Our fellow citizens sometimes cannot be denied vigilance. The accusation of both domestic and foreign manufacturers in the poor quality of goods and services is a kind of folk hobby... There is a lot of evidence of this in the form of various TV programs. On the one hand, this cannot but arouse respect, but on the other hand, in the place where completely contradictory facts, mixed with paranoia and sometimes low education, collide head-on, delusions are born, from which it is then difficult or completely impossible to get rid of (products with GMOs are one of the loudest examples). Wine, being a fairly popular drink, also did not remain without public attention: the arithmetic average opinion is that there is one fake in all stores. What drinks to qualify as counterfeit is a separate question, but the so-called powder wine.

- Confusion in concepts -

A wide segment of consumers believes that the concepts of "wine material" and "powder wine" are related by kinship. One has only to see the words "dry wine material" on the label, and the thought of chemistry, a surrogate and a conspiracy among winemakers immediately arises. The malnutrition continues to live even after their debunking, so prevention should be carried out regularly: dry wine material is common dry winemade on the same farm, but sent to a completely different place for bottling. Powdered wine is a different song.

- Eureka! -

In search of the roots of powdered wine as a phenomenon, one can stumble upon a patent of a method for the production of grape and fruit-berry wines by fermentation, filed on November 27, 1952 to the Ministry food Industry USSR. The initial motive was to obtain such raw materials that would not deteriorate for a long time and had a compact transportable appearance, in order to then make wine out of it according to the approach mentioned above. First, the juice is filtered, removing large fractions from it. The resulting wort is subjected to heat treatment: it can be spraying on drum dryers, sublimation or other convenient method in a particular case.

- Two reasons to dry -

The manufacturer may either have an interest in maintaining the vitality of the wine yeast that was present in the grape must before drying, or in completely stopping it in order to ferment on the cultured yeast. Based on the task at hand, temperature regime... At the end, we have a concentrate that is packed in containers and briquetted.

- By law and by conscience -

The invention made it possible to realize their winemaking ambitions with a minimum of effort, which shook the very foundations of this noble occupation. While some winemakers extract their product with sweat and blood, others operate on the “just add water” principle. Rather, not water, but yeast, alcohol and flavors... On the other hand, there is also a place for its own ethics: it is enough to indicate on the label “Special wine”, and from a legal point of view, you will honestly inform the consumer that this is a powder product. By the way, the production of concentrate does not know the definition of “substandard”, because not only whole, but also crushed berries are used.

- Taste and color -

The difference between natural products and “bodyagi” begins to show up already on the store shelf - the prices of powdered wine are low to the point of obscenity. Tara also draws a border - winemaking ethics does not allow packaging an excellent product in tetra-packs. Now let's see what's inside. Powdered wine does not inspire gourmets to roll wine across the tongue and palate and search for notes; the note in such a wine - both flavoring, aromatic, and color - is usually one, and it sounds deafeningly loud. The watery consistency and the absence of traces on the glass (the so-called "ladies' legs") will be the final proof that this is a wine "from a bag".

- Memo -

To protect yourself as much as possible from buying powdered wine, it is advised to follow these simple rules:

1. Buy wines only in glass containers;

2. read the label carefully;

3. Look for vintage wines, that is, those with the vintage indicated;

4. choose dry wines - they cannot be made from powder.

- True or fiction? -

Taking into account all of the above, it is necessary to take into account the opinion of some experts who mention powder wine as a folk fiction and put this phrase in quotation marks. There are two arguments in favor of the mythical nature of such a wine, and both speak about the unprofitability of this kind of venture. First, additional production space and capacity are required in order to evaporate the grape must to a powder state. Secondly, the European Union willingly supports the export of wine materials outside the Eurozone with subsidies, which makes the production of wine from foreign material strikingly cheaper than diluting the concentrate, which, we repeat, still needs to spend a certain amount of electricity. However, there are experimenters referring to the experience of buying a dry mixture of dried fruits and berries for the production of red, white and rosé wines, similar in taste to Californian ones, from the Bordeaux region, etc., which leaves the discussion about powdered wine open.

The so-called "" among the people is the evaporated grape must, then diluted with water, alcohol and flavorings. That is, in fact, it is an artificial mixture, but with natural roots, which tastes almost indistinguishable from natural wine. Sometimes even experts are not able to determine where is artificial, those from evaporated dry wort, and where is natural wine. Of course, it is more difficult and more expensive to produce real (natural) wine than to add water, yeast and alcohol to the concentrate. If then there is little acid in the taste - add! little sugar - add a little more, and so on. Wrong taste, let's add a flavor that will be more aromatic than real wine. Thus, you can create the taste that will appeal to the majority of the population (for example Isabella). With this, of course, all vitamins and substances necessary for health are lost.

