How to make wine from irgi

Irga is not a frequent guest at the sites of s. This is a deciduous shrub, the fruits of which are bluish-black berries up to 1 cm in size with a bluish bloom, which in appearance resemble black currants. They are moderately sweet, quite juicy and fragrant. They are eaten fresh and made into sweet preparations and drinks, including wine. Wine from shadberry is original, unusual and memorable in taste. For those who want to make it, here are some easy recipes to make this hoppy drink at home.

Characteristic features of the berry

There are practically no proteins and fats in irga, but there is a huge amount of useful substances: sugars (more than 10%), organic acids (0,5-1%), pectins, vitamins (especially ascorbic acid), flavonoids (up to 40%) and mineral salts, tannins, phytosterols and fiber. The calorie content of the berry is low – only 45 kcal per 100 g. All this makes the irgu a tasty, valuable and healthy product.

It is not difficult to make wine from shadberry at home, but some difficulty in making it is that it is not so easy to get juice from its berries. If you grind them in a meat grinder, you get a thick jelly, not juice. Another difficulty is that they have a rather low sugar content and acidity, therefore, to increase the sugar in the fruits, the collected irga is first dried in the sun, and only then sent for processing. To increase the acidity, lemon juice is added to the wort.

Traditional recipe for shadberry wine

How to squeeze juice

To make homemade wine from shadberry with your own hands, you must first squeeze the juice from its berries. Winemakers do not recommend squeezing it on a juicer: the juice will turn out to be too thick and viscous. It is better to use two other ways to get it. But before that, the irgu needs to be prepared: sort out, remove unripe, spoiled berries, small leaves and twigs, and then rinse the remaining whole and usable berries under running water.

How to prepare juice:

1. Mash the irgu with a crush and leave for a day to infuse in a warm place. Then squeeze it through gauze, pour the resulting juice with the amount of water indicated in the recipe, and leave for another day. Then again squeeze the juice through cheesecloth. This method allows you to preserve the natural yeast that is on the berries, so you do not need to add them to the wort.
2. Mash the irgu, and heat on fire to 60 ° C. Cover with a lid and let it brew for 1 day, then squeeze through cheesecloth. In this case, when preparing the wort, you will have to use brewer’s yeast, since when heated, wild yeast will be destroyed.

To obtain 1 liter of juice from shadberry, you will need about 2-3 kg of berries. From this ratio, you need to calculate how much it will be necessary to collect them to make wine.

Preparation of a syrup

If the recipe for making homemade wine from shadberry involves the use of sugar, then the syrup must be made in advance. They do it this way: pour 2 liters of water into a saucepan and pour 1 kg of sugar into it. After it is completely dissolved, the syrup is boiled for 10 minutes until it thickens a little.

Preparing and filling the wort tanks

After preparing the syrup for wine, juice is poured into the container, sugar syrup, cooled to room temperature, is added to it. The ingredients are taken at the rate of 1 to 2. Everything is mixed and wine yeast and juice squeezed from 1 lemon are added to the mixture. The must is poured into cylinders of at least 3 liters in volume (it is advisable to take large bottles for wine, in which the wine ferments more correctly). They are filled by 2/3, you can’t add juice to the top, you need to leave a little space for foam, it will form during the fermentation process.

A water seal is installed on top, it can be purchased at a store or made independently from a plastic cover and a thin silicone tube (you can use medical tubes). The end of the tube, through which carbon dioxide will come out, is lowered into a jar of water, which is installed next to the bottle. The jar is only half filled with water. The lid, if it does not fit snugly against the rim of the jar, can be wrapped with tape to prevent air from entering and carbon dioxide from escaping.

Fermentation process

In order for the must from the shadberry to ferment well, it must stand in a warm (about 20-24 ° C) and dark room (so that sunlight does not fall on it, from which the acid content in the juice increases). If it is colder, the wine will ferment poorly; if it is warmer, it will ferment too vigorously. Either way, it cannot be allowed. If everything goes right, carbon dioxide bubbles will start to come out as soon as the water seal is installed.

