Isabella’s Homemade Grape Wine Recipe

Homemade wine from Isabella grapes is a worthy alternative to store-bought drinks. If the technology is followed, a tasty wine with the necessary indicators of sweetness and strength is obtained. The preparation process includes harvesting, preparation of containers, fermentation and subsequent storage of wine.

Features of the variety

Isabella is a table-technical variety of grapes. It is not used for fresh consumption, so it is usually grown for making wine.

Variety Isabella is harvested quite late: from late September to November. On the territory of Our Country, this grape is grown everywhere: in the black earth territories, in the Moscow region, the Volga region and Siberia. The plant is highly resistant to frost.

Initially, the variety was obtained in North America. Taste, high yield and unpretentiousness to external conditions made Isabella popular in winemaking.

Isabella has certain characteristics that must be considered when obtaining wine:

• average fruit weight – 3 g, size – 18 mm;
• the berries have a dark blue color, so red wine is obtained from them;
• sugar content – 15,4;
• acidity – 8 g.

The acidity and sugar content of the Isabella variety largely depends on the conditions in which the grapes grew. Berries with the best characteristics are obtained with an abundance of sun and warm weather.

Preparatory stage

Before proceeding with the preparation of wine, you need to collect the berries and prepare the container. The final result largely depends on proper preparation.

Vintage

Isabella wine is made from ripe berries. If the grapes are not ripe enough, they retain a large amount of acid. Overripe fruits contribute to acetic fermentation, which leads to spoilage of grape juice. Fallen berries are also not used to make wine, as they give the drink a wine flavor.

Harvested grapes should not be washed in order to preserve fermentation-promoting microorganisms. If the berries are dirty, then they are gently wiped with a cloth. After harvesting, the grapes are sorted out, leaves, twigs and low-quality berries are removed. It is recommended to use the fruits within 2 days.

Container preparation

To get homemade grape wine, glass or wooden containers are chosen. It is allowed to use containers made of food-grade plastic or enameled dishes.

Wine, regardless of the stage of readiness, should not interact with metal surfaces, with the exception of stainless objects. Otherwise, the oxidative process will begin, and the taste of the wine will deteriorate. It is recommended to knead the fruits manually or with a wooden stick.

Before use, the container must be sterilized to eliminate harmful bacteria. The easiest way is to wash them with hot water and wipe dry. On an industrial scale, sulfur containers are fumigated.

The best ways to get wine

The choice of method for making homemade wine from Isabella depends on the result that you want to get. One of the best is the classic recipe for red wine. If necessary, its taste is adjusted with sugar or alcohol. If you need to make dry white wine, then unripe grapes are taken.

Classic recipe

To make wine in the traditional way, you will need the following ingredients:

• Isabella grapes in the amount of 15 kg;
• sugar (0,1 kg per liter of juice);
• water (up to 0,5 liters per liter of juice, used if necessary).

How to make Isabella wine in the classic way reflects the following procedure:

Getting juice from grapes

The collected berries are crushed manually or with a wooden device. The resulting mass, which is called the pulp, must be stirred every 6 hours so that a crust from the pulp of the berries does not form on the surface. Otherwise, the wine will sour.

After 3 days, the crushed berries are passed through a large sieve. At this stage, the sweetness of the wine is evaluated. The optimal acidity of homemade Isabella grape wine is 5 g per liter. Even in ripe berries, this figure can reach 15 g.

If the cheekbones are reduced from grape juice, then it is diluted with water in an amount of 20 to 500 ml. Part of the acid will go away during the fermentation of the juice.

fermentation of grape juice

At this stage, the preparation of containers is required. It is best to choose a glass container with a volume of 5 or 10 liters. It is filled 2/3 with grape juice, after which a special device is placed – a water seal.

It is made independently from improvised materials or purchased a finished device.

Grape juice is stored in a dark room, where the temperature is maintained in the range from 16 to 22°C. If fermentation takes place at higher temperatures, then the containers are filled only ½ of the volume.