If such a drink cannot seriously harm, then it will not bring any benefit. You can't call it wine. Many synonyms are used in the literature: "powdered wine", "unnatural wine", "unconventional wine", "artificial wine". Bottles with such a drink should be labeled "special wine". But it is either typed in too small print (so that the consumer does not notice!) Or is completely absent.

The unconventional technology for making "powdered wine" was approved by GOST R51157-98. According to which it was allowed to add flavors, extracts, dyes, sugar, sweeteners, concentrates and alcohol. Of course, there were reasons for the introduction of this GOST. First, they thought about substandard grapes with low sugar content. It could no longer be used to make natural wine, but with the help of new technology, it became possible to introduce this third-rate grape into circulation.

But in practice, everything led to the fact that it became possible to use concentrated wort for making wine. Indeed, this technology has many conveniences:

For many wineries middle lane Russia (which does not have its own vineyards) no longer needs to buy, transport and store wine materials;

The prepared wine mixture had a significantly lower cost compared to natural wine;

It was possible to get a "wine" that does not grow cloudy, does not become covered with a film, does not get sick, like natural wines.

All these factors led to the situation when, by 2003, out of 5 liters of wine drunk per capita in Russia, only one and a half of them were natural wine. Of course, completely unknown, new producers appeared on the market, who were very far from real winemaking. But new technology allowed to produce "wines" anywhere and in any way. And the prices were lower, and the taste was more pleasant, and the storage conditions did not need to be observed. As a result, many Kuban factories producing natural wine were forced to withdraw some brands from production. This happened with almost all famous Russian ports: "Caucasus", "Portweight - 72", "Anapa". Many wineries have reduced their production due to the advent of cheaper and more tradeable "powdered wines". At the same time, our domestic giants of "powder production" flourished.

But this situation could not last long. And in 2003 (from October 1, 2003) the law on the production of non-traditional wines was canceled. By itself, this fact did not fundamentally change the situation: our giants are still working at full capacity and stupefying the head of the consumer with advertising and low prices. They cannot close overnight!

Moreover, artificial wines are unlikely to disappear altogether. Many customers fell in love with these drinks and do not want (horror!) To switch to natural wine. They don't listen to any reasoning, and they keep buying "powder". This is also facilitated by aggressive advertising from large producers of unnatural wine. After all, they do not say that they produce synthetics, but call their products "high-quality Kuban wine."

Wineries of the Krasnodar Territory receive from abroad ready-made wine material, made from natural grape must in Argentina, Chile, Spain, Portugal, less often from other countries. The use of imported wine material is dictated by a number of reasons - firstly, the above-mentioned exporting countries have a high level of agriculture, as a result of which the cost of grapes (and, as a consequence, of its processed products) is low. Secondly, in our country in the last decades of the last century, vineyards were cut down with enthusiasm and fury, trying to overcome drunkenness. And the vine, as you know, gives the first harvest many years after the new planting. It will take at least another 15-2 years before the domestic viticulture reaches the level of the 60-70s. Currently, viticulture is reviving, but, unfortunately, not as fast as we would like. Therefore, while our winemakers are forced to load the existing production facilities with imported wine material.

Imported wine material passes through the factories of the Krasnodar Territory additional processing, stabilization from turbidity of various nature and filtration, after which it is sent to the production of blended wines (more often) or directly to bottling (less often).

Concentrated juice from Argentina and Chile (where it is produced by evaporating natural grape juice under vacuum to reduce the boiling point and as a result of thermal changes in the composition of the product) is also supplied to wineries in Russia and used in technological process... It is used in the technology of special (strong) wines as one of the components of a blend, which is the norm.

But, nevertheless, there are a number of producers who receive grape concentrate in order to dilute it with water (which is prohibited by modern legislation) and send it for fermentation. There are few such manufacturers, but they exist. Let's not poke a finger and call them by name in order to avoid litigation. But there are such manufacturers, including in Krasnodar Territory... Professional winemakers, if I may say so, “wines” are contemptuously referred to as “sticky”.

As before, the share of synthetic wines in the total volume of the Kuban factories is about 30-40 %%. Moreover, this number includes the most popular and beloved by the people. But in fairness, it should be noted that many "powder" wineries simultaneously produce natural wines, albeit in limited quantities.

