How to make wine from white grapes at home. Wine from green grapes How to make wine from grapes recipe

Alexander Gushchin

I can’t vouch for the taste, but it will be hot :)

Content

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 grape juice very sour and even tightens 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 How to make a 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 processes fruit sugar from grapes to 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 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

By 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 grape must, you can get different types 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, but overripe ones already begin to vinegar 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 send to a warm place to ferment 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 festive 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.

Having studied 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. Blood pressure is normalized, 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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Homemade grape wine - simple recipes. Technology for making grape wine at home

There are dishes that women are more likely to succeed in, but there are purely masculine joys of gastronomic existence, where men have no equal! Yes, we are talking about winemaking, because only a passionate man can produce homemade wine from grapes, the recipe of which becomes his pride! A woman can only be “on hand” here - to prepare the containers, and to encourage the man and praise him for his skills and enthusiasm!

We will share with you the classic technology for making homemade wine from grapes, the recipe of which will allow even a novice winemaker to be proud of the result. So let's get started!

Terms

Mezga- This is the initial, intermediate product of winemaking technology. It is a mass of crushed grapes, with or without ridges. The ridges should be selected, otherwise the wine may become bitter.

Wort- This is the unclarified juice of grapes released from the pulp. This is, in fact, young wine that has not yet begun to ferment.

Fermentation- the process of reproduction of wine yeast, which converts fruit sugar in berries into alcohol, and as a result we get wine!

Which grape variety is the best?

To produce homemade grape wine, technical (wine) grape varieties should be used. The clusters of these varieties are small in size, the berries are small and tightly adjacent to each other.

These are varieties such as Merlot, Isabella, Cabernet, Muscat, Sauvignon, Golubok, Chardonnay, Riesling and others.

Preparatory work

Harvested or purchased grapes should not be washed, since wine yeast lives in abundance on the surface of the berries. Grape harvests harvested after heavy rainfall are not suitable for the production of natural wines for the same reason. And don’t be afraid of dust on the surface of the bunches either - it will settle, and during the fermentation process the juice will clean itself.

The grapes must certainly be freed from atmospheric moisture and be dry - this is an important condition for high-quality homemade grape wine, the recipe for which we are studying. However, this applies to any of the recipes for making wine at home!

We separate the berries from the ridges, selecting moldy, dry and spoiled ones - they can spoil the taste of the drink. Now we need to crush the raw material to a pulp state, and it is more convenient to do this in parts if we mash the grapes with an ordinary potato masher.

You need to knead carefully so that each berry releases all the juice.

If winemaking promises to become your hobby, then it is justified to purchase a special crusher. For a small amount of wine material, you can also use a meat grinder.

Homemade grape wine recipe

Stage I

Pour the resulting mass of pulp into a large prepared container - a wooden or polyethylene barrel, or enamel pan, considering that it only needs to be filled 2/3 full. Cover the container with a cotton cloth and secure it around the circumference of the dish.

Fermentation temperature conditions: 18-23°C. If the temperature is higher, the quality of the final product will suffer or even vinegar fermentation will begin, which will turn the wort into vinegar.

Temperatures below 18°C ​​will slow down the fermentation process, which may not even begin at this temperature.

Experienced winemakers advise: if you brought grapes from fresh air with a temperature of 10-15 ° C, then the grape bunches should warm up to the temperature of the living room.

You can't even start squeezing them until they get warm.

Leave the container with grape pulp alone for 3-5 days. The very next day, rapid growth of yeast bacteria begins, accompanied by fermentation.

The wort begins to actively separate, and the pulp begins to collect on the surface of the liquid mass, which is helped by the active release of carbon dioxide. This risen pulp must be mixed with the must more than once a day, otherwise the pulp will peroxidize and spoil the future wine.

Many winemakers use only freshly squeezed juice to make homemade grape wine, and throw away the skins and seeds. But to obtain a fragrant drink with a beautiful rich color, professional winemakers will never give up pulp, which gives the wine a noble aftertaste!

Stage II

After the prescribed 3-5 days, squeeze out the pulp - first through a colander, then through several layers of unbleached gauze. Now, for subsequent fermentation, pour the wort into a large glass container to three-quarters of the volume and tightly close the stopper with a straw.

