldy berries. After preliminary selection, the berries are poured in small batches into a deep container and crushed. You can use a regular potato masher or a meat grinder. The berries should be crushed very carefully so that each of them releases all its juice.

Wine making process

Making quality wine is a fairly simple process if you strictly follow all steps of the recipe. The following is a step-by-step process for preparing wine.

Fermentation of pulp

The finished pulp or crushed berries, previously separated from the ridges, are poured into a suitable container and covered tightly with a cotton cloth. Keep in mind that the container should only be 2/3 filled with wine material.

The container with pulp is installed in a room with a strict temperature regime, falling between 18 and 23 degrees. If the temperature is above the second mark, the pulp may ferment too intensely, which will result in it turning into vinegar. If the temperature is below the first mark, the fermentation process may proceed too slowly or may not even begin at all.

So, after a few days, the fermentation process will begin and the must (juice, which is essentially young grape wine) will begin to separate from the pulp. The pulp and wort should be thoroughly mixed every day, otherwise the former will simply turn sour and the taste of the not yet finished product will be spoiled.

Preparation of grape must

5-7 days after the start of fermentation, the pulp should be thoroughly squeezed out, thus separating the wort from it. The first spin is done through a colander, the second through several layers of gauze. The purified wort should ferment. To do this, it is poured into a clean container (it should be filled only 3/4) and tightly closed with a stopper and tube.

Attention! Experienced winemakers believe that separating the pulp from the wort is a mistaken action, which will subsequently deprive the finished product of its valuable deep aroma and delicate aftertaste.

If you want to leave the pulp, you should not squeeze it out to separate the wort: just pour all the product into a new container and close it with a lid with a straw. The tube will serve as a kind of protection against oxygen: one end of it must be lowered into a container of water, the other into wine.

At this stage, it is important to control the strength and sweetness of the wine, which depend, first of all, on the fructose content in the product. You can regulate this indicator by adding this or that amount of sugar. In our area, predominantly varieties with a low fructose content grow, therefore, if sugar is not added during the preparation of wine, it will turn out dry.

The dosage of sugar is usually taken as follows: about 1 tbsp. per 1 liter of semi-finished product. Sugar is added as follows: you need to pour a little wort, heat it and pour sugar into it, stirring the mass until the latter dissolves completely. After this, pour the resulting sweet composition back into the container with wine.

Corking of semi-finished wine

At this stage, you should separate all the sediment from the finished wort (to do this, you just need to drain the wine through a straw, carefully lowering the container with water below the container with wine). Be sure to check the product for the amount of sugar: if you like dry grape wine, you won’t need sugar. Otherwise, be sure to add it to the wine and stir thoroughly.

All that remains is to pour the grape wine into a dark glass bottle and seal it loosely (this is necessary so that the remaining carbon dioxide contained in the wine finds a “way out”).

Product sterilization

This is the last, but no less important stage in making homemade wine. Some winemakers believe that this process should occur naturally: the wine must be left in a dark, cool place for several months (2-3) until the fermentation process stops, having previously installed water seals on each bottle. During this period, you should drain the wine at least several times to remove any sediment.

There is another way to sterilize wine - forced. It is necessary to loosely close the wine bottles, wrap them with cloth and place them in a container filled with water. Place a thermometer in one of the bottles and sterilize the product until its temperature rises to 60 degrees. After this, all the yeast will die and the fermentation process will stop completely. The remaining carbon dioxide will also escape through a loosely closed plug.

Afterwards, you can tightly cork the bottles and send them to a cool, dry place. A product that has gone through all the preparatory stages correctly will be able to gain all that wonderful aroma and depth of taste for which many people love grape wine so much. Good luck!

The intense rhythm of life and stress force us to look for spiritual activities to relieve internal tension and relax. Such a hobby could be making wine at home, learning all the intricacies of winemaking and homemade wine options from various berries and fruits. Alcoholic drinks made from grapes, raspberries, cherries, mulberries, currants and many other berries will delight you with their aroma and enchanting aftertaste.