How to distinguish natural from artificial wine?

1. Buy only bottled wines. Because this is the most the right way avoid counterfeiting.

2. When purchasing wine, carefully read the label. Try to see the phrase "natural wine". If not, then this is a sure sign that you have synthetics (powdered wine) in front of you. Many honest producers indicate on the label that this is a "special wine". This phrase means that the wine is not natural, but made from concentrate.

3. Don't buy semi-sweet and other semi-wines. Dry wine (that is, natural) cannot be made from concentrate.

4. Try to buy wine that has the vintage indicated. It can be aged (up to 1.5 years) or vintage (up to 3 years) wine. Powdered wines cannot be aged or vintage.

5. If you bought wine and did not outward signs could not identify it, then taste it well. Powdered wines are very poor in taste and have no aftertaste. As a rule, these are very sweet drinks. The color may vary, but most of them are not light. Smells from just open bottle can be very tempting. But there is no need to delude oneself: ordinary wine for 2-3 euros cannot have any special smells, it must smell like wine :) Synthetics producers do not skimp on flavorings, and very often an ordinary consumer "bites" on such a simple bait.

But in case you still cannot refuse from your favorite powdered wine, drink it to your health! Just do not forget that there are also natural wines, which are sung by poets and for which wars were started. And synthetics will always remain a pitiful semblance of divine drink, whose name is VINO.

Often inexpensive wine buyers russian-made ask a question - is it not "powder"? Let's find out what this "powder" wine is and what it is eaten with.

Usually "powder" is considered to be a cheap wine released to a little-known general public. russian manufacturer... It is understood that in its production, instead of fermentation of grape must, a certain "wine powder" is used, which is diluted with water with the addition of alcohol. Opinions differ regarding the composition of this powder: according to optimists, "wine powder" is produced by evaporation of grape juice and is generally natural product... Pessimists believe that it is made by mixing sugar, citric acid, food coloring and all kinds of flavors.

How true is this legend and what is it based on?
First, after the collapse of the USSR, most of the wine-growing regions - Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia - found themselves outside the borders of Russia. Although in recent years, domestic viticulture and winemaking has been developing very actively, which is facilitated by government support measures, still wine produced in Russia from grapes grown here covers only about 30% of market needs. Bottled imports account for about the same or slightly less, but imported wines are much more expensive and not affordable for all consumers.

The rest of the market is occupied by wines made in Russia (and according to the law, the place of production alcoholic beverage is considered a bottling line), which are made from imported wine materials purchased from different countries and imported into the country in bulk tanks - in the slang of winemakers, these wine materials are called bulk.

The term "wine material" means dry wine intended for further further processing. In the simplest case, it is simply bottled and put on sale, but it can be blended, i.e. to mix different varieties for a more interesting bouquet, keep in oak barrels or champagne - almost all inexpensive sparkling wine, produced in Russia, are made from bulk.

Most of these wines are produced at little-known wineries located near large cities - during the Soviet industrialization, they were placed closer to consumers and skilled labor, and raw materials could be imported from any region.

Most of these wines are of quite acceptable quality, although complaints about them are still not uncommon. The fact is that bulk, as a rule, is purchased on the spot market, where it will turn up cheaper, one batch from Spain - another from Chile or Moldova. Therefore, there are frequent cases when, when trying to buy a wine he likes, a customer is faced with a drink that is completely different in taste - albeit bottled in exactly the same bottle. On the counter-label, on the reverse side, you can read the inscription in small print: "Made from dry wine material".

To a person far from familiarity with the subtleties wine-making technologies, a certain concentrate powder immediately comes to mind - although at the same time, reading the inscription "dry wine" on the label, he does not at all expect that there will be some "powder" under the cork. This is one of the reasons for the emergence of the legend of "powdered wine".

There is another. In the 90s, in the markets of coastal resort villages in Crimea, on black Sea coast In the Caucasus, in the southern regions of Ukraine, the semi-underground trade in cheap "house wine" in plastic egg bottles was widespread. Sometimes it really was a simple home-made "dry", but very often enterprising traders simply took a dry concentrate popular at that time like "Invite" or "Yuppi" and diluted it with water with the addition of vodka.

The resulting liquid was in no way wine - in modern terms, it was a typical surrogate - but it was moderately sweet, moderately sour and contained alcohol. Among inexperienced vacationers, who were primarily interested in the alcohol content, and not the taste and aroma, these surrogates, due to their cheapness, dispersed with a bang. And the whole local district knew that "Baba Manya drives wine from powder."

Actually, these two very real reasons, bizarrely combined in the mass consciousness, and gave rise to the myth of "powder wine". And to what extent is it possible and realistic to produce wine - real wine, and not a substitute - from any "dry concentrates"? After all, they are used for the production of juices and nectars. concentrated juicesshipped from exotic countries? ..

Firstly, the cost of one liter of imported wine material is about $ 0.6-0.8, or about 40-50 rubles for our money, but in some cases ( low quality, excess harvest, etc.) may be even much lower. There is no economic sense for manufacturers to bother with "evaporation" and subsequent "recovery". The costs of "production" of such wine are reduced in the simplest case to bottling and labeling, and are more than offset even in the lowest-budget segment.

Defective wine material, which has obvious flaws in taste and aroma and is unsuitable for direct bottling, can be purchased even cheaper. To correct the taste, sweeteners (usually ordinary sugar), acidity regulators ( citric acid) and other ingredients. Often, the content of the original wine material in such a drink is only 50% by volume.

The law does not allow the resulting product to be called wine, and it is labeled as " wine drink"- on the shelves of chain stores, such swill can be found in paper bags at a price of about 100 rubles per liter, if not cheaper. It is completely safe for health, however, about any taste need not speak. Such products also find their consumers among hunters for cheap degrees.

At the same time, the level of state control over the alcohol industry in Russia today is extremely high, and none of the legal producers would risk an expensive license for a penny profit. Than to chew with "powders", it is much easier to absolutely legally drive a cheap shmurdyak by writing "wine drink" on the label.

There is one more thing - a technological one. In the process of making wine, during yeast fermentation, not only the natural grape sugar contained in the wort is processed into alcohol, but also many others. chemical processes... As a result, natural wine - whether good or bad - does not taste like grape juice at all. And it is impossible to prepare "wine" by adding water and alcohol to a concentrate of grape juice - no matter whether it is dry or pasty. You can easily verify this for yourself: take a packet of grape juice, add a little vodka there and try it. You will get vodka with grape juice, and the resulting "cocktail" will be completely different from wine.

I love wine. Probably I know little about it, but more strong drinks I prefer wine. No dry, I don't like it, if only for a change. And here dessert wines the very thing.

When purchasing inexpensive Russian-made wine, buyers are often interested in whether it is "powder". Let's figure out where the legend about "powder wine" came from and how much it corresponds to the truth.

Usually "powder" is considered to be a cheap wine produced by a little-known Russian producer. It is understood that during its production, instead of fermentation of grape must, a certain "wine powder" is used, which is diluted with water with the addition of alcohol. Opinions differ regarding the composition of this powder: according to optimists, "wine powder" is produced by evaporation of grape juice and is generally a natural product. Pessimists believe that it is made by mixing sugar, citric acid, food colors and all kinds of flavors.

How true is this legend and what is it based on?

First, after the collapse of the USSR, most of the wine-growing regions - Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia - ended up outside the borders of Russia. Although in recent years, domestic viticulture and winemaking has been developing very actively, which is facilitated by government support measures, still wine produced in Russia from grapes grown here covers only about 30% of market needs. Bottled imports account for about the same or slightly less, but imported wines are much more expensive and not affordable for all consumers.

The remaining market share is occupied by Russian-made wines (and according to the law, the bottling line is considered the place of production of an alcoholic beverage), which are made from imported wine materials purchased in different countries and imported into the country in bulk tanks - in the slang of winemakers, these wine materials are called bulk.

The term "wine material" means dry wine intended for further further processing. In the simplest case, it is simply bottled and put on sale, but it can be blended, i.e. mix different varieties to get a more interesting bouquet, mature in oak barrels or champagnize - almost all inexpensive sparkling wines produced in Russia are made from bulk.

Most of these wines are produced at little-known wineries located near large cities - during the Soviet industrialization they were placed closer to consumers and skilled labor, and raw materials could be imported from any region.

Most of these wines are of quite acceptable quality, although complaints about them are still not uncommon. The fact is that bulk, as a rule, is purchased on the spot market, where it will turn up cheaper, one batch from Spain - another from Chile or Moldova. Therefore, there are frequent cases when, when trying to buy a wine he likes, a customer comes across a drink that is completely different in taste - albeit bottled in exactly the same bottle. On the counter-label, on the reverse side, you can read the inscription in small print: "Made from dry wine material."