If we leave the pulp, then we skip the previous step.

This tube for removing carbon dioxide is called a water seal, which protects the wort from oxygen and souring. We lower the tube with one end into the wine, the other into liter jar or a glass of water.

At the same stage, we adjust the strength of homemade grape wine. It depends on the amount of fructose in the berry and the amount of sugar that should be added during the fermentation process. The grape varieties growing in our countries do not contain fructose above 20%, and therefore it is necessary to add the missing sugar. Otherwise, we will get dry, sour wine.

Add sugar in doses: 200-250 g of sugar per 1 liter of wort. To do this, you need to pour a little juice, heat it and dissolve sugar in it, and then pour it into a common container and securely close it with a stopper.

In general, grape must ferments without pulp for approximately 21-30 days at room temperature. During the fermentation process, yeast settles to the bottom, the wine becomes lighter and gradually gains density, and the release of carbon dioxide stops.

Stage III

We separate the sediment from the clarified wort: by draining (through a straw, lowering the second container below the container with wine). If you can’t drain it carefully, then strain the wine through several more layers of gauze.

Checking the sweetness. If you like dry wine, you don't need to add sugar. If you prefer sweet wine, then add sugar, remembering to stir it in the wine until completely dissolved.

Pour into prepared dark glass containers and seal loosely so that the carbon dioxide still released can find its way out.

Stage IV Stage V

This stage of winemaking at home varies, because... Every master has his own opinion. We are talking about sterilizing unripe grape wine.

Some winemakers believe that wine should ripen naturally for several months and should not be disturbed. For natural ripening, you need to install water seals for each bottle and place it in a cool and dark place until the fermentation of the wine from the grapes has completely stopped.

Maturation usually takes at least 2-3 months, during which the wine is drained several times from the resulting sediment.

Another part of winemakers insists on sterilizing bottles of wine material and further maturing it in tightly sealed dark glass containers.

How to do this according to this recipe?

1. We pour the wine into bottles, loosely cork them, wrap them with any cloth and place them in a tank of water (it should reach the shoulders of the bottle).
2. We lower a thermometer into one of the bottles and sterilize it until the temperature of the wine in the bottle rises to 60 degrees. This completes the sterilization process.

During the sterilization process, wine yeast is completely destroyed, thereby making further fermentation impossible. In this case, the bottles in the water are not tightly closed with stoppers - to allow carbon dioxide to escape.

At the end of sterilization, seal the bottles tightly. Leave to cool in conditions room temperature, and then take it out to a cool place for storage.

Wine material that has undergone sterilization is perfectly clarified, matures efficiently, and the wine is distinguished by a velvety softness of taste, with a magnificent aftertaste. Drink of the gods! But even after sterilization, it must be “drained from the sediment” several times.

Wine with the addition of water and wine yeast (video)

Homemade grape wine, the recipes for which we have reviewed in detail, can be stored for up to 10 years at a temperature of 10-15 degrees.

I love holidays, because this is a very good opportunity to gather all my family and friends at one table. Sit and talk about what happened in our lives during the time that we didn’t see each other. It is my wife’s responsibility to set the festive table with all sorts of goodies, but all that remains for me is to treat the guests delicious wine, which I do with my own hands, and have been doing for quite a long time. I know quite a few ways and variations of preparing this homemade drink, and they all received quite a lot of positive reviews. But, not so long ago, a friend of mine told me a recipe for wine made from green grapes at home. Without thinking twice, I decided to make this wine too. You know, it turned out quite unusual and tasty. Homemade grape wine has a very pleasant aroma and unusual delicate taste. When I put this wine on the table, it immediately attracted the attention of the guests with its divine aroma. After the end of the feast, everyone came up to me asking me to share the method of preparing this masterpiece. So I decided to tell you the wine recipe. By the way, you can prepare a chic one based on it. And don't forget that drinking too much alcohol is bad for your health!
Ingredients:
- 600 grams of green grapes;
- 185 grams of sugar.

How to cook with photos step by step

Now I begin to describe the cooking process itself. So, first I pick the grapes and put them in a bowl.




