Apples make very good table, dessert and liqueur wines, which anyone can make with their own hands. Financially apple wine one of the most inexpensive. At the same time, by successfully selecting the composition, you can get a very interesting bouquet. Winemaking technology for preparing apple alcohol has its own secrets and subtleties.
Cooking features
Have you decided to make wine from apples at home? Then you should know some nuances, without taking into account which you are unlikely to get something worthwhile.
- Apple varieties differ in sugar content and acidity, have different times maturation. Unsweetened apples with high acidity, including wild apples, are more suitable for table wines. Non-acidic apples with high sugar content are suitable for making dessert wines. There are also sweet and sour varieties that are considered universal. Wines made from summer and overripe apples quickly deteriorate, but drinks made from autumn and winter varieties store well. Antonovka is an excellent representative of late-ripening apples. Unripe carrion is suitable only for dry wines. The best bouquet is obtained from a combination of 2-3 parts of tart sweet fruits and 1-2 parts of sour ones.
- The quality of the raw materials is critical. The apples must be good, not wormy and without rot. If you come across spoiled and damaged areas, they need to be cut out before preparing the wine, otherwise it will have a bad effect on the taste of the drink. It is advisable to also remove the cores with pits.
- Apples do not need to be washed. Dust and small dirt can be removed using a dry cloth or a piece of clean cloth. For wine to ferment, yeast-like fungi are needed that live on the surface of the fruit, and after washing they may not remain there.
- To make must, apples must be crushed to obtain maximum quantity juice It is best to use a juicer. However, if there is none, you will have to manually grate the fruits or grind them in a meat grinder.
- In order for the juice to ferment and separate well from the pulp, it is better to place the crushed apple mass in a warm place, remembering to stir two or three times a day with a wooden spoon. This is done to avoid souring and to ensure uniform distribution of yeast.
- To make it easier to press the pulp, you can keep the wort in the cold a few hours before (optional) or remove its top layer with a spatula (if there is a lot). You can squeeze it with your hands through gauze.
- All ingredients from the recipes must be added before placing in the container for fermenting apple juice. At first it is better to add only half of the sugar, the rest in portions later. This scheme is required if sweet apples are used. If there is too much sugar, fermentation can stop.
- Apple wine, like other wines, should ferment without contact with air, while freely releasing the resulting carbon dioxide somewhere. This opportunity can be provided by a purchased or homemade device- a water seal or a simple medical glove with a small hole in the finger.
- When fermentation is over, the young wine must be poured into another container for settling. At this point, you can add more sugar to taste. But in this case, the drink should stand under a water seal for another week. To increase the strength and better preserve the wine, you can add a little alcohol or vodka (2–15% of the wine volume). After this, the container must be tightly sealed. Lightening of the wine will indicate its maturation. At this stage it can be bottled.
With strict adherence to the preparation technology and the proper selection of varieties, wine made from apples will turn out very tasty. Its golden color and pronounced, but unobtrusive, apple aroma will definitely appeal to every connoisseur of alcoholic beverages.
Traditional or classic recipe
This recipe allows even beginners in winemaking to make good homemade wine from apples. For it, it is advisable to use universal sweet and sour varieties. Some winemakers believe that the juice should be diluted with water, others are against this. If the apples are sour, then adding a small amount of water (no more than 1/3 of the juice volume) is justified. It's up to you to decide.
Composition and proportions:
- 10 kilograms of unwashed apples;
- 2 liters of water (optional);
- 1.6 kilograms of sugar.
Preparation.
Sort through the unwashed apples and wipe them with a dry cloth if necessary. Cut the fruits into slices, remove the cores with seeds and stalks, cut off the spoiled areas. Then the apple pieces must be crushed to a homogeneous mushy mass in any way convenient for you.
Pour the applesauce into an enamel bucket or large saucepan, cover with a cloth (a piece of clean gauze) and place for 3 days in a warm, sunny room. The fermented mass must be stirred two or three times a day.
After three days, you need to collect and squeeze out the floating pulp, strain the resulting juice and pour it into a fermentation container of a suitable size. Dissolve 800 grams of sugar in water and pour the sugar syrup into the juice. Put on the water seal. Place the container in a dark room.
After four days, you need to remove the water seal and, using a long hose, drain 500 ml of wort. Add 400 grams of granulated sugar to it and mix thoroughly. After it has completely dissolved, pour the liquid back into the fermentation container and reinstall the water seal. After another four days, the described process should be repeated.
The wort ferments well at a temperature of 18–24 °C. The process itself usually lasts 1–2 months. If the water seal stops gurgling, it means the wort is no longer fermenting. It happens that this moment does not come for a long time. Then, on day 50, the wort must be drained from the sediment into a clean container and again placed under a water seal until fermentation is complete. It will end very quickly.