Making wine at home is a process that includes several stages, after mastering which you will certainly become a master of winemaking. Your hobby will not take up a lot of your time, but it will require patience, observation and the desire to make magical nectar for the gods.

Wine grape varieties, fruits, and berries are suitable for making wine. There are wines of various strengths and types, such as fortified, strong, dry, sweet, semi-dry and semi-sweet, varietal or blended.

Step-by-step preparation of wine at home

Stage I: preparation of wine yeast

To make delicious homemade wine, you need to prepare a wine starter, the so-called yeast, in advance, a week or a week and a half before harvesting or purchasing raw materials. Yeast microscopic organisms live in colonies on the outer parts of berries and fruits. There are especially many of them on grapes.

How to prepare wine yeast

Recipe No. 1

Grind a half-liter container of unwashed raspberries in a ceramic mortar (can be replaced with strawberries, cherries or currants), pour them into a 1-liter glass jar, add half a glass of sugar and a glass of water.

Close the jar tightly with a lid and carefully shake its contents to thoroughly mix and dissolve the sugar. Pour into a dark bottle, cover with several layers of gauze and secure with an elastic band.

We place the bottle for 4-5 days in a dark and warm (25-27 degrees) place for the growth of lactic acid bacteria. After the allotted time, we filter the fermented mass through cheesecloth and obtain a high-quality wine starter.

Recipe No. 2

Pour grated raspberries (2 cups) into a liter jar, add half a glass of water, a couple of teaspoons of sugar and the same amount of vodka or alcohol (we buy at the pharmacy). Alcohol can be replaced with vodka - 6 tsp.

Shake and pour a few drops of ammonia into the mixture. We put the jar in a dark place at room temperature and try to shake the mixture every day. Wine yeast is ready in 3-4 days.

The starter must be used no later than 10 days from the date of its preparation. During this time, the yeast will settle to the bottom of the bottle, and therefore it should be taken into account that its concentration at the bottom of the bottle is much higher than under the neck.

For the so-called “cracker” we use the following proportions:

• 200 g wine yeast: 100 g sediment: 10 l juice.

To make dessert wine:

• 300 g: 10 liters of juice.

Stage II: preparation of raw materials

Only ripe fruits and berries are suitable for wine. Overripe fruits lead to rapid vinegar souring, and in unripe fruits, excess acid will prevent you from obtaining a high-quality drink. The raw materials must be sorted out, rotten and moldy specimens must be removed without regret, otherwise even a few berries can destroy the entire volume of wine material. As you understand, bacteria that are undesirable for wine material live in such berries.

Berries and fruits should be collected on dry, rainless days. They do not need to be washed (microorganisms live on their surface), but put into use immediately. If the fruits have large seeds, they must first be removed, otherwise the almond bitterness and unusual smell will be transferred to the wine.

Stage III: grinding raw materials or obtaining pulp

This is a very important stage in making wine at home! Usually the berries are crushed, and this applies not only to grapes. To do this, use a press, a meat grinder with a large grid and special graters.

All parts of the devices must be made of stainless steel, wood or coated with ceramics. Wine raw materials have high acidity and on low-quality material it quickly oxidizes, which leads to a slowdown in the fermentation process, foreign tastes and odors of the final product.

It should also be noted that it is unacceptable to grind berries or fruits into puree. We get a minimum amount of juice from the puree.

Stage IV: fermentation and extraction of pulp

As microorganisms work, the raw materials you use for wine impart color and aromatic substances to the juice. Therefore, homemade wine made from ground berries and fruits is much tastier, has an intense color and aroma, when compared with a drink made from pure juice.

How to make homemade wine with pulp?

We pour the crushed raw materials into a glass container (or an oak barrel) with a container suitable for the entire amount of pulp. Add prepared wine yeast in the above proportion and purified water heated to 25 degrees - at the rate of 0.25 liters of water per 1 kg of pulp. Those. pour 1.25 liters of water into 5 kg of pulp. The fermentation container should be filled to 2/3 of its volume, no more. You can also distribute all the raw materials into 3-liter jars.

