Contents
Homemade wine is an insidious thing, and I’m not talking about its effect on the body, but about the amazing ability to spoil when, it would seem, nothing foreshadowed.
Just the other day, they treated friends and basked in the rays of gratitude, and here you are: a characteristic sourness clearly draws from the balloon. And everyone knows that souring is an irreversible process, which means that the liquid will go at best to wine vinegar.
What to do to prevent the death of noble wine? Yes, yes, it is death, because real wine is alive, various chemical processes are constantly taking place in it.
The easiest and most armor-piercing option, of course, is to take advantage of the preservative properties of sulfur dioxide and add potassium pyrosulfate to the wine. This preservative has long been used by winemakers, but it can change the smell of the product for the worse.
Another method is accompanied by some troubles at all stages. Why at all? Yes, because acetic bacteria in a small amount are initially present on the berries.
Our task is to minimize their initial content and not give them the conditions for reproduction throughout the life of the wine.
Raw material
I will make a reservation right away, I am writing mainly on the basis of my experience, which was obtained on the shores of the Taganrog Bay, in your area there may be your favorites among the varieties.
The natural preservatives for wine are sugar and alcohol. Accordingly, the better the original grapes ripen, the more chances the wine will have. For winemaking, choose varieties that have time to collect the maximum sugar in your climate zone.
Home wine
And do not water the vineyard – this greatly affects the sugar content. My great-grandfather assessed the readiness of the grapes for harvest by dropping the juice on the palm of his hand – the droplet should have the most spherical shape. True, he lived to the south – in the Stavropol Territory.
Among the seven varieties used, I have formed three leaders in terms of resistance to souring, all other things being equal: Isabella, Moldova, Saperavi. All are red. Once I was interested – why is this so, and I studied the Internet in search of an answer.
Most likely, this is due to a higher content of tannins, the breakdown products of which – phenolic acids – have antioxidant properties (by the way, the presence of phenolic acids is associated with the health benefits of red wine established by doctors. In moderation, of course).
Gathering Isabella
Only freshly picked berries should be processed, especially if the part has been damaged by wasps or birds.
The product collected in a box cannot be ventilated, as on a bush, and attracts fruit flies, which can bring another dose of acetic bacteria. Before squeezing, the berries must certainly be sorted out and all spoiled ones removed.
Preparation
During the cooking process, make sure that there is no oxygen access to the wort. While the wine is fermenting, the water seal will deal with the problem. Sometimes a rubber glove is enough. Your next task is to minimize the time of contact with air when draining from the sediment and adding sugar syrup.
I know that the last point is an amateur, but increasing the strength of the finished product above 12% increases its chances of survival several times. I add sugar two or three times as it ferments. The first time at the rate of 50 g / liter, the second and third – about 30 g / liter.
Another nuance is the large volume. It is most reliable to use a barrel of 50 liters or more, of course, if there is something to fill it with. In extreme cases, twenty-liter cylinders are suitable. In ten-liter bottles, young wine is most capricious, and it’s not worth talking about a smaller size.
Storage
For homemade wine, the moment when preparation turns into storage or aging is arbitrary. The wine is tasted at all stages of preparation, but there are certain milestones.
The first year I keep wine in a barrel. When it’s time for the next harvest, I spill it. Part of the bottle – for consumption in the near future. Part in five-liter cylinders – for aging. When spilling, make sure that there is no free space left in the container and close the lid tightly.
The optimum temperature for storing wine is about 13 degrees. It is important that there are no large temperature fluctuations, vibrations and ultraviolet access. At home, it is difficult to achieve the ideal, but there is something to strive for.
I usually store wine in the cellar, sometimes in the pantry. The last option, however, let me down a couple of times. No, the wine did not turn sour: it was a hot summer, it decided to continue fermenting and broke the glass bottle. Since then I have been using plastic.
A year’s supply of wine bottled and labeled
It would be interesting to get acquainted with other observations of home winemakers regarding the preservation and improvement of the taste of wine.