After this, I crush the grapes well with my hands, as if squeezing out as much juice as possible from each berry.




I pour the resulting mass into a jar along with the seeds.






I cover the jar with gauze (I make sure that it is without a “medical smell”; if it is still present, then I definitely wash the gauze and then use it).




I leave the jar for four days.
After that, I strain the grape juice through a colander and throw away the skins.




Then I pour the juice into a jar, add sugar, put on a glove and leave it in this state for at least a month.














This is the wine we got after a month.



It turns out great and

Surely, many lovers of good wine have at least once in their lives had the idea of ​​making this drink on their own, but only a few decide to implement it. Some are afraid of inexperience, others try unsuccessful recipes or simply violate the cooking technology, relying on luck.

And it’s completely in vain, because step by step recipe- this is the basis of the basics, which, with due attention, will give you excellent grape wine created at home. The process of preparing it is quite simple, but labor-intensive, so our main tool is attentiveness. This is a real assistant at each stage of creating wine, with which everything will go “like clockwork” even for pioneers!

Don’t forget that the history of winemaking goes back thousands of years and dates back to the Neolithic era, because it was then – more than 9 thousand years ago – that Stone Age people first tried to make wine from grapes and other berries.

Moreover, they managed to master this art so well that wine artifacts of antiquity are still being found by our contemporaries: the famous wine, which was made in 4000 BC, was discovered in 2010 in one of the caves of Armenia (and this is only one of dozens of cases). Go for it too - everything will definitely work out!

A little excitement before the “fight”: mass production of various grape wines, which is carried out by thousands of factories around the world, will never compare with the taste of a homemade grape drink. Fresh, with an incomparable aroma and a bright play of natural shades - it will definitely not give way to store-bought competitors on your table!

Wine from grapes will turn out pleasant from any type of berry - both sweet and with pronounced sourness, so the question of choosing future raw materials is unlimited. Many winemakers even experiment by mixing different grape varieties, since this only benefits the taste.

Varieties like “Druzhba”, “Stepnyak” or “Saperavi” are considered the most popular due to the abundant sugar content in their composition, which makes the taste of the drink more rich and sweet. Competing with them are “Isabella” and “Lydia” - they have an unusual taste that is difficult to confuse with any other variety. True, they contain a little less sugar, so the amount in the recipe will be higher.

The ranking of grape varieties is topped by names such as Chardonnay, Merlot, Aligote or Pinot Blanc. The moderate amount of sugars and pliable pulp of these berries allow you to get the maximum volume of juice without much effort. However, if you follow the preparation recipes step by step, each variety produces abundant liquid.

An important detail: wine made from table grapes does not differ in taste from drinks made from technical varieties. The key difference between them is the purpose, which is determined by the structure of the berry itself.

Dining rooms are distinguished by their large size, external aesthetics, have elasticity and can withstand transportation well, so more often than not they – beautiful ones – are eaten fresh. Technical varieties are always small, their appearance is not very marketable, and the berries themselves are easily crushed during harvesting.

Technical stages of home winemaking

Wine from grapes of all varieties can be prepared at home using a simple recipe:

• 10 kg of grapes;
• 50-150 g of sugar per 1 liter of juice.

The proportions of sugar are average, since each winemaker changes the amount according to his own taste - some like it sweeter, others prefer more restrained notes. Too much or too little will not affect the technology, so feel free to move the boundaries and adjust the sweetness of the wine according to your feelings, observing simple rules(we’ll talk about their importance below).

Now let’s briefly outline the entire scope of work and break down point by point how to prepare wine correctly:

• prepare the necessary equipment;
• prepare and process grapes;
• get juice, examine it;
• prepare the wort efficiently;
• leave for vigorous fermentation;
• pour the drink, leave for quiet fermentation;
• leave for maturation and aging;
• pour into containers and store.

Wine, made step by step and in a timely manner at each stage, will delight you with a pleasant taste and will become a welcome addition to dinner. And now from words to action!

Preparing tools and utensils for work

Prepare a large container made of glass or wood of any species that will accommodate the entire portion of grapes. You can also use clay dishes or simple enamel basins; the most important thing is to exclude any contact of the berries with uncoated metal objects (iron bowls, pots, etc.).