We cover the neck of the bottle with gauze in several layers and place it in a room with a temperature of 20-22 degrees for fermentation, which becomes visible the very next day. Fermentation is accompanied by the appearance of a foamy cap on the surface of the pulp, which we mix with the rest of the mass a couple of times a day, releasing carbon dioxide.

It is necessary to stir, otherwise the whole mass may turn sour and you will not get wine, but homemade vinegar. After about a week, the pulp can already be strained, or rather, squeezed out. 10 kg of pulp yields approximately 5-6 liters of natural juice.

The first pressing guarantees the best quality of the wine material, elite, one might say. By adding water to the pulp after the first extraction and squeezing the juice again, we get a table variety of the drink. The technology for making berry or fruit wine at home involves mixing all the pressed products with pulp in one container (the first and subsequent pressings). We will consider this stage below.

Stage V: wort preparation

This stage answers the question of how to place the must to obtain high-quality homemade wine. The must is the basis of the wine, and therefore it must have the correct parameters.

Natural wort, as a rule, has high acidity and low sugar content. Only grapes and some fruits (apples, pears of some varieties) have good performance. The remaining berries produce juice with a high content of tartaric acid and low sugar, and therefore require dilution with water and the addition of sugar.

We use soft, filtered, odorless and neutral water for the wort. Sugar must first be dissolved; it is advisable to boil the syrup, pouring it into the wort when it has cooled.

All proportions of water and sugar depend on the fruits and berries from which you make wine. The more acidic the juice, the more water and sugar you need to add. We have summarized the basic proportions of sugar and water in a table:

• 20 g of sugar in 1 liter of wort without water increases alcohol by 1%.

Those. If you add 180 g of sugar to a liter of wort, then the estimated strength of the wine will be 18 vol. After analyzing the plate, you can already vary the water and sugar content for different juices. Also be sure to keep in mind that adding sugar to water increases its volume in the following proportion: 60 g of sugar in 60 ml of water gives 70 ml of syrup. Accordingly, our wort volume will increase.

Experienced winemakers advise sticking to approximately the following proportions:

• 3 kg of berries – 3 liters of water. Total – 6 kg. Then you need exactly a third of sugar. Those. Divide 6 kg by 3 and get 2 kg of sugar.

This calculation is, of course, easier to carry out, but it is very approximate. When you create your own homemade wine recipe, you will have your own proportions to suit your individual taste preferences.

Stage VI: fermentation of the wine must and its further clarification

So, having prepared the wort and poured the workpiece into the prepared container to two-thirds of its capacity, we need to build a water seal so that the resulting carbon dioxide leaves the container with the wort, and fresh oxygen does not enter. To do this, the bottle must be securely sealed with a cork or any other lid, and a hole must be made in its center into which a thin tube must be inserted to remove gas.

Usually, a glass from a pharmaceutical pipette is inserted into the lid of the container and a plastic or rubber tube is put on it (can be replaced with a thin cambric, which is sold in hardware stores). This tube should be lowered into any container of water.

Place the container with the prepared wort in a dark place (not completely dark, but without direct sunlight) with a room temperature of 20-22 degrees for about 20-25 days. For convenience, we place it not on the floor, but on a stable stool or stand, so that later it will be convenient to “skim the wine from the sediment.”

During the fermentation process, sugar turns into alcohol, releasing carbon dioxide, which escapes through the tube you provided with the bottle of wort. The fermentation process gradually slows down, which can be observed by the activity of air bubbles in a jar of water.

Over the next 2-3 weeks, the fermented wine material should lighten. During this period, the yeast gradually dies, sinking to the bottom of the bottle, taking with it all the solid particles in the wort. When this stage is completely over, we will need to separate this sediment from the settled product. This process is called “removing the wine from the lees.”

