Apricot wine at home 

It is difficult to find a person who would not like ripe fragrant apricots. They also make preparations for the winter. As a rule, these fruits are used to make compotes, preserves, jams, marmalades. Homemade wine lovers believe that the most delicious dessert drink comes from apricots. It’s all about the unusual taste and amazing aroma.

Apricot wine at home can be prepared without much difficulty if the recipes and features of the manufacturing technology are known. We will try to tell about the basic principles of winemaking in the article based on the most popular recipes. Apricot wine combines taste and delicate sweetness. But the color palette will depend on the selected variety of fruit. Shades of wine made from apricots range from yellowish to amber and red.

Cooking apricots

To prepare apricot wine, you need to take care of the right choice and preparation of the main ingredient. The fact is that the taste of the finished intoxicating drink will depend on the ripeness and variety.

So, how to choose apricots:

1. First, the fruits must be ripe and intact. The best option is freshly plucked from a tree (it is undesirable to pick it up from the ground, since apricot wine will have a taste of the earth). Unfortunately, apricots are not grown in most of Our Country, so you have to be content with the offer of stores. You need to choose fruits without rot and mold, otherwise the taste of the wine will be spoiled. After all, there can be pathogenic microorganisms on damaged apricots, and the fermentation process began spontaneously and prematurely.

   

2. For the manufacture of the drink, you can use not only cultivated varieties of apricots, but also the fruits of wild shrubs. The taste, of course, will be different: wine from wild apricots is more aromatic, and from cultivated ones it is sweeter.
3. Secondly, when preparing fruits (regardless of variety and origin), it is necessary to remove the seeds. This part of apricots contains hydrocyanic acid, which is dangerous for humans. This is a natural poison, drinking wine with stones can be fatal. In addition, apricot pits add bitterness and almond flavor to the wine.

   

4. Washing apricots before making homemade wine according to any recipe is not recommended, because wild yeast is in a light coating on the peel. If the fruits are contaminated, they are simply wiped with a dry cloth.

important points

How to make homemade apricot wine so that it harmoniously combines taste, sweetness and aroma? This is possible if you pay attention to some nuances:

1. It is necessary to get acquainted with the recipe and understand all the subtleties in order to avoid problems.
2. To prepare an intoxicating drink from apricots at home, enameled, glass or wooden utensils are chosen. It is not recommended to use aluminum, copper or iron containers, because wine interacts with metals due to oxidative processes. Enamelware should be free of cracks and chips.
3. Before preparing apricot wine at home according to the recipes below (and for any others), the necessary equipment is washed with hot water and soda, rinsed and dried.
4. The fermentation process should not be left unattended.
5. The temperature regime at home must be strictly observed, otherwise, instead of table wine, get apricot vinegar.

Any business, and the production of apricot wine in particular, requires effort and patience. Only in this case you will be able to taste a delicious aromatic drink when it ripens.

Masterpieces of winemaking

Option One

This is a simple recipe for apricot wine, but the quality of the finished drink is excellent.

For 12 liters of clean water we need:

• 4 kg of ripe apricots;
• 4 kg of granulated sugar.

Method of preparation

1. Peeled apricots are kneaded by hand or ground in a meat grinder with a large grate.

   

   Then the apricot mass is poured with warm water and placed in a warm and dark corner for fermentation in an enamel bowl. Gauze or thin cotton fabric is thrown on top. The must must be stirred, as the pulp rises to the top.

2. On the second day, foam should appear on the apricot blank. If for some reason fermentation has not started, you need to add a handful of raisins. This catalyst must not be washed, so as not to remove wild yeast from the surface.
3. On the fifth day, the must is filtered from the apricot pulp through gauze folded in several rows and poured into a bottle. Juice from the pulp is also poured into the total mass.

   

   The sediment cannot be removed, as it is wine yeast necessary for further fermentation.

4. Part of the juice is poured and granulated sugar is dissolved in it. It can be added at once the entire volume or divided into two times. The second time fall asleep sugar after 5 days. The bottle is tightly closed with a water seal or a medical glove with a finger pierced with a needle is pulled over the neck. Fermentation of apricot wine at home according to the recipe should continue in a dark place at a temperature of +17 to +24 degrees for 20-25 days.

   

5. After the specified time, the fermentation of apricot wine, made at home according to the recipe, is completed. This can be determined by the water seal, since the gas stops flowing into the water. If a rubber glove was worn, it will deflate and fall on the bottle. Now the apricot wine must be removed from the sediment. This must be done carefully so that the yeast does not get into the drink.
6. Apricot wine poured into a clean dish must be put on maturation. This stage, according to the recipe, lasts from two to four months. In the room you need to observe a special temperature regime – + 10-12 degrees. At higher temperatures, vinegar is formed instead of apricot wine. During the settling time, the drink gains taste and aromatic qualities.