Adding sugar

To obtain a semi-dry grape wine, sugar must be added. Isabella variety requires 100 g of sugar per 1 liter of juice.

If you follow the following procedure, you can solve the problem of how to make the wine sweeter:

1. 50% sugar is added when installing a water seal.
2. 25% is added after 4 days.
3. The remaining 25% is paid in the next 4 days.

First you need to drain a small amount of juice, then add sugar to it. The resulting solution is added back to the container.

Fermentation of Isabella wine takes from 35 to 70 days. When the release of carbon dioxide stops (the glove deflates), the wine becomes lighter in color and sediment forms at the bottom of the container.

Pouring wine

Young Isabella wine is carefully poured into storage containers to eliminate sediment. To perform the procedure, you will need a thin transparent hose.

The resulting wine is stored at a temperature of 6 to 16°C. For the final exposure of the drink requires at least 3 months. During this period, sediment may form at the bottom, then the wine is carefully poured into another container.

After 3-6 months, Isabella wine is poured into glass bottles, which are stored in an inclined position. Close the bottles with wooden corks. Wine can be stored in oak barrels.

Good homemade wine Isabella has a strength of about 9-12%. The drink is stored for 5 years.

white wine recipe

From the green berries of the Isabella grape, white wine is obtained. Fruit must be clean and fresh. For every 10 kg of grapes, 3 kg of sugar is taken.

The procedure for making dry white wine is simpler. You can make homemade wine from Isabella grapes according to the following recipe:

1. The grapes must be separated from the bunch and crushed by hand.
2. The mass is left for 3 hours.
3. With the help of gauze, the pulp of the fruit is separated and sugar is added.

   

4. Grape juice is mixed and poured into a container for 2/3 of its volume.
5. The container is closed with a lid with a hole where the tube is inserted. Instead, you can use a water seal.
6. Blow into the tube, then lower it into a bucket of water.
7. The tightness of the dishes is necessarily ensured (the lid can be covered with plasticine).
8. The container is left in a cool place for 3 months.
9. Periodically change the water in the bucket.
10. The resulting wine is tasted. If necessary, add sugar and leave it for another month.

Fortified wine recipe

Fortified wine has a more tart taste, but its shelf life is longer. For the Isabella variety, from 2 to 15% alcohol or vodka is added to the total volume of wine.

Fortified wine can be prepared according to the classic recipe. Then the addition of alcohol is made after removing the wine from the sediment.

There are other ways to make a fortified drink. This will require:

• 10 kg of grapes;
• 1,2 kg of sugar;
• 2 l of alcohol.

The recipe for homemade wine from Isabella grapes takes the following form:

1. The collected grapes are kneaded and placed in a glass container.
2. After 3 days, sugar is added to the berries and the mass is left for 2 weeks in a warm room.
3. After fermentation, the mixture must be filtered through cheesecloth, folded in three layers.
4. The squeezed juice is left in a dark and cool place for 2 months.
5. Alcohol is added to the resulting wine and left for another 2 weeks.
6. The finished wine is filled into bottles, which are stored in a horizontal position.

The easiest recipe

There is a simple recipe that allows you to get Isabella wine in a shorter time. This procedure is simpler than the classical one and includes several stages:

1. 10 kg of sugar are added to the harvested grapes (6 g).
2. The mixture is left for 7 days.
3. After a week, 20 liters of water are added to the mass and left for a month. If a different amount of grapes is used, then the remaining components are taken in the appropriate proportions.
4. After a specified period of time, the wine is filtered through gauze and poured into permanent storage.

Conclusion

Homemade wine is obtained as a result of fermentation of the grape mass. One of the most sought after grape varieties is Isabella. Among its advantages are high frost resistance, productivity and taste. Traditionally, the Isabella variety is used to make red wine, but white wine is obtained from unripe berries.

The process of obtaining Isabella wine can be seen in the video: