Homemade apple wine: a simple recipe

Light wine drinks are prepared from apples, which are not inferior in quality to many purchased wines. In the process of preparation, it is necessary to adjust the taste and strength of the drink.

Apple wine stabilizes blood sugar and blood pressure, stimulates the stomach, relaxes muscles and relieves physical tension. To obtain it, in addition to apples, you will need sugar and special containers for fermenting and storing the drink.

Preparatory stage

Apple wine is made from fruits of any variety (green, red or yellow). You can use apples of summer or winter ripening.

After harvesting, apples are not recommended to be washed, as bacteria that contribute to fermentation accumulate on their peel. To remove dirt, the fruits are wiped with a dry cloth or brush.

To avoid the appearance of a bitter taste in wine, seeds and core must be removed from apples. If the fruits were damaged, then such places are also cut out.

Easy Apple Wine Recipes

Homemade apple wine can be prepared according to a traditional recipe. This will require several glass containers in which the fermentation process will take place. The finished wine is bottled.

At home, both light cider and fortified wine are prepared from apples. The drink gets especially tasty after adding lemon or cinnamon.

Traditional recipe

To get apple wine in the classic way, you will need the following ingredients:

• 20 kg of apples;
• from 150 to 400 g of sugar for every liter of juice.

The cooking process includes the following steps:

Getting juice

You can extract the juice from apples in any suitable way. If you have a juicer, it is better to use it to get a clean product with a minimum pulp content.

In the absence of a juicer, a regular grater is used. Then the resulting puree is squeezed out with gauze or under pressure.

Juice settling

Applesauce or juice is placed in an open container (barrel or pan). The container is not closed with a lid, it is enough to cover it with gauze to protect against insects. Within 3 days, yeast activity will begin.

As a result, pulp is formed in the form of apple peel or pulp and juice. The pulp is concentrated on the surface of the juice.

On the third day, a dense layer of pulp is formed, which must be removed with a colander. As a result, juice and a film 3 mm thick remain in the container. With the appearance of foam, juice hiss and alcohol smell, they proceed to the next stage.

Adding sugar

The amount of sugar depends on the initial sweetness of the apples. If sweet fruits are used, then sugar is added in small quantities. If its concentration exceeds 20%, then fermentation stops. Therefore, this component is introduced as carefully as possible.

Sugar is added in several stages:

• immediately after removing the pulp (about 100 g per liter);
• after the next 5 days (from 50 to 100 g);
• after another 5 days (from 30 to 80 g).

At the first application, sugar is added immediately to apple juice. In the future, you need to drain a little wort and pour the required amount of sugar into it. Then the resulting mixture is added to the total volume.

Fermentation process

At this stage, it is necessary to exclude contact of apple juice with air. Otherwise, vinegar will form. Therefore, sealed containers are chosen for making wine: glass or plastic bottles.

During fermentation, carbon dioxide is released. To remove it, a water seal is installed. You can buy it at the store or make your own.

When self-made, a hole is made in the lid of the wine container, a small-diameter hose is passed through it. One end of the tube is placed as high as possible in the vessel of apple must, while the other end is lowered 3 cm into a glass of water.

Fermentation of apple juice proceeds at a temperature of 18 to 25°C. The best temperature is 20°C. The whole process takes about 30-60 days. Its completion is indicated by the absence of bubbles at the water container, the deflated glove, and the presence of sediment at the bottom.

Maturation of wine

The resulting apple wine is ready to drink. In the presence of a sharp taste and smell, you need to give it time to mature. To carry it out, you will need a dry glass container. First, it must be washed with hot boiled water and dried thoroughly.

Apple wine is poured using a tube into a prepared container. First, the upper layers are moved, then they move to the lower ones. Sediment must not fall into a new container.

The resulting apple wine is stored in a cool place at a temperature of 6 to 16°C. Full maturation will take 2 to 4 months. When sediment appears, the wine must be drained. At first, this procedure is performed every 2 weeks.

Apple wine has a strength of 10-12%. It is stored for 3 years in a dark room at low temperature.

homemade cider

Cider is a light apple wine that has spread from France. Classic cider is prepared without added sugar and is completely natural. For cider, apples of sour varieties (3 kg) and sweet (6 kg) are selected.

If the wine turns out to be too sour (reduces the cheekbones), then the addition of water is allowed. Its content should not exceed 100 ml per liter of juice.

How to make homemade apple wine in a simple way, you can learn from the following recipe:

1. Apple juice is squeezed out and left for a day in a dark place where room temperature is maintained.
2. The juice is removed from the sediment and poured into a container where fermentation will take place. A water seal is placed on the vessel.
3. For 3 to 5 weeks, apple juice is kept in a dark place where the temperature is maintained in the range of 20 to 27°C.
4. When fermentation stops, apple cider is poured into a new container, leaving sediment at the bottom.
5. The container is tightly closed with a lid and kept for 3-4 months at a temperature of 6 to 12°C.
6. The resulting apple wine is filtered and bottled for permanent storage.