Pour the young apple wine into another container, close with a regular lid and transfer to a cool place where it will settle for 3-6 months. After two weeks, the drink will need to be removed from the sediment. Repeat this procedure periodically until the wine is completely cleared. Then the ripened wine can be bottled. The result will be homemade table wine made from apples with a strength of 10–12 degrees.
Fortified wine recipe
Raisins will help speed up fermentation. On its surface, just like on the apple peel, there is wild yeast. By adding vodka (diluted ethyl alcohol or purified moonshine), the overall strength of the drink will rise. The shelf life of the wine will also increase, although the organoleptic properties will suffer slightly. In particular, the taste will become harsher.
Ingredients:
- 6 kilograms of apples;
- 2 kilograms of sugar;
- 200 grams of unwashed raisins;
- 100 milliliters of vodka.
Preparation:
Sort the unwashed apples, cut them into pieces and remove the cores. Grind until mushy and pour into an enamel pan. Place the container covered with gauze in a warm place for three days.
Strain the wort and squeeze out the pulp. IN apple juice add 1.5 kilograms of sugar. Stir the wort and pour into a clean fermentation container. Install the water seal. After three weeks, add the rest of the sugar (500 grams).
When fermentation is complete, you need to drain the apple wine from the sediment, add vodka and pour into another container. Close it tightly and place it in the basement for further purification and ripening of the drink.
Young wine can be clarified by pouring it into a clean container as 2–3 cm of sediment accumulates. After a few months, the drink with a strength of 14–16 degrees can be bottled.
Apple and pear juice recipe
To make dessert wine you will need sweet apples. Pears will give the drink an interesting flavor, and raisins will enhance and speed up fermentation.
Ingredients:
- 15 kilograms of sweet apples;
- 1 kilogram of pears;
- 1 kilogram of sugar;
- 250 grams of raisins.
Preparation.
Squeeze the juice from apples and pears using a juicer, add unwashed raisins to it. Pour the juice into a 15-liter enamel bucket, which then needs to be covered with a piece of gauze and placed in a warm place for 3 days. The fermentation process will begin. The fermented juice should be stirred several times a day with a wooden spatula.
After the specified time has passed, the liquid must be filtered, half a kilogram of sugar added, poured into a fermentation container, and a water seal installed. After five days, add 300 grams of granulated sugar, and after another four days, add the rest. When fermentation is complete, drain the wine, strain and pour into a clean container. We install it in a cool place. After the apple juice wine has clarified, bottle the drink.
The strength of this dessert wine can reach 15–16 degrees. After a year of storage, its taste will resemble port wine. Due to its sweetness and pleasant apple-pear aroma, this drink will certainly be appreciated by ladies.
Recipe for spiced wine with raisin sourdough
The apples, according to the recipe, will be subjected to heat, as a result of which the wild yeast will die. Without yeast, the wort will not ferment. Therefore, raisin starter is necessary.
Ingredients:
- 3 kilograms of sweet and sour apples;
- 1 liter of water;
- 1 kilogram of sugar;
- 100 grams of raisins;
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon.
Preparation.
You should prepare the starter in advance. To do this, mix unwashed raisins with 50 ml of warm water and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a cup. Place it on the windowsill and cover with a gauze napkin. In 2-3 days it will be ready.
Pour water over the prepared and chopped apples, add spices and cook over low heat until they become soft. After cooling, rub the apple mixture through a sieve. Add it to the starter and leave to ferment for three days.
Strain, add sugar and pour into glass jar under the water seal. When fermentation is complete, pour into a clean jar and close tightly. Periodically drain the apple wine from the sediment. When it clears, bottle it. The drink will be delicate with the aroma of apples and cinnamon.
Homemade wine is no worse than factory wine. It is not difficult to make, the main thing is to follow the described preparation technology and not violate the proportions indicated in the recipes. You need to pay attention to the selection of raw materials. And remember, the most delicious wine comes from late-ripening apples.
Greetings, my dears!
Today I will teach you how to make amazing apple wine at home and tell you how to do it easily and simply. Moreover, the day after tomorrow (August 19, 2018) will come Apple Spas. Do you know why it was remarkable in ancient times?
The fact is that previously it was on this day that caring housewives began to prepare for the winter. Moreover, in Orthodox tradition Apple Spas became the first day of eating this fruit in the new season. So you and I still have today and tomorrow to harvest apples and make delicious wine from them on Sunday.
By the way, it contains large number useful acids and tannins, vitamins (A, B and C), minerals and phytoncides with pectins. This wine normalizes blood sugar levels, strengthens nervous system and improves immunity. The main thing is to know how to prepare it correctly.