Stage VII: removing the wine from the lees

This stage is one of the most important. If you overexpose wine material with dead yeast fungi, they will give it an unpleasant odor and bitter taste. Therefore, we must carefully drain the settled wine using a rubber or plastic tube with a diameter of about 1 cm.

Carefully, so as not to shake the bottle in any way (otherwise the sediment will easily rise and cloud our precious nectar), open it and lower the tube into the liquid, lowering its end at least 2-3 cm above the level of the sediment. Using the free end of the tube, we perform a short suction of air and direct a stream of clarified wine into the prepared clean dishes.

Stage VIII: bottling and storage of homemade wine

So, we got dry wine by preparing it at home. It is better to store it in dark glass bottles (the ideal option is a factory bottle of sparkling wine - champagne), close it with corks and place it in a horizontal position.

Store in a cool, dark place. We try not to shake them or move them from place to place, since light fermentation may still occur for several weeks. The drink will be fully suitable for serving after 60 days.

If you don’t like dry wines, you can add sugar when pouring into a container, but it is better to sweeten the finished product, since homemade wine does not store well with sugar.

If you want to store sweet and dessert wines, then add sugar to the filtered starter drink, dissolving it. After that, filter again. Pour into glass containers (preferably 0.7 l bottles) and place them horizontally, store at a temperature not exceeding 10 °C, i.e. in a cold cellar. Under other conditions, the wine may begin to ferment and turn sour.

Making different types of homemade wine

By varying the content of sugar and alcohol in dry homemade wine, we can make a drink for every taste and type:

As you can see, making wine at home is not at all difficult. And although this process is long, it is also very interesting and exciting. This could very well become your hobby, which benefits both your health and your wallet. By developing your intuition and winemaking skills, in just a few years you will become a recognized master, which is what we sincerely wish for you!

The secrets of winemaking can be studied for almost years. Although anyone can easily learn this art. The first time you try, you may not get a masterpiece worthy of world exhibitions, but a homemade drink will be no worse than a store-bought one. Want to try? Then study simple recipes with photos describing how to make wine from grapes at home.

How to cook

Making homemade wine requires three main ingredients. This list includes:

• grape;
• sugar;
• water.

The last component is not used in all recipes for making homemade wine. It is added only if the grape juice is very sour and even cramps the cheekbones. In other cases, diluting with water only worsens the taste of the drink. Making wine from grapes at home begins with harvesting and processing the harvest. The wild yeast necessary for fermentation must remain on the bunches. To do this, you need to pick the fruit after 2-3 days of dry weather. If the grapes are purchased, then the berries cannot be washed.

Making homemade wine after processing the harvest involves three stages. Step-by-step instructions on how to make the drink can be described as follows:

1. Receiving pulp. It is an intermediate product of winemaking and is a mass of crushed grape bunches. It is not necessary to remove the ridges, but the wine with them will be slightly bitter.
2. Wort separation. This stage begins 3-5 days after receiving the pulp. From it the must is released - unclarified grape juice. This is already wine, but young and has not begun to ferment.
3. Fermentation. At this stage, wine yeast multiplies and converts fruit sugars from the grapes into alcohol. Here the wort is separated from the pulp, poured into a working glass container and closed with a stopper with a water seal or a medical glove. You can sweeten your homemade wine at this same step.

Fermentation time

The fermentation of the drink is influenced by many factors - temperature, amount of sugar and yeast activity. Therefore, there is no exact answer to the question of how long homemade grape wine plays. This process may take approximately 30-90 days. Fermentation is divided into three stages:

1. Elementary. Yeast fungi begin to actively reproduce.
2. Stormy. The bacteria finish multiplying, occupying the entire volume of the wort. The first couple of days it actively hisses and foams. How long does the wine ferment during this phase? It can last from 0 to 100 days, depending on the desired strength of the drink.
3. Quiet. The wort calms down and very few bubbles are released. The foam settles, and fermentation occurs in the lower layers. The duration of this phase is determined by the time it takes for the fungi to process all the sugar into alcohol.

