Wine from birch sap at home – two recipes

Soon, and maybe already now, spring sap flow will begin in the birch trees, which will last only two, at best three weeks. This short time we will also be on the move, stocking up on the most useful potion that nature itself gives us for free. And, as is often the case, one of the most enjoyable forms of storing birch sap is still homemade wine.

As the sunny autumn days come to an end, deciduous trees begin to store sugars and nutrients in their roots to provide initial leaf growth the next spring. It is this process that leads to discoloration and leaf fall. In the spring, when the sun begins to warm the soil and wood, the reserves accumulated in the roots rush up. This process is called sap flow and birches, to our delight, among other flora, have decently succeeded in this.

In the last article, I talked about how to make delicious and refreshing kvass from birch sap. In it you will find some guidelines for collecting sap, as well as possibly some useful information that may be useful for making wine from birch sap. Birch wine is a controversial drink. On the one hand, it has been brewed for several hundred years (mainly in Northern Europe), like birch beer, which means that there is still something in it. On the other hand, the taste of birch sap cannot be called outstanding, so that a bright fermented drink can be obtained from it.

Cherry birch (Bétula lénta, she is also sweet birch, or viscous birch) grows in Belarus, in the Baltic states, as well as in some regions of Russia (Central Chernozem Region, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad). Despite its name, sweet birch sap is not very sweet, but it is plentiful and contains a pleasant aroma and taste similar to the fruits of Wintergreen (a plant from the genus Gaulteria, has a pleasant aroma and taste, often used to make essential oils), which will allow you to get higher quality wine.

However, I recommend cooking it. If you do everything right and the wine turns out, then you will have quite an interesting wine material in the bins, which, even if you do not appreciate it in its original form, can be used to make other alcoholic beverages, for example, white vermouth. However, you should not rush to write off this nectar, it can sink deep into your soul and leave a pleasant aftertaste there for a long time. I, in turn, can reduce the possible fussiness with two proven recipes that I consider the most successful. Enjoy!

Birch sap wine without yeast

First of all, you need to check the raisins for the presence of wild yeast. To do this, prepare a starter from a small amount, the recipe of which is described in this article with recipes for raisin wines. It is not necessary to prepare a starter from all raisins, the main thing is to start fermentation, and the raisins themselves are more needed to feed the yeast and correct the taste. When you are sure that the raisins are of the right quality, boil the strained juice in a saucepan of the right size. Boil the juice over low heat until its total volume is about 20 liters (measure the volume of the pan in advance and make a mark).

Add sugar to the hot evaporated juice and stir until it is completely dissolved (it is wiser to dissolve only part of the sugar, and add the rest in batches during quiet fermentation). Let the wort cool down to 25^оC, squeeze lemon juice into it (you can add zest from 2-3 pieces) and add raisins with sourdough. During the primary fermentation, the wine can be left directly in the pan, covered with cheesecloth and provided with a suitable temperature. Periodically stir the contents of the pan, knock down the raisin cap so that it does not turn sour. After about 7-8 days, the wine can be poured into the fermenter (do not strain) and a water seal can be installed. Ferment to dryness (with wild yeast this can take up to 3 months).

After a month or two of quiet fermentation, the wine can be removed from the sediment and filtered. When the fermentation stops completely, remove the drink from the sediment, pour it into a clean, dry container, install a water seal and send it to ripen in a cool place for 6 months. Check the airlock periodically to make sure fermentation has stopped completely. Drain the wine if sediment appears. After six months, it can be bottled if desired. The result is a light dry wine with pleasant fruity and earthy tones on the palate. Such a drink will be a worthy alternative to prosecco in your perfect Spritz.

Recipe for birch wine “in English”

There are a huge number of recipes for birch sap wine with cultural yeast. This old English recipe seemed to me the most successful and easy to prepare. It can also be prepared with wild yeast and raisin sourdough.

Heat birch sap to about 75^оC and maintain this temperature for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, pour into a fermenter, add sugar, raisins (do not add if you cook with sourdough), citrus zest, mix until sugar is completely dissolved and let cool to 25-27^оC. Add citrus juice, yeast (or raisin starter), yeast feed or concentrated grape juice. Cover the throat of the fermenter with gauze and leave in a warm place for 5 days. After 5 days, strain the wort through several layers of gauze into a clean, dry fermenter, install a water seal and send it to a quiet fermentation (2-3 months). Then proceed according to the instructions from the first recipe (aging for 6 months in a cool place, periodic removal from the sediment, bottling).