Experienced winemakers advise fermenting apple juice and pulp in complete darkness at a temperature of 22-28 degrees. If the room is cold, it is recommended to put a warm winter jacket or blanket over the bottle with a water seal to maintain the required fermentation temperature. And if this is not enough, then a hot water bottle placed under a jacket or blanket can act as an additional source of heat.
But the most important rule in apple winemaking, do not wash the collected fruit under any circumstances. After all, their peel contains special microorganisms that contribute to the normal process of natural fermentation. Real winemakers do not add yeast to the drink. So let's get started.
How to make wine from apples at home without squeezing the juice and without adding yeast?
Apple wine prepared according to this recipe turns out to be very light and at the same time beautiful - amber in color. Instead of yeast we will use crushed grapes or raisins.
Ingredients:
- 2 kg apples
- 4.5 liters boiling water
- sugar
- 1 kg grapes
Finely chop the apples without cutting out the core. Only rotten and wormy areas of the fruit need to be cut off.
Place the prepared raw materials in an enamel bucket with a lid, fill it with boiling water (just not to the brim!) and add sugar. When the infusion has cooled a little, put well crushed grapes in it and cover everything with a lid. Place in a warm place to ferment for 4-5 days.
Strain the contents of the bucket, pour into a bottle and add 200 g of sugar for each liter of wine. Then install a water seal or put a rubber glove on the neck of the container, first piercing 3-4 holes in it with a needle, and put it in a cool place for five months.
How to quickly make homemade wine from fresh apples using a juicer?
Reader Irina shared this recipe with me. She said that her husband prepares very tasty apple wine every year using this technology. So take it on board!
We will need:
- 4 buckets of apples (about 14 liters of juice)
- 2.8 kg sugar
Cooking method in stages:
We prepare the apples as follows: do not wash them, but cut off the rotten and wormy places.
Using a juicer, prepare apple juice, pour it into the prepared container and remove as much foam as possible, add 1 kg of sugar. Next, you need to wait for the fermentation process, which will begin within three days. All this time it is necessary to stir the juice regularly.
When the “cap” appears, carefully remove it.
Pour the fermented juice into a bottle, add another kilogram of sugar and install a water seal. After 5-7 days, add another 800 g of sugar to the container with the drink and put it in a cool place for about a month.
Apple wine at home - a simple recipe without added sugar
This divine drink is prepared by real winemakers who do not tolerate adding sugar, water or yeast to it. However, the wine turns out to be dry and sour in taste - in general, it’s not for everyone.
To begin, prepare:
- Apples in any quantity
- Containers for pulp
- Wine fermentation bottle
- Good mood
Cooking method in stages:
Do not wash the apples, clean them from rot and cut them into slices.
Grind the fruits in a blender or food processor.
We place the ground slices of fruit into containers, filling them no more than 2/3, and cover the top with gauze or a towel.
For 5-7 days, place the containers in a warm place and stir daily to prevent mold. The pulp should rise, but not touch the covering cloth.
Now we need to squeeze out the fermented juice from the finished raw material through gauze.
Tip: pass the finished juice through a colander in a bucket so that the future wine contains as little pulp as possible!
We saturate the wine with oxygen for better fermentation. To do this, take a mug and within 2-3 minutes scoop the drink from the bucket and pass it through a colander again.
We get fermented apple juice of such a beautiful shade, which will soon become the most natural dry wine.
Pour into a bottle and put a water seal on the neck, put the container in a warm place. In about a month our alcoholic drink will be ready, bon appetit!
How to make wine from apples and chokeberries at home?
For this recipe, chokeberries must be collected when they are overripe. Then the wine will be sweet and have a deep taste.
Ingredients:
- 2.5 kg apples
- 5 kg chokeberry
- 1 liter of water
- 1.5 kg sugar
Cooking method in stages:
Do not wash the berries and apples, clean them from rot, and cut the fruits into slices. We scroll the wine raw materials in a juicer.
Attention: a twin-screw juicer is best suited for these purposes, since it squeezes out 90% of all the juice!
Pour the resulting juice into a clean container, filling it no more than two-thirds of the total volume. We throw away the cake or recycle it. Next, the technology is as follows: add 750 g of sugar to the juice, cover the container and place it in a dark, warm place for three days to allow the raw material to ferment, remembering to stir it regularly (a couple of times a day is enough).
Then we remove the “cap” that has formed on top, pour the juice into a bottle, add water and another 750 g of sugar and put a water seal on the neck. We leave the future wine in this way for a month so that it “ripens”.
Prepare delicious wine from apples using a recipe using water and gloves
I am publishing this recipe specifically for those who are used to cooking the old fashioned way and using a rubber glove instead of a water seal. Despite this, the wine turns out aromatic and pleasant to the taste.
