Homemade Wine 16 Best Step by Step Recipes

Homemade wine is perhaps the most common and most ancient alcohol that mankind has tried to prepare. Grapes are a real gift from the gods, which contain a huge amount of sugars subject to alcoholic fermentation.

The classic recipe is simple – we harvest, mash, ferment without oxygen – profit! But in fact, there are some nuances in home winemaking. And we will talk about them in this article.

Calorie content and the benefits of homemade wine

The drink owes its energy value to unfermented sugar, that is, fast carbohydrates. There is no protein or fat in home-made wine, as, indeed, in factory wine. For 100 grams of product, the calorie content will be approximately as follows:

• Red dry – 65-100 kcal;
• White dry – from 85 kcal;
• Semi-sweet – 100-150 kcal;
• Champagne and sparkling – 90 kcal;
• Port wine and fortified – from 160 kcal.

And yes, wine is allowed to drink even on the most strict keto diet for carbohydrates. In reasonable amounts, really. However, the danger lies elsewhere. Like any other alcohol, it dulls the willpower, and the characteristic sourness whets the appetite!

The result is a hello calorie snack! Fatty cheeses, chocolates and what else you have in store for the festive table.

And drinking without snacks is such a pleasure …

1-2 glasses of house wine per week:

• stabilize pressure;
• improve brain function;
• slow down the decrease in hearing acuity;
• and just relax and relieve stress.

What you need to know before you start cooking

So, we decided that wine is just a uniquely useful thing, left to the small. Cook it yourself, that is, at home from ordinary grapes grown in the country or in the collective farm garden.

And this means that the grapes have time to accumulate a lot of sugar in the berries, which will ferment quickly and easily. Of course, there are still nuances in the form of soil, variety and specific weather in a particular year, but these are just nuances.

In Russia, good homemade wine will be obtained without any problems in the Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory, but residents of other regions will have to resort to some tricks, for example, add sugar, yeast or other fruits.

Which grape is better to choose

So, the following varieties are most relevant for Russia (let me remind you that we are talking about only a few regions in the southern part of the country):

• white grapes Aligote (Krasnodar Territory);
• white grapes Chardonnay (south of the country);
• Isabella (grows almost everywhere);
• Lydia (southern regions);
• Merlot (in warm climates);
• Moldova (Krasnodar Territory and Rostov Region);
• Laura (very unpretentious variety);
• Pinot Noir (the best French variety that has taken root perfectly in Russia);
• Muscat (prefers a warm climate, although in the middle lane it bears fruit well in greenhouses);
• Cabernet Sauvignon (southern regions);
• Rkatsiteli.

But if you don’t philosophize, then homemade wine can be made from any grape that has matured well and has accumulated juice. To do this, you need to collect whole bunches in dry weather and in no case wash them. Wild yeast on the surface of the berries is the key to self-fermentation and the naturalness of the drink.

Preparation of equipment and utensils

It seems that in the villages and villages, homemade wine is made by anyone at any cost. And it is fermented, and it is infused in some strange dish, which you cannot even look at without tears. But actually it is not. There are very clear rules in what you can and cannot cook homemade wine.

Can:

• Glass is a classic, easy to clean, but can be broken inadvertently;
• The tree is ideal, however, it is difficult to wash, care for and monitor the fermentation;
• Ceramics – excellent, but rare;
• Plastic (necessarily food) – optimal, easy to wash, turn over and reuse;
• Enamelware is not bad, but the slightest chip – and everything is gone …

To start this very fermentation, you need to wash the dishes thoroughly. It is allowed to use non-aggressive detergents (laundry soap, for example), after which the container must be rinsed very thoroughly.

If you do not have the opportunity to wash a huge barrel of soap well, then it is better to rinse it with ordinary running water. We need:

• remove foreign odors;
• prevent the growth of mold and fungus;
• completely remove disinfectants that will kill live yeast.

Small equipment such as a water seal, lids, hoses and pots can be safely washed, disinfected and even boiled. The main thing is to rinse the detergent well.

What is the best container to store wine?

Ready-made homemade wine is definitely best stored in glass. Humanity has not yet come up with anything better for homemade drinks. Optimally – bottles of dark glass. If there are none, then be sure to wrap the bottle with something so that the sun’s rays do not spoil our product.