Amount of sugar

Approximately 1% alcohol in the finished drink is provided by 2% sugar in the wort. The sugar content of grape varieties common in central Russia rarely exceeds 20%. They will make a drink with a strength of about 6-7%, maximum 10%. In addition, the sweetness of the drink will be zero, and the taste will be sour and astringent. The sugar content of the wort should not exceed 15-20%, otherwise the yeast will stop fermenting.

So how much sugar does grape wine need? The product is added fractionally after the juice tastes sour. For each liter, 50 g of granulated sugar is required. They are diluted in 1-2 liters of drained wort, then sent back to the bottle. This is done once every 3-4 days during the first 2-3 weeks of fermentation. When the juice no longer tastes sour, it means there is already enough sugar and no more need to be added.

Proportions

In the classic version, 10 kg of grapes are taken. If each requires about 100-200 g of sugar, then in total you will need 1-2 kg. In rare cases, water is needed. It is taken at the rate of 500 ml per 1 liter of juice. When finished, the wine is made semi-sweet, sweet or fortified. There is another option - a liqueur drink. The table contains the proportions of homemade grape wine relative to the alcohol and granulated sugar content.

Sweet

The sugar and alcohol content in sweet homemade wine should be between 12-18% and 16-20%. Acidity does not exceed 0.8%. It is better to make this drink from blue grapes or use muscat varieties. Sugar should be added at the rate of 50-100 g per 1 liter of juice. This is at the fermentation stage. Once finished, you can make sweet homemade wine to your liking by adding a little more sugar.

Fortified

According to the traditional recipe, fortified grape wine is prepared at home with the addition of sugar and alcohol or vodka. The strength of the drink will depend on their quantity. By adding fruits or berries to the grape must, you can get different types of fortified homemade wine - vermouth, port or sherry. The proportions for them are approximately as follows:

• grapes - about 6 kg;
• granulated sugar for fermentation - 0.6 kg; for fixing - at the rate of 100 g per liter of wort;
• medical alcohol – 1 l.

To make homemade dry wine with your own hands, you should know that it is made completely without sugar or its amount does not exceed 0.3%. Fructose from the wort is fermented only by the action of yeast. Sugar is not added for this purpose at all. For this reason, dry wines are considered the most natural, tasty and healthy. For their production, grapes are needed with a sugar content of 15-20%. It is better to take the Isabella variety:

• From such grapes a wine of a pleasant ruby ​​color is obtained;
• This variety belongs to the table variety.

Semi-sweet

Homemade semi-sweet wine is especially popular. It is more delicate, pleasant to the taste and has a distinct grape aroma. This drink contains no more than 8% sugar and up to 13% alcohol. The low content of the latter makes this wine ideal for a regular feast. The proportions of the ingredients here are approximately the following: for 1 kg of grapes, about 800 g of sugar and 1.5 liters of water.

Recipe

Before you make homemade wine with your own hands, you need to choose the right grapes. Only ripe fruits are suitable. Unripe ones have a lot of acid, while overripe ones already begin acetic fermentation. Carrion should not be collected, because it has an unpleasant earthy taste. Technical wine grape varieties are suitable for winemaking. Their clusters are not very large, and the berries themselves are small and fit tightly together. Among these varieties are Isabella, Muscat, Riesling, Merlot, Chardonnay and Cabernet. Crystal, Kishmish, Druzhba, Rosinka and Regent are also recommended for home winemaking.

Isabel

• Number of servings: 22 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 72 kcal.
• Cuisine: Russian.

Wine from Isabella grapes is very easy to prepare at home. This variety is unpretentious - the berries are frost-resistant, have a dense structure and pleasant taste. You can even make a white variety from this variety if you use green, unripe fruits. According to this recipe, a fortified drink is prepared, so you will also need medical alcohol.