Take:
- 5 kg apples
- 5 liters of water
- 1 kg sugar
Cooking method in stages:
Cut the apples into slices, using a special device.
Place the fruit pieces into a clean container.
Grind the fruit using a blender, food processor or drill. Fill with water, cover with gauze, place in a warm place and stir daily for three days.
Strain the fermented juice through cheesecloth into a bottle, add sugar.
Put a rubber glove on the neck of the container, in which a hole must first be pierced with a needle. When the glove is deflated, it is necessary to pour the wine into containers and put it in the cellar.
How to make homemade wine from apple juice?
If you have a desire, you can experiment with store-bought apple juice. However, keep in mind that only straight-pressed drink will do. And even then the result is not guaranteed. Therefore, it is better to use freshly prepared juice from your own country supplies for such wine.
We will need:
- Apple juice – 6 l
- Sugar – 1.5 kg
- Honey – 300 g
Cooking method in stages:
Pass the apple juice through a colander to remove as much suspended matter as possible. Add 750 g of sugar, cover the container with the raw materials and place in a warm place for three days, remembering to stir it regularly during this entire time.
Remove the top layer (“cap”) from the fermented juice, pour it into a bottle, add another 750 g of sugar and place a water seal on the neck. After a week, add honey and leave the wine to ferment for another three weeks.
Remove the alcoholic beverage from the sediment using a dropper tube.
Our wine is ready! It should turn out to be such a beautiful amber color.
How to make wine from summer varieties of green apples at home?
Using this recipe, preparing a drink will not be difficult even for novice winemakers. The main thing is to observe the necessary proportions and technology.
Take:
- Bucket of green apples
- 2.5 kg sugar
- 3.5 liters of water
Cooking method in stages:
Peel the apples from rot, cut each fruit into four parts and place them in a clean container.
Add half a kilo of sugar.
Pour 3.5 liters of cool boiled water into the container with the raw materials.
Leave for five days to ferment.
Press the fermented raw material and pour the juice into a 10-liter bottle.
Add 2 kg of sugar to the container and place a water seal on it. Within a month the wine will be ready.
Video tutorial on how to make apple wine at home using a very simple recipe
As you may have noticed, in winemaking there are basic principles and personal secrets of each master or amateur. So, those who live in cold corners of Russia advise laying a sheet of plywood on the cool floor in the room, and placing a bottle of wine on it so that it ferments better.
At the second stage (after removing the “cap” from the surface of the container), experienced winemakers advise adding a glass of natural honey instead of 200 g of sugar. This improves the taste of the finished drink, as fermentation becomes more intense and of higher quality.
The following video shows a very simple recipe for making apple wine. It differs from those already in this article, but this does not mean that the homemade alcoholic drink is less tasty. Enjoy watching!
What are you planning to cook for Apple Spas from the fresh harvest? Share in the comments and also write which apple wine recipe you liked best. I will be very glad to hear from you. See you again on the blog!
Anyone who does not have large vineyards, but loves wine, can make it from ordinary apples. The result is a very tasty drink, which in small quantities only benefits our body. Making apple wine at home is a fairly simple process that even beginners can do. It is worth noting that many people like this drink, and your guests will be satisfied after tasting it.
Choosing raw materials for apple wine
To make homemade wine, you can, in principle, use almost any berries and fruits. However, the ideal raw materials for this drink are grapes, pears and apples. This is due to the fact that some fruits contain very little sugar and huge amount acids. Wine made from the pure juice of such berries and fruits ends up being very sour and slightly alcoholic. Grapes and apples have the ideal composition for preparing this drink. Wine can be made from fruit juice. However, it does not need improvement or correction.
Today, more than one recipe for apple wine is known. The drink can be prepared as dessert, table, strong, liqueur, simple, or with the addition of yeast. If you are just taking your first steps and don’t know how to make homemade apple wine, then you should start with liqueur, dessert or strong wine. After all, when preparing these varieties, they do not require the most complex equipment and are easier to tolerate inept and rough handling. It's no secret that the ability to make dry and light wines comes with experience. And you may not get a good drink the first time. Making apple wine at home has certain difficulties.
What do you need to make wine from apples?
So, how to make homemade apple wine? First of all, you should prepare everything you need. To do this you will need:
- Plasticine and a small plastic tube. All this can be replaced with a medical glove.
- Several sealed containers. One is needed for fermentation, and the second is for settling the wine.
- Special equipment for making juice.
- The apples are ripe.
- Sugar.
To make simple apple wine, any variety of red, yellow, or green fruit will do. Can be used both summer and winter. The main thing is that the fruits are fully ripe and, of course, juicy.