   

7. Wine from ripe apricots at home is removed from the sediment again, after the allotted time for ripening. Strained and filtered apricot wine is bottled or canned and hermetically sealed.

Option two

According to this recipe, 3 kilograms of ripe apricots will require the same amount of sugar and 10 liters of water. The color of the wine will depend on the variety and the intensity of the color of the fruit.

Recipe step by step

And now about how to make apricot wine according to this recipe at home:

1. We wipe the apricots, remove the seeds and knead well with our hands. The result should be a homogeneous mass without fibers.
2. We spread it in a dish with a wide neck, pour in water heated to 25 or 30 degrees (not higher!). Add half of the granulated sugar provided by the recipe and mix until completely dissolved. Sugar will be added in stages during fermentation.
3. Cover with a thin cloth from insects and remove for 5 days. In order for the fermentation process to take place at home intensively, you need a dark room with a temperature of 18 to 25 degrees. The pulp will rise to the top along with the foam. It must be constantly drowned, otherwise the wine will turn sour. The fermentation process starts in different ways. Sometimes after 8 hours a foam cap appears. But most often, apricot wine begins to ferment after 20 hours from the moment of “launch”. In addition to foam, a hiss will be clearly audible.
4. After 5 days, the pulp must be removed. To do this, we filter the wort through cheesecloth, folded in several layers. We also squeeze the pulp, and pour the juice into the strained liquid. At this stage, add 0,5 kg of granulated sugar. We do not add sugar to the total mass, but stir it in a small amount of liquid, pouring it out of a bottle of wine.
5. According to the recipe for apricot wine, we do not fill the bottle to the top so that there is room for foam and carbon dioxide. We close the container with a water seal or pull a rubber glove with a pierced finger over the neck.
6. The container must be placed in a dark place with a temperature of 18 to 28 degrees for further fermentation for 25-60 days. During this time, every 5 days we add the remaining sugar twice more. As a rule, the fermentation process of apricot wine at home ends after 50 days. If the apricot wine continues to ferment, it must be urgently removed from the sediment and closed again with a water seal. If you miss the moment, the wine will be bitter.
7. When home-made apricot wine becomes transparent and acquires the desired color, it stops foaming, gurgling in the water seal, and the glove deflates – the drink is ready to be completely removed from the sediment and poured into small bottles. They are pre-washed and sterilized, since any microorganisms have a detrimental effect on wine.

At this stage of making homemade wine, you need to taste the apricot drink for sugar, if necessary, add a little sweet ingredient. In this case, you will have to keep the bottle under a water seal or a glove again for 10 days so that the sugar ferments, and again remove the wine from the sediment.

Bottles or jars that will store apricot wine at home are filled to the very top to reduce the amount of oxygen. Close containers hermetically with lids or stoppers. Store the finished apricot drink in a cool cellar or refrigerator for up to 4 months. If sediment appears during the maturation period at home, we again remove the wine from the sediment and filter.

In the finished wine from apricots, after 5 months there should be no sediment. A drink with a strength of 10 to 12 degrees (unfortified) is stored for about three years. Ripe homemade apricot wine has a unique taste and aroma of fresh fruit.

Option three – with nutmeg

In previous recipes, nothing was added to homemade apricot wine. But if you want to make a dessert drink with an original fruity flavor, you can add vanilla, ginger, cinnamon or nutmeg to it. How to make muscat apricot wine at home will be discussed further.

It is necessary to stock up in advance with such products:

• ripe apricots – 5 kg;
• sugar – 3 kg;
• grape table wine – 1 liter;
• nutmeg – 1 tablespoon.

Water according to this recipe for apricot wine needs 5 liters.

Some nuances

Knead juicy pitted apricots until smooth, pour 2,5 liters of water and grape wine. In the remaining 2,5 liters of water, add granulated sugar and cook the syrup. When it cools to room temperature, add it to the base for future wine. Add nutmeg to this as well.

How to cook apricot wine at home is described in detail in previous recipes:

• pulp department;
• fermentation for several months;
• repeated removal from the sediment.

It should also be noted that muscat apricot wine can be served with dishes after three months of aging. The wine is fragrant, and its color is golden.

Apricot-raspberry wine, recipe and cooking features:

Conclusion

Making homemade apricot wine, especially if you have even a little experience in winemaking, is not difficult. After all, the process itself is practically the same. Although there are nuances, we talked about them in the article.

If you want to “brew” your own apricot drink at home, carefully read the recipes and recommendations for them. Do not try to immediately take large proportions. Experiment first, choose the most suitable recipe. And then you can make as much wine as you need. We wish you successful steps in winemaking.