Home winemaking is a complex but interesting process. A lot of people who do this on an ongoing basis have their recipes, proven over the years. However, even experts in the field of winemaking do not always know what pasteurization of wine is at home, and why it is needed.
Description
Pasteurization is the heating of wine to a temperature of 55-60 degrees or 90, depending on the technology. This is done in order to improve the quality characteristics of the drink. Pasteurization of wine at home is carried out taking into account the lack of contact with air during heating of the liquid. This is necessary so that the drink does not lose its taste. By technology, it is allowed to heat not only classic grape wine, but also berry or apple.
Why heat up?
Sometimes winemakers are faced with the problem of souring wine. Moreover, it can be manufactured according to technology. This is due to the presence of wine yeast and sugar in the drink, which create a favorable environment for the reproduction of bacteria - they start the process of souring, fermentation or mold.
At the same time, pasteurization of wine at home can slightly change the taste of the drink. Because of this, the technology is not so popular.
Varieties of the method
There are two types of wine pasteurization technology at home:
- Short-term - involves heating the drink for a short period of time up to 90 degrees. Then the drink is cooled. However, at home it can be difficult to quickly cool the wine, so this method is not popular.
- Long-term heating - carried out for 30 minutes at a temperature of 55-60 degrees. It is important to monitor the process and prevent the temperature from rising and boiling wine.
For the implementation of the process at home, prolonged pasteurization is often used, since after this the drink cools naturally.
Preparing for pasteurization
Before proceeding with the procedure, it is important to assess the condition of the wine. The drink should be fully prepared for consumption. This means that the fermentation process should be finally completed by the time of pasteurization. In addition, there should be no sediment at the bottom of the wine containers - if it is, then the drink must be transferred to another container and wait a week.
The wine is considered ready for pasteurization when the precipitate has ceased to form.
Necessary utensils
To pasteurize grape wine at home, you will need the following dishes:
- Bottles or cans directly for wine. Champagne bottles are considered an ideal option, as they are made of thick glass and also have a dark color. If not, ordinary bottles are used. The main condition is the fact that the container must be hermetically sealed, so you should take care of the presence of caps.
- Casserole for pasteurization. The container must be of sufficient height so that the water level matches the level of wine in the bottles. It is desirable that it contains a few bottles of wine.
After the necessary dishes have been prepared, and the drink has clarified, you can begin the procedure for pasteurization of wine at home in banks.
Heating technology
In addition to collecting suitable containers for pasteurization, you may also need other equipment:
- a towel that is placed on the bottom of the pan to avoid cracks in the glass from overheating;
- thermometer for measuring fluid temperature.
If everything you need is available, you can begin to pasteurize the wine at home:
- The pan must contain at least two bottles of liquid, since a thermometer is immersed in one instead of wine to determine the exact temperature of the wine when heated.
- Bottles or jars in which pasteurization will be carried out must be steam sterilized to destroy possible pathogenic flora.
- After that, the drink is bottled so that the water level in the pan matches the level of wine. In this case, the wine should be at least 4 cm from the neck.
- After a wine spill, the containers are carefully sealed with corks or lids.
- A towel folded in several layers is laid at the bottom of the pan.
- A bottle of water and a thermometer should be placed in the center of the pan and surrounded by containers of wine, so information about the temperature of the liquid will be most reliable.
- After a while (from 20 to 40 minutes) the wine is removed from the fire.
- It should be cooled with cold water.
After these manipulations, pasteurization is considered complete.
Useful Tips
In order to carry out the procedure as correctly as possible and not spoil the wine, you need to adhere to the following tips from experienced winemakers:
- The temperature of pasteurization of wine at home varies depending on the type of drink. Dry and semi-dry table wines require pasteurization at a temperature of 50 degrees, semi-sweet wines at 55 degrees, dessert and sweet at 60 degrees. If the temperature is not observed, the wine can be cooked and lose useful and taste characteristics. In addition, absolutely not allowed to boil an alcoholic beverage.
- The heating time should also be carefully monitored. It completely depends on the volume of the container in which the wine is located. When using cookware with a capacity of 0.5 l, the wine heats for 15 minutes, 0.7 l - 20 minutes, 1 l - 25-30 minutes. You can track the exact temperature using a thermometer immersed in a container of ordinary water, which is located in a pasteurization pan.
- After pasteurization, the wine must be cooled to room temperature and sealed for further storage.
- The optimum temperature for storing wine is 10-12 degrees, a cellar or cellar is perfect for these purposes.
Properly conducted pasteurization of wine can save the drink for many years without changing the chemical composition and loss of taste.
Other ways to fix wine
Pasteurization of apple wine at home is the most common, but far from the only way to keep the drink in its original form. You can also protect wine from mold, souring and turning into vinegar using the following methods:
- The addition of chemical preservatives, namely sulfurous acid. It is often used in the industrial production of wine drinks, but at home it is sometimes difficult to calculate the desired dosage of a substance. In addition, many home winemakers are categorically against adding chemicals to the drink.
- Adding alcohol to wine. For these purposes, alcohol is used with a strength of 96 degrees. In order for the wine to be stored for a long period of time, its strength must be at least 16 degrees. However, in this case, it will not be possible to make light table wines.
Due to the inconvenience of using the above methods, pasteurization is very popular in home winemaking.