Preparing the apples
Fruits collected from the ground or picked from trees do not need to be washed. After all, yeast lives on their surface, which will bring considerable benefits in the future. Especially if you are planning to make apple wine without yeast. If the fruits are too dirty, they can be cleaned with a clothes brush or simply wiped with a dry cloth.
Many novice winemakers complain that the finished wine has a bitter aftertaste. To avoid this, remove the core and seeds from apples. If the fruit is slightly damaged, then it is worth cutting out all the rotten areas.
Juicing
Making apple wine at home begins with processing the fruit. The juice should be squeezed out of them. For this, of course, it is better to use a special unit - a juicer. Only in this case the raw material turns out to be clean and practically free of pulp. This greatly simplifies the further preparation of the drink.
If you don’t have such a kitchen tool, you can resort to using a mechanical grater. As a result, you should get a puree that needs to be squeezed out. This can be done using regular gauze. Of course, the process is labor-intensive, but in the end you should end up with at least a liquid puree. Only in this case will you have a chance to create your own apple wine, the preparation of which takes a lot of time.
The juice must settle
The apple wine recipe is really simple. Liquid puree or juice must be placed in a container with a fairly wide neck for several days. To do this, you can use a barrel or a large pan. During this time, wild yeast gets into the drink. As a result, the mixture should decompose into several fractions: regular juice and pulp, which collects at the top. In order for the yeast to get directly into the raw materials, the mixture must be stirred up to 4 times a day for several days with a wooden device or with a clean hand.
After three days, the pulp should gather on the surface of the juice dense layer. You need to remove it using a colander or a saucepan. As a result, pure juice should remain in the container, as well as a small layer of pulp up to 5 millimeters thick. This stage can be considered completed. The first signs of fermentation are the characteristic hissing and vinegar-alcohol aroma. We can consider that making apple wine at home has begun.
Important Ingredient: Sugar
It’s hard to imagine homemade apple wine, which takes a very long time to prepare, without adding sugar. After all, the fruits remain sour in any case. Of course, you can make a drink like cider without sugar, but not wine. Do not forget that the drink can be different varieties: dessert, sweet, semi-sweet, dry. The amount of sugar added to it depends on what kind of wine you want to make. Of course, this also depends on how much fructose the fruit contains. If the apples are sweet, then less sugar is needed.
If you want to get dry homemade apple wine, the preparation of which is somewhat more complicated, then you need to add only 200 grams of sugar per liter of juice. If it’s dessert or sweet, then from 300 to 400. Do not exceed the specified standards. Otherwise, you will end up with a cloying drink.
Main process: fermentation
Making apple wine at home is a complex process. When fermentation begins, contact of the wort with air should be avoided. Otherwise, you won’t end up with wine, but you should use sealed containers to make a tasty drink. IN in this case Jars and bottles are ideal.
Particular attention should be paid to the removal of carbon dioxide. It is released during the fermentation process. In this case, it is necessary to install a water seal. To do this, you need to make a small hole in the lid of the container with juice. Insert a tube into it, the end of which should be installed in the bottle so that it does not become clogged with foam. And the second one is placed in a jar of water. Such a system will make it possible to freely remove all gases formed inside the container with wine. This will also prevent air from entering the container.
If you are preparing apple wine without yeast, then instead of such a complex system, you can put an ordinary medical glove on the neck of the container with raw materials, having previously made small holes in it in your fingers. If this option is not suitable, then it is worth purchasing a special water seal lid.
Making wine: basic rules
The container should be filled with wort only 4/5 of the entire volume. Free space is needed for foam and gases. After this, the container should be tightly closed with a lid and covered with plasticine.
During the fermentation period, the bottle of wine should be placed in a dark room. The temperature should be at least 18°. The optimal temperature is from 20 to 22°. At this stage, the container should not be opened and the wort should not be shaken. The fermentation period is usually 30-45 days. You can determine readiness by how often gas bubbles come out in a glass of water. If they are no longer there long time, then your apple wine, which took a little over a month to prepare, is ready. The drink should sit a little longer, literally a couple of days.
Wine maturation
Of course, the young can already be consumed. However, it is worth considering that the drink will have a slightly harsh aroma and taste. But this can be fixed. The wine should just sit.
To do this, take a dry, clean, sealed container. It is important that there is no yeast on the walls of the vessel. To do this, wash the container thoroughly and dry it with a hairdryer. Using a straw, the wine should be carefully poured into another container. To begin with, you should merge the upper light layers, gradually moving to the lower ones. The procedure should be carried out carefully so that sediment does not rise from the bottom. Once the container is completely filled with wine, it must be closed (hermetically). Store the poured product in a cool place where the temperature does not rise above 16° and does not fall below 10° for a long time: from 60 to 120 days. As a result, your drink will fully ripen and acquire a unique taste and aroma.