Ingredients:

• Isabella – 5 kg;
• medical alcohol – 1 l;
• granulated sugar – 0.6 kg.

Cooking method:

1. Sort the grapes, then mash them with your hands or a masher. Transfer the resulting mass into a glass jar.
2. Leave the pulp for 3 days, then add sugar.
3. Next, cover with a lid and leave to ferment in a warm place for 2 weeks.
4. Take thick gauze, fold it in three and strain the drink through it, then send it to a dark place for 2 months.
5. After the specified time, pour alcohol into the container. Leave the preparation for another 2 weeks.
6. Then pour the drink into bottles and place them in a horizontal position for storage.

With water

• Preparation time: 45 days.
• Number of servings: 20 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 96 kcal.
• Purpose: for the holiday table.
• Cuisine: Russian.

Making your own grape wine with the addition of water turns out thin and not so cloying, but no less pleasant in taste. Almond essence gives the drink an unusual aroma. If you don't like this smell, you can add a little vanilla. The technology involves an ordinary glove. It does not allow oxygen into the wort, but releases carbon dioxide through a small hole.

Ingredients:

• wine yeast – 10 g;
• sugar – 400 g;
• grapes – 2 kg;
• water – 3 l;
• almond essence – 1 tsp.

Cooking method:

1. First, sort the grapes, then mash and dilute with filtered water.
2. Next, put in a warm place and leave for 4 days so that the wort separates from the cake.
3. Then strain the juice, squeeze out the liquid from the pulp, and pour everything into a glass container.
4. After squeezing, add half the sugar, almond essence and yeast, mix.
5. Put on a glove with a small hole in the finger on top and leave for 4 days.
6. Take a little wort, add 100 g of granulated sugar to it, pour it back.
7. When the glove stops inflating, remove the sediment using a thin hose.
8. Cover with a nylon lid and let stand for another week.
9. Remove the wine from the sediment again, you can drink it after full maturation after 1 to 12 months.

From grape juice

• Preparation time: 76 days.
• Number of servings: 30 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 133 kcal.
• Purpose: for the holiday table.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty of preparation: easy.

To the surprise of some gourmets, you can make wine at home. Apart from punctuality and patience, nothing is required from you here. But the drink turns out very tasty, and the aroma is simply amazing. The grapes themselves can be used along with the squeezed juice. The proportions of sugar can again be adjusted to your taste, making semi-sweet or sweet dessert wine. As for varieties, it is recommended to use several at once. For example, merlot and cabernet make very tasty wine.

Ingredients:

sugar – 1.5 kg;

grape juice – 5 l.

Cooking method:

1. Place the squeezed juice together with the grapes in a container of suitable size.
2. Leave the mixture in a warm place for 3 days. Stir twice a day.
3. Next, squeeze the mass under a press or by hand, then strain into a glass container, put on a glove with a small hole.
4. Infuse for 40 days in a well-ventilated area.
5. If some of the wort is not included, then add it every 2 days.
6. When carbon dioxide stops coming out, add sugar in the specified amount.
7. Next, filter the drink, bottle it and leave it at a temperature of 11-14 degrees for a month.

Secondary from pulp

• Preparation time: 48 days.
• Number of servings: 20 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 56 kcal.
• Purpose: for the holiday table.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty of preparation: easy.

According to the classic recipe, only the wort is involved in the fermentation process, i.e. The cake that remains after straining is not used for making wine. Although there is a separate recipe for it. Learn how to make a “second wine.” It will not be as rich as a first-class drink. It's a matter of taste - some people even really like this wine. Its aroma is no worse, it just has a different shade. The secondary wine itself from the pulp is obtained with a lower strength.

Ingredients:

• purified water – 5 l;
• dark grape cake – 5 kg;
• sugar – 1 kg.