Literally 15 minutes are enough for the juice to begin an irreversible reaction with alcohol, so in the best case, the wine from the grapes will lose its taste, and in the worst, it will completely deteriorate. If you don’t have a suitable container at home, use food-grade plastic containers - this is a last resort, but it will provide protection from the reaction.

In order for a wine made with your own hands to please you with an excellent result, preference should be given to glass. This is the optimal material for fermentation, which does not interact at all with what it was filled with. If the choice fell on wooden barrels, then they must be washed and fumigated with sulfur (other disinfection methods are ineffective here).

Traditional trampling of raw materials for wine

Carefully ensure that your hands, every object and container are perfectly clean and dry. It is advisable to clean all equipment with soda or neutral dishwashing detergent, and then rinse thoroughly under running water. Wipe dry with a cotton cloth and leave for 10 minutes to dry completely. This way, homemade grape wine will receive a reliable shield against bacteria and souring.

Choose available tools for extracting juice from stainless steel. These can be meat grinders or juicers, in which the press parts are made of high-quality materials. If you prefer to squeeze the juice by hand, wear sterile gloves on your hands (they are sold in every pharmacy). The second method is more successful, since this way the seeds will not be crushed, giving the wine a bitter taste.

By the way, in Moldovan villages the juice is traditionally extracted with feet, trampling the berries with bare feet. It doesn't look appetizing, but the wine turns out excellent!

We collect and prepare grapes for processing

Wine made from grapes requires exceptionally ripe berries, and for dessert wines even slightly overripe ones, since they contain more sugar. It is necessary to collect bunches in dry weather to prevent the appearance of moisture. Throw away spoiled or unripe grapes without regret, since they have no benefit, but they can significantly spoil the taste.

Process immediately after harvest or within 2 days after. This way your raw materials will retain the maximum amount of juice and sweetness, and the withering process will not be taken by surprise.

If grapes are purchased in a store or market, do not wash the fruits, as their quality will noticeably decrease. Wild yeast, which is concentrated on the surface of the fruit and is necessary for fermentation, will be washed away with water and fermentation will be at risk (this also applies to the recipe for making homemade wine with a base of special wine yeast).

Let's move on to extracting grape juice

First you need to decide how you want to prepare grape wine – “white” or “red”. The name of each technique reflects the color of the drink and the type of berries that go into production.

The basis of the “red” is the fermentation of the wort on the pulp or skin, due to which the drink becomes aromatic, very bright and saturated with antioxidants. Fermentation occurs due to natural yeast. The basis of “white” is the fermentation of pure juice with minimal fermentation on the pulp (no more than 10-12 hours), as well as the use of wine yeast or ChKD (in winemaking - pure yeast cultures).

Let's start chopping the grapes. You can crush it with wooden masher, spoons, clean hands or even feet (the main thing is the result, and the appetite will come during tasting!). In the case of making grape wine using ChKD, after grinding, add “Pyrosulfite” to the raw material.

The special powder has antioxidant properties and also blocks the proliferation of fungi, bacteria and other fermentation pests. On average, this is 25 mg of the substance per 1 kg of grapes. Here you need to look at the quality of the berries: if they have been waiting for a long time to be processed and their appearance has deteriorated, increase the dose up to 50 mg. For homemade wort using the “white” method, the calculation is as follows: from 70 to 100 mg per 1 kg of raw materials.

Afterwards, it is necessary to add wine yeast to the grapes, since “Pyrosulfite” is rich in sulfur substances, which neutralize the effect of wild yeast. In case there is “sulfur” in stock, but it was not possible to buy CHKD, make a regular starter 5 days before the start of processing (a “miniature” wort is prepared from 1 kg of berries and then sent to the main container).

Let's return to grapes with natural yeast. Place carefully chopped berries and juice into glass containers with a wide neck (if there is no glass, take stainless steel or plastic containers). We fill the container ¾ full so that the wine cannot “escape” during the process.