A person who is far from familiarizing himself with the intricacies of wine-making technologies immediately comes up with a certain concentrate powder - although at the same time, reading the inscription "dry wine" on the label, he does not at all expect that there will be some "powder" under the cork. This is one of the reasons for the emergence of the legend of "powdered wine".

There is another. In the 90s, in the markets of coastal resort villages in the Crimea, on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, in the southern regions of Ukraine, semi-underground trade in cheap "house wine" in plastic egg bottles was very widespread. Sometimes it really was a simple home-made "dry", but very often enterprising traders simply took a dry concentrate popular at that time like "Invite" or "Yuppi" and diluted it with water with the addition of vodka.

The resulting liquid was in no way wine - in modern terms, it was a typical surrogate - but it was moderately sweet, moderately sour and contained alcohol. Among inexperienced vacationers, who were primarily interested in the alcohol content, and not the taste and aroma, these surrogates, due to their cheapness, dispersed with a bang. And the entire local district knew that "Baba Manya drives wine from powder."

Actually, these two very real reasons, bizarrely combined in the mass consciousness, and gave rise to the myth of "powder wine". And to what extent is it possible and realistic to produce wine - real wine, not a substitute - from any "dry concentrates"? After all, concentrated juices delivered from exotic countries are used for the production of juices and nectars? ..

First, the cost of one liter of imported wine material is about $ 0.6-0.8, or about 40-50 rubles for our money, but in some cases (low quality, excess harvest, etc.) below. There is no economic sense for manufacturers to bother with "evaporation" and subsequent "recovery". The costs of "production" of such a wine are reduced in the simplest case to bottling and labeling and are more than offset even in the lowest-budget segment.

Defective wine material, which has obvious flaws in taste and aroma and is unsuitable for direct bottling, can be purchased even cheaper. Sweeteners (usually plain sugar), acidity regulators (citric acid) and other ingredients are added to correct the taste. Often, the content of the original wine material in such a drink is only 50% by volume.

The law does not allow the resulting product to be called wine, and it is labeled as a "wine drink" - on the shelves of chain stores, such swill can be found in paper bags at a price of about 100 rubles per liter, if not cheaper. It is completely safe for health, but there is no need to talk about any taste. Such products also find their consumers among the hunters for cheap degrees.

At the same time, the level of state control over the alcohol industry in Russia today is extremely high, and none of the legal producers would risk an expensive license for a penny profit. Than to chew with "powders", it is much easier to absolutely legally drive a cheap shmurdyak by writing "wine drink" on the label.

There is one more thing - a technological one. In the process of making wine, in the course of yeast fermentation, not only the natural grape sugar contained in the wort is converted into alcohol, but also many other chemical processes. As a result, natural wine - good or bad - doesn't taste like grape juice at all. And it is impossible to prepare "wine" by adding water and alcohol to a concentrate of grape juice - no matter whether it is dry or pasty. You can easily verify this for yourself: take a packet of grape juice, add a little vodka there and try it. You will get vodka with grape juice, and the resulting "cocktail" will be completely different from wine.

So, how can we easily and without problems make a perfectly decent wine at home? Consider the basic (key) rules, if followed, the result will be good

Most important forsummer residents, gardeners, wine growers, the topic is how to make wine yourself. Moreover, it is already the beginning of September, and soon it is time to start doing it. Why this topic is so important, I think everyone understands. But I still can't resist not to say a few more words about this. The fact is that the wines that can be bought in stores (except for the most expensive ones) are not wines at all. These are some drinks made from a special powder, dyes, flavors, and with the addition of alcohol. And to healing properties they have nothing to do with real grape (or even fruit and berry) wine. Real, but ordinary and inexpensive wines you can still buy where in large quantities technical grape varieties are grown, from which they are produced, that is, in the south (in the Crimea, in Moldova, in the south of Ukraine and Russia, etc.). And even then, lately it is more and more difficult to do it - the "powder" gets there too. And for this reason, there is only one thing left - to make the wine ourselves. And, even if it turns out to be not quite perfect for you, it will still be real wine,and it will be incomparably better than the purchased powder.

So, how can we easily and without problems make a perfectly decent wine at home?

Let's consider the basic (key) rules, if followed, the result will be good.

