Homemade grape juice wine 

The history of grape wine has more than 6 thousand years. During this time, the cooking technology has repeatedly changed, many recipes have been invented. Today, every housewife who has a vineyard on her plot tries to make homemade wine from grape juice, because this tasty and healthy alcoholic drink will surely come in handy at the table. We will talk about how to properly prepare such a natural product with your own hands at home and talk further in the section.

Popular grape wine recipes

Grapes were bestowed by nature itself in order to make wine from it: the berries harmoniously combine sweetness and light sourness. Their juiciness allows you to get the purest juice with a minimum amount of cake. Grape juice quickly ferments, resulting in a very tasty and light alcoholic drink.

The easiest grape wine recipe

To make a great, light wine, you only need two ingredients: freshly squeezed grape juice and sugar. So, for 10 kg of juice, you will need to add 3 kg of granulated sugar. The process of making grape wine is simple, but it will take a lot of time:

• Mix grape juice in a large container with sugar, then wait until the crystals dissolve.
• Pour sweet grape juice into three-liter jars, leaving some free space in the containers.
• On the neck of each jar, put on a rubber medical glove, previously pierced with a needle in several places. You can replace the glove with a special cap with a water seal.
• The junction of glass and gloves on the neck of the jar must be sealed with plasticine or tape so that oxygen does not get inside the container.
• Under room conditions, the juice will soon begin to ferment, releasing carbon dioxide and forming foam. A swollen glove will indicate fermentation.
• After about 5 weeks, the rubber glove on the jar will deflate, which means the fermentation process is complete.
• Pour the finished wine into pre-sterilized bottles. It is important to prevent foam or sediment from entering a clean bottle.
• Bottles with grape wine hermetically cork and send to the cellar for later storage.

The proposed recipe is a classic, and the described preparation process is the basis of winemaking, therefore, having decided to prepare an alcoholic drink from grape juice, you must definitely familiarize yourself with the proposed fermentation rules.

You can make light grape wine from sour berries by adding water. This recipe is clearly demonstrated in the video:

Fortified wine made from grape juice

For some winemakers, the strength of the resulting product is an important criterion. Of course, this indicator can be increased by adding alcohol, but this will not be entirely competent and correct. Experienced winemakers know that the degree of wine needs to be increased with sugar. After all, during the processing of sugar, yeast emits not only carbon dioxide, but also alcohol.

You can prepare fortified wine from grapes as follows:

• Sort the grapes, removing any spoiled or rotten berries. It is not necessary to wash the grapes, since there are yeast bacteria on the surface of the grapes, which will directly participate in the process of making wine.
• All berries must be crushed with a crush or with your hands. If desired, you can get the seeds from the berries, because they will be reflected in the finished wine with a slight bitterness.
• If the bones are left in the pulp for making wine, then you need to monitor the preservation of their integrity. Crushed bones will be a source of tannins, which are very bitter.
• Transfer the grated grapes to an enameled or glass dish. The neck of the container must be covered with gauze.
• In a dark place at room temperature, the grapes will begin to ferment within a day. Pure juice will settle down, and the pulp will rise above the juice with a thick cap. It needs to be removed.
• The optimum temperature for fermentation is +15-+25⁰C. The temperature below the marked aisles leads to the fact that the juice sours, at a temperature above the indicated values, the yeast dies.
• In a day, active fermentation of grape juice will be observed. At this time, you need to add the first portion of sugar (150-200 g per 1 liter of juice).
• Cover the container with a rubber glove and leave for 4-5 weeks to ferment.
• When the yeast has processed all the sugar, carbon dioxide will no longer be released and the glove will deflate. At this time, you need to add another 50 g of sugar for every 1 liter of wort.
• Sugar must be added regularly until the wine becomes consistently sweet. This will mean that the alcohol concentration is close to 15% and the yeast died under such conditions.
• For a month, grape alcohol must be infused under a glove for fermentation, then removed from the sediment and poured into sterilized bottles. Seal containers tightly and send them to storage.

Information on how to properly remove wine from the sediment can be found on the video:

This recipe reflects in as much detail as possible all the conditions and rules for making homemade grape wine. By adhering to them, even a novice winemaker will be able to get high-quality, natural fortified wine from grapes.