Cover the dishes with a clean gauze cloth, place them in a dark place and leave to ferment for 3-5 days. Monitor the ambient temperature: +25-+28 °C for red wines, +16+22 °C for white wines (lowering the temperature will stop the yeast from working).

You will have to visit the wort daily 2-3 times a day. The pulp that will collect on the surface must be knocked down with a wooden spatula. This measure will prevent the development of mold, which can form very quickly under fermentation conditions. Primary fermentation can optionally be increased from 5 to 14 days if you want to get a more tart taste and richness.

Preparing must - the basis of grape wines

The main challenge here is the level of sugar and acidity. It is very difficult to determine these indicators at home, since you will need a hydrometer - a special measuring device. Relying on summary tables for varieties that contain information about sugar content is of no practical use, since it is important to take into account not only the variety, but also the climate in which the grapes grew. But there is a simple and very sure way out: try the juice. The evaluation criterion is pleasant sweetness without cloying notes.

So, add sugar. We do this gradually, without filling the entire volume and constantly try. Keep in mind that 2% sugar in the must is equal to 1% pure alcohol in the prepared wine. If you leave the wort without sugar, the final strength will be 10% of the possible 14%, and the taste of the drink will be zero percent sweet. On the contrary, if you overdo it with sugar, the alcohol concentration will increase significantly, and the yeast will stop doing its job. Therefore, follow the recipe for red or white grape wine, observing the measure.

Now is the time to determine the acidity of the prepared wort. Formal indicators average 6 g for red wine and 8 g for white. The technique is the same - we focus on our own feelings. If the juice turns out sour, feel free to dilute it with water, reducing the acidity. Use universal proportions: add 3 parts water to 1 part juice.

As soon as the taste indicators return to normal, we begin to pour the wine into large glass bottles with a narrow neck (you can take similar ones made of plastic). We do not fill the liquid completely, leaving free space (from 5 to 10 cm) for the foam that will certainly form.

We close the container with a water seal, which will ensure the release of carbon dioxide and prevent the drink from souring. If you don’t have a hose for a water seal at home, an ordinary sterile glove will do, where you need to make a hole on one of the fingers with a thin needle to remove gases.

The stage of vigorous fermentation begins

Grape wine is quite demanding regarding ambient temperatures, which directly determine the result of fermentation. Thus, red wines at home at the current stage need a temperature of +20 to +25 °C, white wines - from +12 to +18 °C. The minimum value is +10 °C, and an even greater lack of heat will freeze the yeast.

On the contrary, an excessively high concentration of heat (from +35 °C) can completely destroy yeast fungi, so be careful. The exception is wine yeast, which can ferment effectively in extreme heat, but not every type of CKD is capable of this. Protect bottles of fermenting wine from possible drafts and direct sunlight - these two factors can change the thermal regime, reducing the quality of the drink.

Now the bottles can be placed in a secluded place and not disturbed for the entire fermentation period. Once the yeast has processed all the sugar, the appearance of new bubbles will stop or become extremely rare. Another signal that rapid fermentation has completed will be a deflated glove and a cloudy yeast sediment at the bottom of the container.

Pour the drink and send it for quiet fermentation

To do this, place the container on a table or chair, focusing on a height of 50-60 cm from the floor. Using a siphon (a simple soft hose), carefully pour the liquid into a new container, trying not to disturb the bottom with sediment. You cannot be lazy and skip the pouring stage, since the yeast mass, continuing to come into contact with the drink, will completely ruin its taste and aroma.

During this period, homemade wine made from grapes still retains a cloudy tint, but there is no need to worry: it will still have time to become transparent and lighten slightly. Try the drink and assess your sugar level. If there is not enough of it, feel free to add more, since during the quiet fermentation stage it is not converted into alcohol.

Fill the bottle up to the neck to prevent any contact with oxygen, and close with a lid (or an air seal/glove if sugar has been added again). The container with wine must be placed in a dark and cool place where the air temperature is kept between +5+16 °C (ideally a cellar or basement). The main condition is not to allow the temperature to exceed +18+20 °C, because only in this case will it be possible to make truly tasty homemade wine.

