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It so happened that the wife from work (she traded in a vegetable shop) often brought discounted grapes. I thought: why not try to make wine from these grapes. There was some knowledge in this area, and experience will come with time, there is nothing complicated here.
In my youth, I lived in the North Caucasus and remembered that everyone made wine there. But they made it from their own grown grapes, but I will have to use a purchased one. However, even from discounted grapes, the wine turned out wonderful.
Even today, when my wife has long retired from the trade, every autumn at the height of the season I buy grapes to make a few liters of natural homemade wine.
This story was sent by my subscriber Alexander.
Why I decided to make alcohol myself
I repeat that, not trusting our public catering, I do a little winemaking in my kitchen. The most delicious, sweet, tart and beautiful wine is obtained from black kishmish grapes.
Second is Isabella. Aroma, taste of wine from this variety is one of the best. In third place is the Moldovan black grape “Moldova”, it is large, sweet, but it is not on sale for long and infrequently.
Taifi pink, if there are no other varieties, is also suitable. Of course, such a berry will not give a beautiful ruby color, but a pleasant pink tint also looks very impressive. The quality of our wine, be it rosé, white or red, will be incomparable to what we buy in stores.
Most of us do not have the opportunity to buy vintage wines from 1 rubles per bottle. And if there is such an opportunity, try to choose this bottle again so as not to run into a fake.
In the low price category, 400-600 rubles, there are probably both natural wines and fakes. But again, it is impossible to find and distinguish good from bad “by eye”.
What ingredients are required
For 1,0-1,2 liters of natural, without adding water, wine you will need:
- 2 kg of grapes.
- 100-200 g sugar.
- Glass jar with a volume of 1-1,5 liters.
- A piece of gauze or a sieve for filtering.
- Enamel pan where the grapes will ferment.
And, of course, the time to process the berries and then follow the process of wine maturation. But all these efforts are feasible for anyone, there would be a desire. And the result will definitely please.
I cut off the berries from the brushes, I crush them. You can just use your hands to ensure that each berry is mashed.
The cooking process
I carefully wash the purchased grapes, and let the brushes dry.
There is an opinion that grapes cannot be washed: they will not ferment. Where did it come from? Do not know. I have been making homemade wine for more than 15 years, always washing my purchased grapes, but there has never been a case when the wine did not work out.
Apparently, once in the villages, grapes from their vineyards were not washed, and this was normal. But the bunches brought from the city market must be washed. This will not affect the process: everything will roam perfectly.
Squeezed grapes in an enameled or glass container – in a warm place. Let it be a table in the kitchen.
Covered with a lid or a towel, mix the mass once or twice a day.
Important! Be sure to stir! If this is not done, the crushed grapes will become moldy.
After one maximum two days, the fermented berries will rise up with a “cap”. Everything is correct, the process is going well, you can filter it.
I take a piece of gauze or a sieve and filter it into a glass jar.
I throw away the cake, add sugar to the fermented juice. Recommended per liter -200 g of sugar. Who does not like very sweet, can put 50 or 100 g.
I cover the jar with a piece of cotton cloth or a regular disposable polyethylene glove. At the neck, I fasten the glove or fabric with an elastic band.
I also keep a jar of wine warm. You can in the same kitchen on the table. It is advisable to darken the jar. I wrap it in a towel or glue a “shirt” from an ordinary newspaper with tape and put it on a jar.
After a day, sediment will appear at the bottom of the jar. I drain the wine and discard the sediment. I do this as many times as the sediment will collect at the bottom of the jar. In total, the process will take up to 20 days.
Important! If the wine is not drained from the sediment, it will be bitter. Therefore, follow the settling and remove on time.
When the fermented grape juice becomes crystal clear, and the sediment stops appearing at the bottom, the young wine is ready. Above I mentioned the glove. While the wine will play, she is in an upright position. Fermentation will end – the glove will fall.
You can monitor the readiness of wine in this way, however, I do not always adhere to this. I understand that the wine is ready only by its color and sediment at the bottom. Completely transparent wine without sediment – I close the lid and take it out to a cool dark place.
What result did I get
Such wine without preservatives and any additives will stand for a very long time. Until the next grape harvest, for sure. Do as needed. If you drink 20-30 liters of wine during the winter-spring season, cook as much.
If 1 kg of grapes costs 80 rubles, and 2-1,2 liters will come out of 1,5 kg of grapes. wine, it turns out that a liter of homemade wine will cost no more than 150 rubles.
Important! Don’t miss the moment when the crushed berries begin to ferment. Usually this is the second day. Drain the day after the start of fermentation. If you overexpose the mixture and do not drain the fermented juice, it will turn into vinegar.
In the store, a bottle of 0,7 liters costs, say, 400 rubles. What is poured into it is unknown. So let me spend time, but I will know that I have real grape juice in my glass, fermented and turned into wine, and not water with paint, sugar and yeast. I’m right?