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Hello dear readers. I got a dacha with an apple orchard from my grandmother. Once the harvest turned out to be so large that in addition to the usual jam, compote and marmalade, I decided to make homemade wine.
I love cider, and here is the opportunity. I must say that I am not a professional winemaker, and this was my first experience.
I received such a letter from my subscriber Svetlana. I am happy to share her recipe with you.
How I decided to make wine myself and what ingredients are needed
At first I cooked jam and jam, then I closed compotes, and then I saw a local TV program about currant wine.
I armed myself with a smartphone, since in the evening there was nothing much to do in the country. A couple of hours later, the decision came – a bag of Antonovka will become homemade wine.
Inspired, I began to rummage in the pantry, and found only one five-liter bottle there. I bought the second one from a neighbor in the cooperative.
I purchased hoses for the construction of a water seal in a regular store in the “Everything for the Summer” department. That’s where I got hold of the lids. And I borrowed plasticine for sealing from my daughter in exchange for a couple of apples.
Actually for 10 kg of apples I needed:
- 10 glasses of granulated sugar
- about a liter of water.
The original recipe had a complicated scheme for adding water to the mash, but I didn’t really stick to it, I just added half a glass of boiled water for every liter of juice obtained from apples and that’s it.
I had a juicer, a pan (enamelled) for the wort too. The process took about six months, and we tried the result with friends on Christmas Eve. So, let’s move on to the manufacturing process.
Process
To begin with, I washed the apples, and cut out the cores with a special apple cutter. You can use a knife, of course, but I had this tool, why not simplify my work. Then she squeezed out the juice.
I have an old juicer, it’s for the best, it’s easier to collect the pulp for the wort. I shook out all the contents from the juicer (including the pulp), and filled it with juice. Three days the mixture stood in an enamel pan.
My advice: cover the top of the mosquitoes with a piece of dense fabric.
While the wort is fermenting, it must be stirred a couple of times a day. A wooden stirrer is suitable for this. Metal is better not to use.
Three days later, I strained the wort through an ordinary double gauze into 10 liter bottles. Along the way, I added about 800 ml of water to the wort.
Pour juice into bottles so that there is room on top. The wine will ferment, which means it can rip off the lids if this condition is not met.
Next we have some math. The wort ferments gradually, and the bacteria that process sugar want to eat, just like people. That is, not all at once, but in small portions. Yes, they need to be fed.
How to do it right:
- on the first day, we charge 100 g of sugar for each liter of juice diluted with water, mix lightly;
- then on days 2, 3 and 4 we add 30 g per liter;
- from the fifth day from the start of fermentation, add another 20 g of sugar per liter daily;
The nuances that matter the most
On the first day of fermentation, it is necessary to close the bottles with caps into which hoses are inserted. Seal the structure and place the hoses in water bottles.
Tip: It is better to cut the lids with a thin ice pick or punch holes in the bottom with a chisel. If you try to make holes with a regular knife, it can turn out badly.
Or you can just put a rubber glove on the bottle, which in the process of releasing fermentation gases will inflate and wave at you in greeting.
How long will the wine ferment? I left it for 2 months, and I didn’t hide it in a dark place, I just left it in the kitchen. When the water in the water seal has stopped gurgling, and the glove on the bottle has fallen, this means that the fermentation is over.
Now we filter the wine through cheesecloth and bottle it. Then I placed them in a cool cellar to ripen.
Result
The finished product most closely resembles apple cider, sweet and gassy. It does not look like ordinary wine and does not resemble champagne, as some people say. Despite the length and rather laborious process, apple wine met my expectations.
The wine turned out to be moderately sweet, with a fresh aroma of apples. This is not in the purchased cider, which favorably distinguished my creation from other drinks at the table.
Excessive alcohol consumption is harmful to your health. Take care of yourself!
Craftsmen say that you can add half as much sugar to get dry wine. But I will try it next year if there are apples again. Have you made fruit wines? Liked?