After aging, the wine has a strength of 12 to 16 degrees. This drink has the aroma of ripe apples and a dark amber hue. You can enjoy it. Your wine is completely ready!
Unfortunately, not every home winemaker has the required amount of grapes to make wine, so you can make tasty and healthy apple wine at home. At the end of summer and beginning of autumn, a huge number of fruits ripen in the gardens from which various preparations are made, leaving a lot of apples that can be used for homemade wine.
Apples are an excellent raw material for making unique aromatic and natural wine without the addition of yeast or alcohol. Preserved in wine beneficial properties apples and aroma, the strength of wine made from apples is usually within 10-12°. Homemade apple wine is very similar in composition and taste to cider, the difference being that the wine is stronger by adding the right amount of sugar.
To make wine, you can use apples of various varieties, red, green, yellow, any assorted apple will do. An important criterion When choosing raw materials, ripeness and juiciness, as well as maximum sugar content of the fruit, are considered. If the apples have high acidity, then you can use water in the recipe by diluting the apple juice with water in the proportion of 100 ml of water per 1 liter of juice, but in this case the aroma of the wine will partially suffer. How to make apple wine with your own hands is described below, each step is described in detail. Even without experience, if you follow all the recommendations and proportions of the recipe, you will get delicious apple wine.
Simple apple wine recipe
This is the most common and classic recipe apple wine, which is easy to make at home with your own hands. In six months you will be able to try a delicious drink.
Ingredients:
- Ripe apples - 6 buckets;
- Granulated sugar - 5 kg.
- Water (optional) – 2l.
Stages of wine preparation:
- Preparing apples.
You can pick well-ripened fruits from an apple tree; you can also pick fruits from the ground, the main thing is that they are not rotten or heavily soiled with dirt. If the apples are very dirty, you can wipe them with a dry cloth, but under no circumstances wash them as the apples contain wild yeast necessary for the fermentation process. Sort out the collected apples from debris, cut out rotten areas, if possible remove the cores with kernels and petioles, they canadd bitterness to the future wine.
- Getting juice.
Using a simple household juicer, juice the apples and then filter it through cheesecloth, separating it from the pulp as much as possible. One bucket of apples yields 3-4 liters of juice
, depending on the variety and equipment! The best result for obtaining juice at home is, of course, the use of special equipment. A special apple crusher and press will save a lot of your time and effort. First, the apples are crushed, and then pure juice is squeezed out of the pulp. If there are no such devices, then you can use a regular grater and squeeze the finished puree through a sieve with gauze.
- Adding water. Some recipes recommend diluting apple juice with water; this is done if the apples are not yet ripe and if they have high acidity. In this case, to reduce acidity, water is added to the juice at a rate of 100 ml per liter of juice.
- Juice fermentation.
6 buckets of buckets will yield approximately 20 liters of juice. Pour the squeezed apple juice and pulp into a clean enamel bowl. Add granulated sugar at the rate of 100-150 grams per liter.
The amount of sugar in the wort should be approximately 15%. Cover the pan with gauze, protecting the contents from insects and other debris. Place the pan in a warm room for 2-3 days. Literally after a few hours, a cap of pulp and cake forms on the surface, at the same time the work of wild yeast begins, foam appears on the surface and carbon dioxide is released. While the fermentation process is underway, every day you need to drown and stir the foam cap that accumulates on top of the juice several times. On the third day, use a sieve or colander to remove the pulp from the pan and squeeze out the juice from the pulp and add it to the pan.
- Fermentation container. Glass bottles and simple jars, food-grade plastic containers, they must be sealed and sterile. During fermentation, contact of the contents with air should be avoided. Otherwise, there is a risk of souring and turning the wine into apple cider vinegar. To prevent this from happening, you need to prepare a water seal in advance that prevents the entry of oxygen and removes carbon dioxide formed during fermentation. A medical rubber glove can be used as a water seal; a hole can be pierced with a needle in one of the fingers. You can use a silicone tube, one end of which is inserted into a hole with a lid, and the other is lowered into a small vessel with water (bottle, jar).
- Fermentation. Making good homemade wine from apples is a long process and one of the most important stages of production is fermentation. Pour the fermented juice into the fermentation container up to 2/3 of the height; the remaining volume is left for foam and carbon dioxide during rapid fermentation. Fermentation should take place at a temperature of 19-26°C in a dark room. The main fermentation lasts 1-2 months, depending on the yeast and sugar in the wort. At higher temperatures the process accelerates,with less it slows down; the most suitable temperature is 19-22°C. The end of fermentation is determined by the absence of carbon dioxide evolution in the water seal. A layer of sediment appears at the bottom of the container.
