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Very often, my friends who are fond of making homemade wine complain that the drink prepared “strictly according to the recipe” is very different from what they have already tried or expected to receive. I know from personal experience that to get great taste it is not enough to follow the standards. Home winemaking is an art, and it has its own characteristics.
Calculation of sugar content and acidity
These two indicators are determined by the crop variety, its ripening period, and even the soil. Therefore, if you do not bother to measure them in the wort, the final product will most likely turn out to be sour.
And it’s too late to add sugar to already ripened wine in order to somehow correct the situation. The acid will of course be removed. Only I already call it not wine, but sweet alcoholic compote.
The optimal sugar content in the must varies from 10% to 20%. If it is less, the fermentation process will not start. And there will be more – the wort will have to be diluted with water.
Using wild yeast
Wild yeast can only be used if harvested from the same old vineyard. They then will not present surprises, for example, in foaming.
And if you pick berries in your garden or buy, then I advise you to use good quality wine yeast.
This, of course, will not guarantee that the drink will be excellent, but it will save winemakers, especially beginners, from making mistakes at the initial stage of production.
The use of household juicers
The use of this household appliance leads to significant losses of juice. In addition, getting a large amount of it in this way is quite burdensome. You will have to clean the device frequently.
For such purposes, I recommend using the press.
Errors in must contamination
I will focus on the fact that fermentation is the basis for making homemade wine. It is important that it occurs naturally and under optimal conditions.
Even high-quality wine yeast will not start the process if it has undergone a temperature shock, there is too little of it, or the container in which the wine is fermenting is not hermetically sealed.
The optimum temperature at this stage should not exceed 30 degrees. It is best if this indicator does not change significantly during the fermentation period.
Storage errors
At home, I recommend storing the drink in glass containers. For example, cans or bottles. And never use plastic containers. It is made of polymeric materials, and over time, the drink acquires an extraneous, uncharacteristic taste.
Incorrect storage temperature will have a bad effect on the final product. Wine should never be kept at home. For example, on the balcony, in the pantry, in the cabinet in the kitchen.
The ideal storage, where the taste and aroma of the drink is properly formed, is a dark, cool place with a temperature of no more than 6 degrees.