In conditions of a too rich harvest and limited space of the cellar for storing blanks for the winter (jam, jams, juices), every autumn the gardener has the same question - what else would you do to preserve the harvest. In this case, you can use surplus apples or plums to prepare delicious home-made wine, which by the way will be on the festive table, and to treat guests who suddenly arrive. How to make wine? We’ll talk about this in detail now.
It will be useful for you to know that the wine that you prepare yourself will be much more useful than what is sold in stores, because a home product is devoid of all kinds of chemical additives, flavorings, ethyl alcohol - the drink will contain only what has grown in your garden.
How to make wine from grapes
You will need wine grapes (muscat, isabella, cabernet). Separate the berries from the bunch, carefully sort through to remove rotten and spoiled grapes. It is recommended to wash the grapes only if there is dust on it, if it is not there, then leave it as there are bacteria on the skin of the berries that are favorable for the fermentation process.
Crush the berries with a pusher, a press, or a juicer. Drain the juice that turned out into an enameled container using a colander. For several days, leave the liquid to infuse at a temperature of about 28 degrees. When you see that the juice has risen up, and the cake donkey to the bottom, having folded gauze in several layers, strain the juice and pour it into 10- or 20-liter bottles. In this case, fill each vessel only 2/3.
Cork the bottles with plastic stoppers, in each of which you need to make a hole and insert a long vinyl tube into it. Lower the other end of the tube into a bottle of plain water. This design will allow carbon dioxide to escape from the wine and not allow oxygen to enter the drink. Instead of a cap, you can use a medical rubber glove.
Leave the juice bottles to ferment for a month at room temperature. After the due time, strain the wine to remove sediment. Pour the drink into standard bottles (0.5-1l), cork and stop 3-4 months in the cellar. As a result, you will get a wonderful dry home-made wine, the strength of which will be no more than 5 degrees.
How to make apple wine
Wash the apples (2kg) and cut into small pieces. Put the fruit in an enamel pan. Pour in water (2 l), add ground cinnamon (one tablespoon) and cook until the apples are soft. Strain the broth through a strainer and set to ferment at room temperature. At the end of fermentation, strain the wine, add granulated sugar (0.5 kg) and leave for secondary fermentation. Now stir the drink twice or thrice a day with a wooden stick. After 14-21 days, when the wine becomes light, strain it to get rid of sediment, and pour it into bottles.
How to make apple dessert wine
Separate apples and pears using a juicer or press and make juice. Pour apple juice (10.8 l) and pear juice (1.2 l) into the container, add sugar (1 kg) and large raisins (200 g), cut into pieces. Leave to roam for 2-3 weeks, then bottle the wine, cork it and put it in storage in the cellar.
How to make plum wine
Select only ripe plums, but do not wash them (as is the case with grapes). Make plum juice using a press or in a juicer. For each kilogram of juice and drain, add water (0.5 l) and sugar (100 g). Mix everything in a container and put it in a warm place to start wandering around. After a few days, separate the juice from the cake.
Prepare the leaven from warm water (300ml), unwashed raisins (200g) and sugar (50g). Put roaming. After 3-4 days, the leaven will be ready. Now it should be poured into a vessel with a must and closed on a water lock (a cotton plug with a flexible tube, the other end of which is lowered into a water bottle). Put the bottle of future wine in a dark and warm place. Regularly check how the fermentation proceeds, if the water lock is not tight. When the wine begins to clarify, and the bubbles cease to stand out, drain the drink with a thin hose. Pour into a new bottle to the neck, plug with a cotton plug and put in the cellar for 24 hours. After this time, replace the cotton plug with the cork, which should be filled with paraffin. In a horizontal position, keep a bottle of wine in the cellar for another 3 months, so that the drink is finally ready.
Now that you know how to make wine from grapes, plums and apples, you can continue to experiment, for example, with cherries, pears, currants, gooseberries and other berries. Believe me, it will turn out no less delicious.