- Adding granulated sugar. Sugar should be added to the wort in stages so that wild yeast can ferment it. Every 2% sugar in the wort ferments approximately 1% alcohol. The amount of sugar depends on the type of wine you want to get: dry, strong or dessert. First addition of sugar should be done on the fourth day after the start of fermentation. To do this, remove the water seal, pour 0.5 liters of juice into a clean vessel, add 1 kg of granulated sugar (50-100 grams of sugar per liter of wort), stir the sugar in the wort until completely dissolved and pour the syrup back into the fermentation container. Second addition done on the seventh day of fermentation using the same technology and in the same proportions. Third addition of sugar happens on the tenth day, everything is exactly like the first two.
- Maturation. After fermentation of 30-60 days, young apple wine is obtained, which can already be drunk. But the taste of the young wine is unbalanced and sharp, and in order to eliminate these shortcomings the wine must be aged for some time. For maturation, you will need another bottle of the required volume, into which the wine will be drained from the sediment. Wash and dry the bottle well first. The wine from apple juice is carefully drained using a siphon or a thin hose; the sediment should completely remain in the fermentation tank. At this stage, you can taste the wine and sweeten it if necessary.
- Fastening and storage.
If you want to get fortified apple wine, then add 0.5-1 liter of vodka. Fortified wine made from apples stores better, but the taste suffers, it becomes harder and the aroma of apples is reduced. The vessel should be filled to the top with wine; a water seal should be placed on the neck for 1-2 weeks, if another fermentation suddenly begins. Then the container is carefully sealed and placed to mature in a cool, dark room (5-15°C) for a period of 2-4 months. During ripening, sediment forms; as it appears, you need to pour the wine into a clean container. As soon as sediment stops appearing, the wine becomes transparent, which means it is ready, the taste of the wine becomes rounded and becomes pronounced and balanced. The strength of the wine is 10-12°. Pour the finished homemade apple wine into bottles, seal it and can be stored in a cool place untilthree years.
Homemade apple wine made from jam
Easy recipe, aromatic wine from apple jam Any novice winemaker can prepare it at home. Any jam made according to any recipe is suitable for this.
Ingredients:
- Apple jam – 2 l;
- Rice - 2 tbsp;
- Dry yeast - 11 gr.
Preparation:
- Wash thoroughly three liter jar, put jam in it, add rice (do not wash the rice!) Add warm water up to the shoulders, stir everything and add yeast.
- Install a water seal of any design on the jar or wear a rubber medical glove. Place in a warm place to ferment. After 10-15 days, fermentation will end, drain the wine from the sediment without touching it and pour into a clean container. If necessary, add sugar or fructose for taste.
- Keep the wine in a cool place for a month and decant again. Pour the finished drink into bottles and then taste the young apple wine.
Dry apple wine recipe
If you dry apples correctly, they not only retain the aroma of the original raw material, but also make the taste more intense, which is why such apples are in demand among home winemakers. Wine made from dried apples It has an interesting taste and is similar to regular apple wine.
Ingredients:
- Dried apples - 2 kg;
- Sugar - 5 kg;
- Water - 15 l;
- Dry yeast - 30 gr.
Preparation:
- Rinse the dried fruits with cool water, place them in a saucepan and cover with warm water for 3 hours.
- Drain off the remaining water, pass the dried fruits through a meat grinder or grind in a blender.
- Pour sugar into the crushed mass and pour in hot water.
- When the mixture has cooled to 22-27°, add diluted yeast.
- Install a water seal and place the container to ferment in a warm place.
- After two weeks, fermentation will stop, drain the wine from the sediment, pour it into bottles and seal tightly. After 2-3 days, the wine is ready to drink.
Apples are an excellent raw material for cooking delicious wine on one's own. The result is a wonderful alcoholic drink without the addition of alcohol or yeast, only from natural products - apples and sugar. The wine, with an alcohol content of 10-12%, retains the beneficial properties of apples.
Apples of various varieties are suitable for making wine. The main requirement for them is ripeness and juiciness. Varieties can be green, yellow, red, early or late, and they can also be mixed in one piece.
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Some recipes recommend diluting apple juice with water, but wine made from pure juice produces much better quality and richer taste. In our opinion, it tastes better and is more convenient. Dilution with water is possible when using unripe or too sour fruits. Excessive acidity is reduced with a small volume of water - 100 ml per 1 liter of juice.