Maturation period and aging

The minimum aging period is 1.5 months for white wines, and 2 to 3 months for red wines. The longer the wine matures, the better its quality (bottles can be aged for 1 year). If a small sediment appears at the bottom of the container, pour again using a soft hose. Fine sediment will not affect the taste, but getting rid of it will help clarify homemade wine made from grapes.

At the ripening stage, the recipe for wine from ripe grapes is no longer adjusted for sugar, and it is advisable to store the bottle at rest, without moving it from place to place (only dividing the pouring if necessary).

The wine is ready: bottled and stored

The first step is to prepare bottles with airtight lids, and ideally with long corks that can be used to conveniently seal the neck. However, any sealable containers will do – even jars! This is just a matter of aesthetics and does not affect the quality of storage.

The technology for producing white and red wine at home does not require any special equipment, but clean hands and working tools are a key condition for obtaining the desired result. Therefore, it is much more important to thoroughly rinse and dry the container: this will protect the drink from bacterial invasion, preserving its wonderful aroma and taste.

Bottles need to be filled to the middle of the neck, so that there is literally 1.5-2 cm of free space between the cork/tire. After bottling and corking, the wine is again sent to a cool place for storage. By the way, if you closed them with stoppers, then you should store them exclusively in the “lying” position (this will preserve the elasticity of the stopper and the tightness of the blockage).

Grape wines are completely unpretentious in preparation, but require constant attention in the first stages - stirring, churning and maintaining optimal temperature. In the rush of everyday affairs, you can easily forget about this, and soon say goodbye to the wine that has become covered with a moldy film. To prevent this from happening, arm yourself with an alarm clock: at the right moment it will definitely remind you of an important matter.

Making wine from grapes, especially at home, will require careful attention to the process. Therefore, when preparing and crushing grapes, do not be distracted by extraneous matters: you can imperceptibly “enrich” the juice with many bacteria that lie in wait for your hands even on a kitchen towel. In normal cooking they are not dangerous, but during active fermentation of the drink they can “go sideways”.

Wine is one of the most sought after alcoholic drinks worldwide. 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 the homemade equivalent to store-bought wine, which proper preparation may turn out to 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. Homemade recipe semisweet red wine made from grapes is simpler than the white wine recipe. The fact is that white wine is more likely to turn 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 many different methods for preparing wine, but the most commonly used classic recipe homemade semi-sweet drink.

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

For cooking simple option To make semi-sweet homemade wine, you only need two ingredients: grapes and sugar.

Proper preparation of raw materials for wine is the most important process

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.

Muscat wine recipe

What you will need:

• Muscat grapes – 30 kg;
• Sugar – 5 kg;
• Water – 5 liters.

Semi-sweet wine from white grapes at home, simple recipe:

1. Squeeze the prepared berries and place the pulp in a large container. It is ideal to use an oak barrel. Cover the top of the container with gauze folded in 3-4 layers.
2. For 5-6 days, stir the pulp several times a day.
3. Next, pour the juice into a glass bottle. Pour clean water into the pulp, add sugar, stir and leave to ferment for three days. Next, the pulp is squeezed out, and the resulting juice is added to the bottle.
4. We leave it to ferment with a water seal for 3-4 weeks in a warm room.
5. At the end of fermentation, drain the homemade wine from the sediment and pour it into glass bottles.

White homemade wine can turn into vinegar, so it is recommended to pasteurize it after bottling. How it's done:

1. Pour water into a large saucepan, heat it, but do not bring it to a boil (the water should be about 60 degrees).
2. Place a metal grid on the bottom to prevent the glass from breaking.
3. Keep the bottles at pasteurization temperature for 20 minutes.
4. Remove from the pan, wait until the glass has cooled, wipe with a dry sponge and store.

It is advisable that the homemade drink stands in the cellar or basement for at least three months. If you do everything strictly according to the recipe, the result is a homemade semi-sweet grape wine with a pleasant aftertaste of vanilla and honey notes.

Making homemade semi-sweet wine does not require any specific professional skills. If you follow simple rules, you can get a delicious semi-sweet homemade wine from white and red grape varieties. Cozy family evenings and visits from guests will be much more fun and enjoyable with a glass of homemade semi-sweet drink.