What to make wine from? What raw materials? Naturally, the best way are grapes. It is especially good if these are technical grapes (wine). Technical grades contain more sugar than table foods, and high sugar content is the most essential condition to receive good wine... It is sugar wine yeast processed into alcohol. If the grapes are not sweet enough, you will have to add regular sugar... This, of course, degrades the quality of the wine, but, anyway, it will be an excellent house wine. The hotter the summer, the more sugar in the grapes, the better the wine will turn out. Therefore,

connoisseurs demand wine "such and such a year" in restaurants. For homemade wine even such widespread non-covering grape varieties as Lydia, Isabella, etc. are excellent. Therefore, if such grapes grow in your country house, then this is an excellent raw material for making wine. If there are no grapes at all (although this is a mess for giving), then other sweet and juicy fruits and berries such as plums, cherry plums, raspberries, etc. (you can take a mixture of them, and then you get a blended wine). Just then you will have to add more sugar and water, since the acidity of other berries and fruits is higher, and the juice is less than that of grapes. In the future, in this article, for the sake of clarity, we will assume that we make wine from grapes, although this is not so important.

Where to get wine yeast? No problem, you don't need to take them anywhere, since they are always on the surface of grapes (as well as other berries and fruits). Only one condition! Collect

berries are needed in dry weather, and so that before that there has been no rain for at least a few days, and better a week... Why is it clear, right? The rain just washes away all that yeast from their surface. And in dry, warm weather, new yeast will appear within a few days. And for the same reason, the collected bunches should never be washed! Even if they are dirty! The dirt will eventually settle and go away, so it's okay.

Following the most important question - observance of the temperature regime during fermentation. The temperature should be between 18 - 23 degrees. If the temperature is above 23 degrees, then along with wine yeast, which produces alcohol, microbes that produce vinegar will be active. And thus, the wine will become too sour, or even completely turn into vinegar. If the temperature is below 18 degrees, then fermentation will go slower, and the wine may even get sick. There are many diseases in wine, and we will not list them all here, but we must

just understand that they develop when the temperature regime deviates from the norm, when microbes get into the wine from the outside, as well as when it comes into contact with air.

Therefore, the utensils for making wine must be clean.

And the absence of direct contact with air is another essential condition for obtaining good and healthy wine. But, you should not be very scared of all this. If all these conditions are met perfectly, then your wine will be perfect. If everything did not work out perfectly, then the wine will turn out to be a little worse. But, anyway, it will be real natural wine. So that it

completely ruin it, you have to do it all the wrong way.

Grape seeds and skins enhance the taste and aroma of the wine, so it is best to leave them in the early stages of fermentation.

The excess acidity of the wine can be reduced by adding water. Although, of course, within certain limits.

Well, that's all the basic rules for making good wine at home.

And now, knowing them, let's move on to the specific process of its manufacture.

We must try to harvest the grapes

so as to comply with rules 2 (dry) and 3 (no longer hot). Of course, if you have the conditions to ensure the required temperature of 18-23 degrees in any weather, then you can collect it in the heat. For example, we do not have such an opportunity, we make wine in a city apartment, and therefore we collect grapes when the temperature on the street does not exceed 20-23 degrees. We usually have this towards the end of September. So, the grapes were harvested, but not washing it in any case (rule 3!).

Prepare a suitable container in which the pulp (crushed berries) will ferment, that is, wash, and wipe dry. A large (for several buckets) enameled (this is mandatory, in no case aluminum, zinc, steel, etc.) saucepan, bucket, etc. is ideal for this. And for the cause. I am, for example, confused

grapes so. I sit on the sofa in front of the TV. Nearby on the floor are buckets (we have plastic) with dry bunches of grapes, a trash can (for torn bunches, leftover leaves, etc.), and a large enamelled pan for the pulp. On the stool there is a small enamel saucepan for 3-5 liters. In the hands of the usual "crush for mashed potatoes." Better wooden. I pick the berries from the bunches into a small saucepan, fill it by about 1/3 (if more, it is inconvenient to crush), and to the point. So, to crush all the berries. It turns out the pulp. I pour it into a large pot, and then the same thing is repeated: I cut off, confuse, pour out, etc. Three to four buckets of grapes are processed faster than the next episode of a TV series ends.

Cover a large pan with the pulp tightly with gauze or a light cloth and tighten it around with some kind of rubber band so that there are no cracks and it does not touch the pulp. This is important since the fruit midge

starts up very quickly, and then you will not drive it away from the pulp. You can cover the top with a lid and put it in a secluded place. It is important to observe the specified temperature regime: 18 - 23 degrees. (at night it is possible and less, but during the day not more). If it's cool or draft, then you can cover with a blanket. If, on the contrary, it is too warm, we put it in a draft, etc. In general, the better we provide this, the better for the wine.