The result is a wine with a strength of 6 to 10%, depending on the sugar content of the apples. When stored in a cool place, the shelf life of wine is up to 3 years.

carbonated cider

Apple wine can be gassed. Then the process of its preparation changes:

1. First, apple juice is obtained, which is given time to settle.
2. Then the fermentation process is activated in apple must, as in the case of making ordinary wine.
3. After fermentation is completed, the resulting wine is removed from the sediment.
4. Several glass or plastic bottles should be rinsed well and dried. Sugar is poured into one of each container at the rate of 10 g per liter. Due to sugar, fermentation and the release of carbon dioxide occur.
5. The containers are filled with young wine, leaving about 5 cm of free space from the edge. The bottles are then tightly capped.

   

6. For the next 2 weeks, the wine is stored in the dark at room temperature. With an increased accumulation of gas, its excess must be released.
7. Carbonated cider is stored in the cellar or refrigerator. Immediately before use, it is kept in the cold for 3 days.

Cider with lemon

Light apple cider can be made with the following simple recipe:

1. Apples of sour varieties are cleaned of seed boxes, spoiled places must be cut out. The fruits are cut into several pieces. In total, 8 kg of apples are required.
2. Lemons (2 pcs.) Need to be peeled, then get the zest and grind it with sugar.
3. Apple slices, zest and sugar (2 kg) are placed in containers with a wide neck and poured with water (10 l). The container is covered with a clean cloth.
4. The containers are left for a week in a room with a temperature of 20-24°C.

   

5. After the specified time, the liquid is drained and filtered through gauze folded in several layers. The wine should acquire a light shade.
6. Ready apple drink is bottled and corked.

Dried apple wine

If only dried apples are available, then delicious wine can be made on their basis.

1. Dried apples (1 kg) are poured into enamelware and poured with warm water overnight.
2. In the morning, drain the water and dry the remaining mass a little. Then it is crushed with a blender.
3. 1,5 kg of sugar is poured into applesauce and poured with boiling water.
4. Another 1,5 kg of sugar is poured with warm water and 20 g of yeast are added. The components must be completely dissolved, after which they are added to containers with apple must.
5. When the mass has cooled, you need to filter the liquids and fill the bottles with it. A water seal or glove is placed on the container.

   

6. When the fermentation of apple must is completed (after about 2 weeks), the young wine is drained and filtered.
7. The prepared drink is bottled, corked and placed in the refrigerator for several hours.
8. Apple wine is sent for permanent storage.

Fortified wine

You can get fastening wine from apples by adding alcohol or vodka. Then the drink acquires a tart taste, but the period of its use increases.

Fortified apple wine is made using the following technology:

1. Apples (10 kg) are wiped with a cloth to remove dirt. Then they need to be cut, core removed and chopped in a blender.
2. 2,5 kg of sugar and 0,1 kg of dark raisins are added to the resulting mass.
3. The mixture is placed in a container, which is closed with a glove. Within 3 weeks, the wine is left to ferment in a warm place.

   

4. When sediment appears, young apple wine is poured into a prepared container. A glass of sugar is added to the drink.
5. The container is again closed with a water seal and left for 2 weeks.
6. After a specified period of time, the wine is again drained from the sediment. At this stage, vodka (0,2 l) is added.
7. The wine is stirred and kept for 3 weeks in cool conditions.
8. The finished wine is stored in a refrigerator or cellar.

spiced wine

Delicious wine is obtained by combining apples with cinnamon. It can be prepared according to the following recipe:

1. In apples (4 kg), the core is cut out and cut into pieces. The fruits are placed in a large container, add 4 liters of water and 40 g of dry cinnamon.
2. The container is put on fire and boiled until the apples become soft.
3. After cooling, the mixture is rubbed through a sieve and placed in an enameled container, which is covered with a cloth. The pulp is stored at a temperature of 20°C. Every 12 hours the mass is stirred.
4. The pulp is removed after 3 days, it is enough to leave a thin layer. Sugar is added to apple juice (no more than 1 kg) and placed in a fermentation container and a water seal is placed.
5. During the week, the container is kept in a dark place, it is turned over daily so that the contents are mixed.
6. On the 8th day, the water seal is removed and the container is closed with a regular plastic lid. The wine is kept for another week, periodically turning the container.
7. The resulting wine is drained from the sediment and filled with bottles.

Conclusion

Apple wine is made from fresh and dried fruits. To obtain a drink, it will be necessary to create the necessary conditions for fermentation and maturation of wine. In the process of preparing apple juice, you can add raisins, lemon zest, cinnamon.