Important! In plastic with any marking, only dry and semi-sweet with an alcohol content of up to 14% can be stored. In principle, naturally fermented homemade wine fits into this parameter. Alcohol from fortified wine can interact with plastic, with completely unpredictable consequences for the health of the taster.

How to make classic wine from grapes at home step by step recipe

Homemade wine is usually made in September, when the grapes are fully ripe and gaining sugar. For this, only whole berries are suitable, not rotten, not overripe and not padanka. Once again, we recall that the clusters must be dry, since water washes away yeast from their surface.

First, we tear off the bunches and put them in a clean, dry container. In this form, it can lie no more than 2 days, so it is better not to delay the next step.

Getting juice

The berries need to be sorted out, the stalks and small debris removed, and then kneaded with your hands. If there are a lot of grapes, then you can use a wooden pestle or rolling pin. The main thing is that the tool is not metal or heavy. In the latter case, it is easy to damage the bones, which will give an unpleasant bitterness.

Interesting! Raw materials can be crushed with your feet. The main thing here is cleanliness!

Now that the mash is ready, we cover it with gauze from curious insects and leave it to ferment in a container with a wide neck, filled ¾ of the volume.

Grapes should stand for at least 4 days. 2 times a day you need to mix all this so that the pulp cap does not harden and does not block the access of oxygen to the lower layers.

First fermentation

As soon as foam appears on the surface of the cap, then it’s time to move on to the next step. Another characteristic marker of the beginning of fermentation is a quiet hiss.

This means that the slurry can be strained to obtain juice. This is done very carefully so as not to damage the bones here. It is better to leave some juice in the pulp than to spoil all the juice with your greed.

Juice separation

It is optimal to filter the future homemade wine 2-3 times through several layers of gauze, pouring from one highly raised vessel to another. This is necessary not only to get rid of small debris, but also to saturate the juice with oxygen. More oxygen, better fermentation, less likely to end up with a sour taste like vinegar.

Important! If the grapes were unsweetened and the resulting juice is so sour that it reduces the cheekbones, then you can add a little water. Some sources indicate that you can dilute in proportions of 500 ml of water per liter of pure juice, but even less is better. The richer the source, the tastier the wine will be.

Wort handling

So, all that we have left from the liquid phase is the wort. Next, we only need it.

The pulp can be thrown away, but the prudent owners, after some simple manipulations, distill it into moonshine or chacha (see the expert from Russkaya Dymka about this). You can make real homemade cognac from grape spirit, if you are also puzzled by aging in an oak barrel.

Pour the wort into a large bottle, where it will ferment until the very end. Containers need to be filled no more than ¾ of the volume, otherwise you risk that the foam will go through the water seal and simply pour out of the bottle.

If the container stuffed “to the eyeballs” is plastic, then it can be torn apart from violent fermentation and then – goodbye to repairs and all things within a radius of several meters.

Now hardware stores are full of all sorts of different devices, however, two devices are leading by a wide margin:

• A classic rubber hose dipped into a jar of water (greetings from a distant Soviet of Deputies);
• An ordinary medical glove with a pierced finger, which is put on the neck of a bottle.

The first option is suitable for large glass bottles, and the second for smaller containers, such as three-liter jars.

Such water seals allow you to assess the stage of readiness of homemade wine. As soon as air bubbles stop coming out of the hose, fermentation is over. The medical glove in this case will simply deflate and fall.

Fermentation

The period of active fermentation of homemade wine is from 25 to 45 days. In rare cases, this period is increased to 65.

In this matter, we focus on gas bubbles in a jar or on the appearance of a glove.

Separately, it is worth noting the temperature regime. In the room where the wort ferments, the temperature should not fall below 15 degrees. Otherwise, the yeast will “fall asleep” without converting all the sugar into alcohol. The optimum temperature range is 20-250C.

Interestingly, white wine can ferment at lower temperatures, up to 160, while red wine needs heat – up to 280.

If after 50 days the wine has not stopped fermenting, then you need to drain it from the sediment so that it does not gain bitterness. Further, the process should go under the same conditions.

Adding sugar

In Russia, usually grapes do not have time to collect sugar. This is due to the relatively small number of sunny days per year. If you take the word of experts, then the maximum that can be obtained without additional sugar is homemade wine of 10% strength, but completely dry.

