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I got acquainted with the production of wine as a child: in my grandmother’s yard, the path from the gate to the entrance to the house is designed in the form of an alley covered with densely overgrown Isabella grapes.
And it stuck in my memory forever how I – a “healthy three-year-old” – was standing near a two-hundred-liter barrel, three-quarters filled with crushed, dark-gray grapes.
And foam boils on the surface of the wringer, and the aroma is so magically sweet. By the way, they couldn’t wash the barrel after that – the natural dyes were so ingrained into the plastic …
Now grandmother’s “Isabella” is frozen, in its place grows grapes of the “Lydia” variety, which has nothing to do with today’s story.
How I decided to try my hand at winemaking
Somehow, at the end of the summer before last, I was visiting my friend at the dacha. There, I noticed berries familiar from childhood on the vine, and I asked the owner about the wine. But my friend turned out to be far from all this and offered me to pick up his crop.
Of course, I did not refuse and became the proud owner of four buckets of wine grapes. Moreover, he was my favorite variety “Isabella”.
The grapes by that time had already ripened enough and picked up sweets. The clusters were densely packed with berries, and the berries themselves had an attractive appearance.
Necessary equipment.
What ingredients are required
Actually, apart from grapes, I used only sugar and a good mood (an obligatory ingredient!). Of the devices needed:
- Large capacity for initial fermentation. I used plastic 30 liters.
- Large bowl or trough for squeezing juice. Best suited enameled or stainless steel.
- Fermentation tanks. I have ten liter bottles.
- Water seal. In my case, this is it.
It is better to seal the water seal on the bank with a clamp.
A hose or flexible tube is also useful in order to remove wine from the sediment. Accordingly, in order to measure the right amount of sugar, we need a measuring cup or a kitchen scale.
The cooking process
Grapes are best crushed on the same day they were harvested. Before crushing, we remove spoiled fruits from the bunches. The branches on which the berries hang can be left. Then I poured half a bucket of “Isabella” into the basin and crushed it in the classical way, that is, with my feet.
The resulting juice, together with the remains of the berries, is placed in a large container. Do the same with the remaining grapes.
Next, I closed the container with a lid, but not very tightly, so that the resulting gases could escape unhindered. The next day, such a hat rose from twigs and berry shells in a barrel. This hat must be lowered to the bottom twice a day so that it does not turn sour and spoil the future drink.
There is a way to ferment wine just under the pulp, without a water seal, but I have not tried it, so I will not advise.
On the fourth day, I did not lower the pulp hat to the bottom, but carefully collected it and transferred it to another barrel – it will be needed in the preparation of chacha. And the resulting wort was filtered through gauze and poured into two bottles, 10 liters each.
There were about 7 liters of liquid in the jars, and for each liter I added about 70 grams of granulated sugar. Sugar is necessary for the strength and durability of the future wine.
Then the bottles were covered with special caps with tubes, the ends of which were lowered into a jar of water. I additionally seal the lids with clamps to prevent air from entering the bottle. I decided not to use rubber gloves, since the water seal seems to me more reliable.
Please note that oxygen is the winemaker’s biggest enemy. Under its influence, the wort can turn into vinegar!
“Lady’s legs” on the walls of the glass after a year and a half of aging.
We clean the bottles in a warm dark place. A week later, a sediment formed on the bottom. We carefully drain the wine from the sediment with a thin hose and again put it under a water seal.
After another two weeks, a little more sediment will fall out – again we drain it through a straw. At this stage, I added another 200 grams of sugar to each bottle – I just like sweeter wine.
The wine will be ready when the air bubbles stop rising in the airlock. This happened to me two months after harvest. For the third time, I removed the finished wine from the sediment and put it in the cellar.
What result did I get
The wine I got was moderately sweet. My wife and girlfriend immediately appreciated its taste, but it seemed to me a little harsh and too tart. For this reason, I decided not to touch it for half a year so that it ripens.
By the May holidays of last year, I decided to check the result again: the taste lost in astringency, but it gained some fullness and a pleasant aftertaste, I was satisfied with the result.
Ladies and gentlemen, have any of you aged house wine for more than two years? Were you satisfied with the result?
*Alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health!