At least twice a day (in the morning and in the evening), the pulp must be mixed well, since its upper layer is in contact with air, and harmful microbes can start in it (see rule 5).

Already on the 2nd day, the pulp will begin to ferment vigorously, everything will be in gas bubbles (this is carbon dioxide) and foam. On the 3rd, maximum on the 5th day juice (wort)

separates from the pulp is already much better than at the very beginning. So it's time to squeeze it out and pour the wort into a bottle. It is not worth keeping the pulp in a saucepan for more than 5 days, after all, this is unnecessary contact with air, and the wine has already received enough aroma from the seeds and skins during this time (see rule 6).

And now we simply squeeze the wort out of the pulp and pour it into prepared clean bottles. It is best to use large 10, 15, or 20 L bottles with a narrow neck. But if they are not there, you can use ordinary three-liter cans. We have a couple of 20-liter bottles, but I feel that we still need to buy. The bulk of the wort is squeezed out quite easily (through a colander with cheesecloth), and the rest of the pulp is wrapped in cheesecloth, put on a large colander, and on

a saucepan or bowl, and let it drain for a few more hours (you can leave it overnight). The reward will be an additional liter - one and a half wine.

And now the wort is already in the bottles. Only pour the wort into a bottle no more than 2/3 - 3/4, as fermentation continues and the wort will rise. At this time, a shutter is usually placed: a hole is made in the bottle cork, into which a cambric (flexible transparent tube) with a diameter of 4-7 mm is tightly inserted, the other end of which is inserted into a regular water bottle (the end is below the water level). Then, during the fermentation of the wort, the resulting gases will be able to escape through this tube into the water, and nothing will come back when fermentation decreases. This is important to comply with rule 5 - no contact with air. Another way is to put on

bottle a rubber medical glove. It will first inflate and then deflate, and also acts as a shutter. If you use three-liter cans, then there are special closure lids for them. A very simple and handy thing. Water is poured directly into the recess in the lid, and the cap put on top allows gas to escape from the can through the water, and nothing will go back (see photo below). But for large bottles with a narrow neck, I have not yet seen such closure caps. It's a pity ... But, in principle, the shutter can not be installed at all, but simply loosely cover the neck of the bottle with a lid, at least at the beginning of fermentation, while it is violent. The fact is that, as already mentioned, during the fermentation of the wort, carbon dioxide is released. And it, as you know, is heavier than air, and therefore, settling down, shields the wine from it. If you bring a burning match to the neck of the bottle and it goes out, then the bottle is filled with carbon dioxide, and there is no air there and close. And the shutter, therefore, is not needed yet.

At first (for several days, and sometimes even weeks), a rather vigorous fermentation takes place. Then it decreases and goes into quiet fermentation... This means that the sugar is over, and the wine yeast has nothing to "eat". We taste the wine. If you are satisfied with the strength of the wine, then, in principle, do nothing

nevermind. We are waiting for another 2-3 weeks, or a little more, until the fermentation is completely over, the wine will cease to be carbonated, it will clarify, and a sediment will fall on the bottom of the bottle, and you can already pour it into bottles or jars for storage and use. But, if the wine is rather weak (as it is, most likely at the beginning it will be), then it must be fed with sugar in order to continue fermentation. In general, one must remember that with simple fermentation of the wort, a wine with a strength of more than 12% cannot be obtained. The fact is that the alcohol produced by wine yeast during fermentation is a waste of their own vital activity when they "eat" sugar. And for this reason, when the amount of this waste (alcohol) becomes too large (more than 12%), then it is probably somehow already unpleasant for them to "sit up to their ears" in all this, and, apparently, their "appetite" "Disappears". Therefore, all fortified wines are obtained only by "fixing" the wine, that is, by adding alcohol to it. So that,

you can, in principle, do so. But I, for example, prefer dry and semi-sweet wines without fortification, since the alcohol that you add is unlikely to be real grape alcohol, which means that the quality of such wine will no longer be the same.