It will taste, to put it mildly, so-so. Therefore, in our latitudes, it is recommended to add additional sugar.

This must be done carefully and step by step, since a large amount of glucose leads to an effect opposite to that which we are seeking. Namely: stops fermentation.

You can measure sugar content at home with a special device – a hydrometer. If it is not there, then it is worth tasting the wort on the third day from the start of fermentation. If it is sour, then it is worth adding sugar in an amount of up to 50 g per liter.

If at the next sampling of juice, homemade juice stops sour, then there is enough sugar in it.

Removal from sediment

As soon as homemade wine has stopped fermenting, it must be drained from the sediment. This should be done carefully, because the taste and color of the drink depends on it. It is better to act according to the following scheme:

1. As soon as the fermentation has stopped, you need to raise the bottle to some elevation above the floor level. It can be a table or a high stool. In this form, you need to leave the balloon for two days, so that the sediment that we raised sinks to the bottom again.
2. Pour the liquid from the working container into a clean one for long-term storage using a rubber hose (for example, from a dropper). It is highly undesirable to lower the end of the hose lower than 2 cm from the sediment level. So homemade wine will not pick up bitterness.

If you do not save, then the finished homemade wine will be moderately transparent and moderately tart.

Ripening and aging

However, you still have to try homemade wine, because at this stage you need to decide on sweetness and strength. If we want dry, then we leave everything as it is. If you need it sweeter, then gradually add additional sugar in volumes of no more than 250 g per liter (this is the maximum!), And preferably less.

Now is the time to strengthen all this with alcohol, if you wish. Of the benefits – increases the strength and shelf life. Of the minuses – the taste and aroma acquire pronounced alcohol notes. Alcohol or vodka can be added no more than 15% of the volume of wine removed from the sediment.

First transfer and quiet fermentation

If you additionally added sugar, now the bottle is again placed under the water seal. If homemade wine has not been sweetened, then just a tightly closed lid is enough.

Now the wine needs to be poured almost to the very neck, we no longer need a place for fermentation.

The wine should be drained from the sediment at the bottom as needed, so it will become more transparent from time to time. Although natural turbidity is quite acceptable for homemade natural wine.

Bottling

Can be bottled at least 40 days after hardening. It is better to use a dark glass container that does not let the sun’s rays through.

Video recipe

There are a lot of video recipes and step-by-step guides for making homemade wine on the net. The process is well shown here:

and here:

Other Types of Grape Wine You Can Make at Home

So, in general terms, it is already clear how to put homemade wine. It remains only to understand the nuances, because, for example, different grape varieties may require different amounts of sugar or aging time.

From white grapes

Homemade wine from it is prepared according to the standard scheme with some remarks:

• White grapes are more prone to rotting, so you need to put wine from it immediately after harvest.
• The fermentation temperature should be lower – approximately 16-220C.
• The aging period for homemade wine made from white grapes is minimal and usually is 40 days.

From red grapes

Most often, homemade wine is made from red grapes, so all the recommendations described above are about it.

Individual moments may vary depending on the particular variety or place of growth.

From dry grapes

Very expensive and high-quality wine is made from dry, more precisely, raisined or dried grapes. The high cost of production is explained by the fact that raw materials for this method need about three times more than if the wine was made from raw wine.

There are two ways to dry the berries – leaving them directly on the vine and drying the collected clusters in the sun for several days (or even months). Further, the process occurs according to the scheme described above.

From pink grapes

Rosé wine is made from certain grape varieties that are distinguished by a delicate smoky tint. In our latitudes we can talk about:

• Pink Isabella;
• pink haze;
• pink peach;
• Taifi pink;
• original.

From Lydia grapes

Lydia is a hybrid variety derived from the famous Isabella. It is distinguished by the characteristic strawberry aroma of this group, although less intense than that of the wild American Isabella Vitis labrusca.

The plant is very unpretentious and feels great in Russia, Ukraine and Moldova. Homemade wine from it is made according to the standard scheme with little or no added sugar.

From grape leaves

It turns out that homemade wine is made not only from berries. An acceptable drink can also be made from grape leaves harvested in spring or autumn.