Homemade wine from purchased juice

Most urban residents do not have their own vineyard, and it is very expensive to make wine from fresh purchased grapes, since a large amount of waste is generated during the preparation process, and the price of such raw materials “bites”. In this case, you can make grape wine from ready-made juice, which is sold in the nearest store.

To prepare homemade wine according to the proposed recipe, you will need 1 liter of grape juice, 200 g of sugar and 4 g of wine yeast. From such a set of products in 2 months, by performing simple manipulations, you can get excellent natural wine.

You can make wine from ready-made, purchased grape juice as follows:

• pour juice into a glass bottle or jar;
• dissolve the yeast in a small amount of warm juice or water;
• when the yeast begins to “walk”, the liquid must be carefully poured into a container with juice;
• add sugar to the wort;
• cover the container with a glove or a lid with a water seal;
• infuse juice in a dark and warm room;
• when the juice stops fermenting, it can be poured into a sterilized bottle and hermetically sealed, and then sent for storage.

Such a recipe can be a real find for a novice hostess who does not have her own vineyard, but wants to surprise her family and friends with her winemaking abilities.

Original grape wine recipes

A separate niche in winemaking is occupied by wines prepared with the addition of spices. Some traditional and quite affordable seasonings allow you to make a stunningly aromatic wine with a unique taste and blend. There is a wide variety of such recipes. We will try to briefly describe how to make wine of amazing taste from homemade grape juice:

Italian wine

This recipe combines several different spices and non-standard products for winemaking at once. So, one recipe will require 10 liters of fresh grape juice, 50 g of ground cinnamon, 30-35 g of cloves. Unique ingredients in the recipe are wormwood roots (7g), ginger (5g) and hot peppers (4g). The excellent flavor profile is also based on the use of nutmeg (5 g). Finding all the listed products is not at all difficult by looking at the nearest supermarket. You can find wormwood in a pharmacy. At the same time, the combination of products allows you to get an amazing, unparalleled Italian wine.

Preparing it is quite simple even for a novice winemaker:

• Lightly dry the spices in a preheated oven. Pound them up and pour them into a cloth bag.
• Pour grape juice into a barrel or glass container.
• Dip a tied bag of spices into the juice.
• Close the juice with a lid with a water seal and keep it for several weeks until the end of fermentation.
• Remove the finished wine from the sediment and pour into glass bottles, tightly closing them.

You can use dark and light grape varieties in the recipe. As a result of preparation, a dry wine with an amazing aroma will be obtained. A slightly less aromatic grape wine is also obtained if only grape juice and cloves are used. The principle of making such wine is similar to the technology proposed above.

Grape wine with lemon

The recipe below is unique. Its taste combines the pleasant aroma of grapes and lemon, as well as notes of fragrant herbs. To prepare such a wine, you need 10 liters of grape juice, the zest of one lemon, a little mint and lemon balm.

The process of making wine can be briefly described by the following sequence of actions:

• Peel the lemon. Dry the zest, chop, put in a cloth bag.
• Dip the lemon zest into a container with grape juice.
• Close the wine with a water seal for successful fermentation.
• When the wine has fermented, mint and lemon balm should be added to it, sugar to taste.
• Infuse the wine for a month, then pour into glass bottles and send to the bins for further storage.

Grape wine with the addition of mint, lemon zest and lemon balm will surely remain a taste mystery for tasters.

Grape wine with apple flavor

Winemakers practice the preparation of apple and grape wine, but few manage to combine these two products in one alcoholic drink. And the recipe for making grape wine with apple flavor is very simple:

• In fermenting grape juice, you need to lower several apples cut in half.
• After a few days, the apples must be removed from the grape must and replaced with new, fresh fruits.
• Change apples until the fermentation process is stopped.

Most of the proposed original recipes do not involve the use of sugar. This means that the finished product will contain sourness and a low percentage of alcohol. In general, wines with the addition of spices and herbs are very healthy and can be used for medicinal purposes.

Conclusion

When grapes ripen in the garden, it is imperative to take care not only of preparing compotes or jams, but also of making wine. It will certainly come in handy even in non-drinking families, complementing various dishes on the festive table and replacing other alcohol for the guests who have come. Grape wine turns out to be surprisingly light and at the same time useful. For its preparation, you can choose a classic or very original recipe. In any case, close and dear people will appreciate the efforts and amazing blend of natural wine, prepared with love.