And therefore, if fermentation is almost over and the taste of sugar is no longer felt, and the strength is still insufficient, then add sugar. I usually do thick and warm (but not hot) sugar syrup and pour it into a bottle. Usually, the wine immediately "boils", so the yeast is "happy" with the new feed. How much sugar should you add? It is impossible to say for sure, it all depends on the state of the wine, and on what you want to get. In order not to be mistaken, it is better to add several times, but little by little. For example, 30-50 g of sugar diluted in 20-30 g of water ( thick syrup) for 1 liter of wine. And if the wine is sour, then the amount of water can be increased. As a result,

You can gradually bring the strength to the cherished 12%, and at the same time, there will be no free sugar in the wine at all, that is, dry wine will turn out, or it will remain, and you will get a semi-sweet or sweet (but not fortified) wine. Achieving the maximum strength of wine (12%) is also necessary because it is better and longer stored this way.

When the vigorous fermentation ends, you can add wine from other bottles so that the bottles with wine are almost full (there is less area of \u200b\u200bcontact with air in the narrow neck). And here a shutter is already needed. After 2-3, sometimes 4 weeks, quiet fermentation will end, the wine will brighten and become transparent, and a sediment several cm thick will form at the bottom. And now you need to be very careful not to shake up this sediment, and not to grab it from the bottle, pour the wine into bottles,

other banks, etc.

Pouring over in the classic way - using a flexible tube (the same transparent cambric that is used for the water seal). Very carefully, so as not to shake up the sediment, we put the bottle on some elevation: a chair, or a table. Below it should be installed containers into which we pour (their necks should be below the bottom of the bottle). In order not to capture the sediment from the bottom when pouring, it is better to immediately make a "overflow device". For example, I make it like this: I thread the overflow tube to a wooden or plastic stick, the length of which is slightly longer than the height of the bottle, so that one end of it is approximately at the level of the lower end of the stick (this tube

tries to bend all the time, but the wand will not give her this). Then we put a stick with a wound tube on the side of the bottle so that the end does not reach a sediment of several mm, and from above, at the level of the edge of the bottle neck, we attach a large clothespin to the stick. And now, if you lower this “construction” into the bottle, the clothespin will lie on the neck, and the lower end of the tube will be slightly above the sediment level. Which is what is required. Well, then it’s simple. We pulled the wine out of the tube with our mouth until it flows (naturally, into our mouth), and then quickly lower it into one of the overflow containers. Wine begins to flow into this container. When one container is full, we rearrange the end of the tube to another (just do not raise it above the level of the wine in the bottle, otherwise it will stop flowing). And so on until the end, until we pour out all the wine from all the bottles. Naturally, all of these

the containers must then be hermetically closed so that air does not penetrate into them. We close three-liter cans nylon capsintended for preservation, they are preheated (as in the case of conventional preservation). We cork wine bottles with their own corks.

I highly recommend sticking labels on bottles and / or cans with wine, on which to write the harvest year, grape variety, and, if possible, briefly the entire history of its production: when the pulp was made, when the wort was squeezed, how much sugar and when was added, what was the average temperature, when poured. This is very helpful information for the future. And then, when tasting and treating guests, there will be something to speculate about.

If the wine has not completely fermented, that is, it is still slightly "carbonated", then it can then pull the cork out of the bottle, or even break it, especially if you keep it not in the cellar, but when room temperature... In this case, the wine can be pasteurized to kill the remnants of living yeast, and completely stop any fermentation. Wine pasteurization is done in hot water at a temperature of about 70 degrees in

within 30 - 40 minutes. But I prefer, it is good to ferment it in bottles, and do without pasteurization (after all, pasteurization spoils beneficial features real wine). At the same time, we bottled wine mainly three-liter cans, close with nylon lids for canning, and safely store in the apartment even in summer. And nothing has ever exploded yet.

When can you start drinking wine? Basically, right after bottling. But if it stands after the spill for at least a couple of months, then it will ripen better and become tastier. We usually open the first bottle of our wine of the current year not earlier than the New Year.

How long can homemade wine be kept? If in the cellar, then

How to make your own wine. And here is the result (on top of the cans there is a "overflow device" - a tube tied to a stick, the distance from the bottle neck to the sediment level is marked with a clothespin)

several years, and it will only get better. In general, the stronger and sweeter the wine, and the lower the storage temperature (but, of course, it must be positive), the longer the wine is stored. But, unfortunately, in this area I have only theoretical knowledge, since storing wine longer than a year somehow so far we have not succeeded, since for some reason it always ends earlier.

Well that's all, friends. As you can see, there is nothing difficult in making your own homemade wine!

And therefore, let's raise our glasses to our Health, our Successes, and the culture of drinking!