Apple wine at home - a simple recipe
Ingredients:
- Apples - 20 kg
- Sugar - 150-400 g per 1 liter of juice
Cooking technology
- Preparing apples
Fruits collected from branches, picked up from the ground, or damaged are suitable for wine. It is not recommended to wash the collected fruits with water, because... special yeast living on the skin of apples is necessary for fermentation. Apples that are too dirty should be cleaned with a brush or wiped with a dry cloth.
You can prevent the appearance of bitterness in the finished wine if you first peel the apples from seeds and spoiled parts.
2. Juice extraction
The method of obtaining juice is arbitrary. If you have an electric juicer, things become much easier. A mechanical juicer is also suitable. If there is nothing resembling these mechanisms, then you will have to use an apple grater or a meat grinder. And then squeeze out the juice using gauze or a press. As a result, you need to get at least a semi-liquid puree.
3. Juice settling
Freshly squeezed juice or semi-liquid puree should be poured into a large container (pan, keg, bucket). Do not close the lid, but cover it with gauze to protect it from flies and midges. The juice and pulp are left to ferment for 2-3 days. During this time, wild yeast will enter the liquid, and it will naturally begin to separate into pure juice and pulp, which will flow to the surface. At first, for a couple of days, you should mix the pulp with the juice with a wooden spatula or stick - this helps the yeast penetrate into the juice.
On the third day, remove the thick layer of pulp from the surface using a colander. As a result, pure juice with a thin film will remain in the dishes. Foam, a slight hiss and a peculiar acetic-alcohol smell should appear in the wort (fermented juice) - this is evidence that the fermentation process has started.
4. Sugar dosage
The amount of sugar varies from 150 to 400 g per liter of prepared juice. It depends on the sweetness of the apples. To avoid stopping fermentation due to excess sugar, add it in small portions.
The first time sugar is poured in immediately, after removing the pulp - 100-150 g per liter. It is mixed with juice, which is then poured into bottles and a water seal is installed (more on this below).
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Add a second portion after 4-5 days - 50-100 g per liter. To do this, remove the water seal and pour the juice into a separate container with a volume half the amount of sugar that is to be added. Then mix the juice with sugar and pour the solution back into the bottle, install a water seal.
Adding sugar can be repeated a couple more times every 4 days, 30-80 g per liter of juice.
Sugar standards: for dry wine - 150-220 g per liter of juice, for sweet and dessert wines - 300-400 g.
5. Fermentation
After the pulp has been removed and sugar has been added to the juice, it should be poured into bottles (glass, nylon, plastic water bottles). A water seal is immediately installed on the bottle. This useful device can be purchased at a hardware store or you can build it yourself.
A water seal is necessary so that the carbon dioxide released during fermentation is removed from the container with the wort, otherwise the wine will go rancid. This cuts off the access of oxygen, which will turn the wine into vinegar.
A homemade water seal or water seal is made from a flexible tube, an airtight lid and a cup of water. Make a hole in the lid of such a diameter that the tube fits tightly into it. Close the bottle with a lid with a tube inserted into it so that the end of the tube is located significantly above the surface of the wort to prevent it from clogging with foam. Place the free end of the tube in a glass of water. This way, carbon dioxide will come out of the bottle freely, and oxygen will not get in.
You can simply put a medical glove on the neck of the container with wort, after first piercing it in your finger with a needle.
The container with fermenting juice should not be filled to 1/5 of the top. The best fermentation will occur in a dark place at 20-22°C. Leave the wort there for a couple of months. The end of the process can be monitored by sediment at the bottom of a transparent container and by the cessation of bubbles in the water seal for a long time. If fermentation continues after 50 days, then the wine should be strained from the sediment into a clean container and a water seal should be installed.
6. Maturation
After fermentation stops, the wine is quite suitable for drinking. But it has disadvantages - a sharp taste and an unpleasant smell. They can be eliminated by aging the wine.
For these purposes, it is necessary to prepare clean, dry containers with an airtight lid (bottles, jars). Using a flexible tube, carefully drain the wine, starting from the top layers and gradually deepening the tube, without touching the sediment. Fill clean containers almost to the top and seal. Store the drink in this form in the dark at 6-16°C for 3-4 months. This aging will significantly improve the taste of the wine.
But you should not leave the wine unattended; every two weeks the wine must be separated from the sediment, poured into a clean container. The wine will be fully ripe when sediment stops falling. Now it can be finally sealed in bottles and sent for long-term storage.
The result is a drink of a dark amber hue with the aroma of ripe apples and a strength of 10-12%. The excellent quality of wine is preserved for 3 years if stored in the dark and cool, hermetically sealed.
Before final corking, you can add sugar to the wine, or fortify it by adding vodka 2-15% of the volume of wine. Fortified wine will taste harsh, but will last longer.
The recipe for making apple wine at home, as you can see, is quite simple, if any of you prepare it differently, tell us about it in the comments.