White wine (or rather a drink) is prepared as follows:

1. Leaves (with raisins or berries) are harvested, washed and soaked for 3 days in 10 liters of boiling water.
2. The wort is drained from the sediment and then only work with it.
3. Sugar is added to the must with a sugar content of 21% and a little yeast. Then the open (!) balloon is left in a warm, bright place for at least a week. The intensity of fermentation can be judged by a dense brown cap on the surface.
4. As soon as the foam falls off, the wine material must be poured into a clean container for quiet fermentation. It is not necessary to remove the sediment!
5. After the second stage of fermentation, the liquid can be filtered and bottled in clean bottles. As sediment forms in them, the contents can and should be filtered again. This manipulation can be done at least three times.

The result should be a white, almost transparent wine of quite acceptable taste.

From Isabella grapes

Wine from Isabella is almost a classic. This unpretentious grape variety is distinguished by a rich aroma of strawberries and a dense ruby ​​color. Isabella is used to make sweet and semi-sweet wines.

From table grapes

Table grapes are called varieties of grapes that have the best organoleptic. They have large and sweet berries, large clusters of rich color. Table varieties are served at the table (hence the name) – they are also called dessert varieties.

Grape currant wine

Wine from a mixture of blackcurrant and grapes is called fruit and berry and can be prepared in several ways:

1. Initially mix grapes and currants, crush, put to ferment.
2. Mix crushed currants with fermented grape juice.
3. Mix two young only fermented musts – grape and currant.

The latter method is preferable. Remember that if you mix young wine and aged wine, then the must from berries and fruits will begin to ferment again, and with unpredictable results. The final product is likely to be bitter.

Grape-raspberry wine

Homemade wine is prepared as follows – the berries of each type are kneaded separately, and then mixed for the first fermentation. Next, you need to follow the usual scheme. Sugar such a mixture will take about a quarter of the total volume of the wort.

Wine without sugar

Without the addition of sugar in our latitudes, it is unrealistic to make wine, since grapes simply do not ripen due to a small amount of sun.

Acceptable quality and taste without additional sweetening can only be obtained using a crop grown in the Krasnodar Territory and in the Crimea. The sugar content of berries should be at least 15-22%.

From grape juice

Homemade wine is a product so versatile that it can be made from anything. Even from juice. True, we are talking about real homemade juice, and not store-bought. In the latter, there are more preservatives than the juice itself, and therefore it will roam very badly.

If we are talking about pasteurized rolled up homemade juice, then it will be quite possible to put wine. The ingredients for this are as follows:

• Juice – 10 liters;
• Sugar – 1,5 kg;
• Yeast.

Important! From yeast, it is worthwhile to first make a sourdough, diluting them with a small amount of juice with sugar.

If the juice has been overcooked, then the final product will taste more like compote, izvar or mulled wine.

Then we put the wort according to standard technology, periodically testing for sugar and acid.

From unripe grapes

From unripe grapes, homemade wine will turn out sour and it will be worse to ferment. However, this does not mean that nothing will work.

It’s just that the final product will take in more sugar, and the exposure time may increase. Thus, it will turn out to cook only dessert or fortified, instead of the classic dry.

From sour grapes

Homemade wine from sour grapes is prepared in a similar way, with the addition of water. It is unlikely that it will turn out dry, but an acceptable dessert one is quite.

From Moldova grapes

Moldova is an unpretentious variety that grows well and bears fruit in the Rostov region and in the Krasnodar Territory. It is used to make homemade dry red wine, which requires almost no additional sugar. However, it often does not ripen, even though the variety is considered late.

From grape pomace

Zealous owners start up not only the wort, but also the remaining cake. For re-fermentation, the pulp is mixed with sugar syrup in equal proportions. The syrup is prepared in proportions per 1 kg of sugar – about 5 liters of water.

Then we ferment the wine material for 3 days, remove it from the sediment and lay it on the main fermentation.

Conclusion

Making homemade wine with your own hands is actually quite simple. It is enough to master the technique once, and then you will be able to freely navigate along the way.

There can be no general recommendations for all, since the grapes of each harvest year are essentially unique in terms of sugar content, which means that the winemaking process will require a creative approach from you. Well, how else? This is real art!

Share this article with your friends on social networks if you have never made homemade wine yourself. And if you did, then write in the comments what you did.