Cooking method:

1. Transfer the pulp into a clean, dry container.
2. Next, add a mixture of sugar and water.
3. Pour the resulting mixture into 3-liter jars.
4. Put rubber gloves on top of them. Make a small puncture on one of the fingers with a needle.
5. Leave the drink to ferment until the pulp is compressed and loses its original color. This will take about 40-45 days.
6. Next, strain the wort, removing all the cake.
7. Leave the wine for another 3-4 days.
8. If you are satisfied with the taste of the drink, then bottle it. Otherwise, leave it to ferment for another couple of days.

White

• Preparation time: 4 months.
• Number of servings: 15 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 128 kcal.
• Purpose: for the holiday table.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty of preparation: easy.

After studying the recipe for wine from white grapes, you will learn how to prepare a unique drink with exceptional aroma and taste. The process will take several months, so you will have to be patient. But the result will please not only you, but also your guests. Connoisseurs of noble drinks will definitely appreciate this wine. You can adjust the sweetness of the drink yourself. This recipe produces a semi-sweet wine.

Ingredients:

• sugar – 3 kg;
• grapes – 10 kg.

Cooking method:

1. Carefully sort the grapes, remove rotten berries, and put the rest into an enamel bucket.
2. Mash the product thoroughly. When the juice comes out, cover with gauze.
3. Leave for 5 days in a warm place. Stir the contents several times a day with a wooden spatula.
4. Next, drain the pulp in a colander and strain the juice into a glass container, filling it only 75%.
5. Add sugar, put on a glove with several punctures on top, and secure it with an elastic band.
6. After 3 weeks, fermentation will almost be over. At this point you can add more sugar to suit your taste. In this case, leave the drink for another 1-2 weeks.
7. Then strain the juice into bottles, cork them, and send them to the cellar to infuse for 3 months.

Recipes with a glove

• Preparation time: 3 months.
• Number of servings: 12 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 112 kcal.
• Purpose: for the holiday table.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty of preparation: easy.

Homemade wine made from glove grapes is very aromatic. This recipe is used to prepare it for both Lydia and Isabella varieties. More precisely, the juice of this grape is taken. A mixture of elderberry, oak bark and sage gives the drink a special taste. It is added to the bottle with the wort in a gauze bag. At the end of fermentation it is simply taken out, and thanks to this the wine acquires an unusually fragrant aroma.

Ingredients:

• Isabella juice – 0.8 l;
• sage, oak bark, elderberry flowers - to taste;
• granulated sugar – 320 g;
• Lydia grape juice – 1.2 l.

Cooking method:

1. Mash the grapes thoroughly, and after a couple of hours, squeeze them with your hands and strain the juice through cheesecloth into a glass container.
2. Next, dissolve the granulated sugar, and then install the glove with punctures. Leave the drink until it subsides.
3. Then remove the sediment and pour into a clean jar.
4. Insert a gauze bag with additives.
5. Close again and leave for 1 month.
6. Remove the sediment from the drink again and remove the bag with additives.
7. Leave for about 2 more months.

From red grapes

• Preparation time: 73 days.
• Number of servings: 15 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 147 kcal.
• Purpose: for the holiday table.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty of preparation: medium.

The benefits of homemade wine are evident when consumed in moderation. , hemoglobin increases and radioactive substances are removed. Homemade red grapes make the drink stronger, more aromatic and tart. All thanks to the seeds, which contain tannins in large quantities. The wine is bright and fragrant due to the mixing of pigments secreted by the skin with clear juice.

Ingredients:

• red grape variety – 10 kg;
• granulated sugar – 2 kg.

Cooking method:

1. Sort the berries, crush them with a masher or clean, dry hands.
2. Cover with gauze and let stand for three days. Stir the contents periodically.
3. Collect the pulp layer, squeeze it out, and filter the juice itself using gauze. Pour everything into a glass container.
4. Then, over the course of 10 days, gradually introduce all the sugar in portions.
5. Seal the bottle with a punctured pharmacy glove.
6. Send the container to a warm place for 60 days.
7. Once the glove is deflated, you can bottle the juice.
8. Next, store in a cool place.

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