Under such conditions, the wine fermentation process can last approximately 1-1,5 months. Its end will be indicated by the cessation of the release of gas bubbles, the liquid will become lighter and more transparent, it will acquire a crimson color with a purple hue. The finished wine is poured through a straw. To make it easier for the liquid to move through it, you need to raise the bottle above the ground, placing it on a chair, lower one end of the hose into the wine, and bring the other to your lips and draw air into yourself. The drained liquid is filtered through gauze, poured into jars or bottles, filling them to the very top, and then stored in a cool and dark room.

Terms and conditions of exposure

Aged wine from shadberry is much tastier and more aromatic than the one just won, and for this it needs to be put in a cold and dark place for a while. The holding period is at least 6 months. If it is possible to leave it to age longer, then it is worth doing – as in the case of grape wine, a drink from shadberry only gets better from this. After six months have passed, the liquid is poured into other containers to remove the sediment.

Terms and conditions of storage

Store homemade wine from shadberry up to 5 years in a dark and cold cellar. It is impossible to keep it in the light and warm, because of this it deteriorates, becomes cloudy and sour.

Unusual combination, or wine from shadberry and currant

In addition to the shadberry itself, the juice of other berries is added to the wine from it, which give it a peculiar taste and aroma. They can be found in any garden or bought on the market. For example, a drink can be prepared according to a simple recipe for wine from shadberry and red currant, which, having natural acidity, will give it a more noble taste and relieve excessive cloying.

The sequence for preparing this type of wine is as follows: squeeze the juice from currant berries and berries of shadberry, mix them and add syrup made from 2 liters of water and 1 kg of granulated sugar to the resulting mixture. Pour the wort into cylinders or bottles, put a water seal and leave to ferment in a warm place for a period of 1 to 1,5 months. After the process is completed, pour the wine into prepared bottles and lower them into a cold cellar.

Recipe for homemade wine from shadberry with raisins

This is another version of homemade shadberry wine. In it, in addition to the berry itself, raisins are used, which gives the finished product a unique flavor and aroma. Prepare it like this: take 2 kg of berries, 50 g of raisins, 2 liters of water and 1 kg of sugar. The sequence of making this wine: make sugar syrup, squeeze the juice from the shadberry, add syrup and raisins to it. The mixture is put to infuse for 3-5 days somewhere in a warm place, after which the juice is drained, filtered and poured into bottles for fermentation. In the future, everything goes exactly the same as when receiving a simple wine prepared according to a classic wine recipe.

Wine from shadberry and cherry – harmony of taste and aroma

This recipe for homemade shadberry wine involves adding juice squeezed from cherries to the must, which perfectly matches the taste of the main berry and harmoniously complements it. To make homemade wine, they take only ripe cherries, wash them and crush them a little so that they release the juice.

To prepare the wort, you will need the following components:

• 1,5 kg of irgi;
• 0,5 kg of cherries;
• 2 L of water;
• 1 kg of sugar.

The sequence of making wine from shadberry and raisins is not difficult. First you need to make sugar syrup, pour the berries into a large bottle or jars, pour syrup on top of them and leave to ferment in a warm room. After about a month and a half, the drink will be ready, it can be drained, filtered and bottled. The shelf life of such wine is an average of 5 years.

A simple recipe for irgi wine without added sugar

Although shadberry is not considered sweet, there is a simple recipe for homemade shadberry wine without the addition of granulated sugar: the result is a dry, sour wine. To prepare it, you will need only 2 ingredients: water and berries, which must be taken in equal proportions.

The irga is sorted out, washed under running water and the juice is squeezed out of it, and then as much water is poured into it as required by the recipe. The liquid is left for 3 days in an open container, after which it is filtered through gauze, the resulting liquid is poured into a bottle and placed in a warm place for fermentation. After its completion, the wine is drained, filtered, bottled and put in the cellar for storage.

How to make wine from shadberry and raspberries at home

This sweet berry can add sweetness and flavor to wine. How to make wine from shadberry and raspberry? You need to take 1 liter of juice of these berries, mix them, cook a classic syrup from water and granulated sugar (2 to 1) and add it to the mixture. Mix everything, pour into bottles and put for fermentation. Then prepare the wine in the same way as according to the traditional recipe. Shelf life – at least six months, but it is better to leave it to be aged for 1 year or more.

Conclusion

It is not difficult to make wine from irgi with your own hands. To do this, you need a minimum of ingredients: berries, clean water and granulated sugar. The process of obtaining wine also does not take much time and is not difficult, so anyone can cook it at home.