6 best recipes for making black grape wine at home

Home winemaking is a rewarding art. A good way to process a large harvest from a country vineyard is to make wine. A drink made from natural raw materials is rich in vitamins, therefore it is beneficial for blood vessels and immunity. From black grapes making sweet wine at home, dry and even white. Having mastered the basics of technology, you can diversify the bouquet with honey and spicy notes or invent your own recipe.

Features of making wine from black grapes

Homemade wine is best made from berries grown on your own plot. Hand-picked grapes are fresh, ripe and juicy. Store-bought grapes are treated with chemicals that increase shelf life or may be stored in improper conditions. The exception is a product purchased from farms.

The advantage of natural, freshly picked grapes is the content of wild yeast. Thanks to microorganisms, wine acquires a unique bouquet, significantly different from factory drinks.

Raw materials

Fully ripe grapes that have gained sugar are suitable for wine. Therefore, it is important to comply with the timing and technology of picking berries:

• at a temperature of +20 degrees;
• in sunny, dry weather;
• cut the bunches with pruning shears;
• hold by the handle.

The rain washes away the yeast from the berries. Without them the wine will not ferment well. Therefore, it is best to harvest on a clear, warm morning or evening.

A temperature of +20 degrees is optimal for dissolving sugar and moderate fermentation. Heated berries ferment faster, but the sugar does not dissolve.

Cold berries ferment for a long time and therefore become moldy.

In order for the temperature of the product to return to normal, it must be kept for 2 hours in a ventilated, dark room.

Homemade wine is prepared from freshly picked, ripe, unwashed grapes at a temperature of +20 degrees.

Unripe berries add acidity to the drink, while overripe ones will turn it into vinegar. Soiled grapes can be wiped with a dry cloth, but should not be washed in water. Harvest intended for winemaking cannot be stored for more than 2 days.

Inventory

Dark plastic bottles, glass jars and enamel containers can be used to store wort during fermentation.The metal oxidizes and spoils the taste of the wine.

During fermentation, the product releases carbon dioxide, which must be removed using a special device. A home water seal is a tight-fitting lid with a hole. Gas is discharged from the hole through a tube, the free end of which is immersed in a container of water.

Instead of a bulky structure, you can put a rubber glove on the neck of a bottle with a fermenting drink. The gas will escape through a small hole in one of the fingers. Using a glove makes it easier to understand whether the drink is fermenting or not. If it is completely deflated and drooping, then the wine is ready.

Product benefits

Homemade wine is healthy because it is prepared through natural fermentation. The drink retains vitamins and beneficial bacteria. 200 milliliters of wine per day dilates blood vessels, speeds up metabolism and strengthens the immune system.

Homemade wine has health benefits:

• for thrombosis;
• pain syndromes;
• weather dependence.

Grape juice is a source of flavonoids and a natural antiseptic. The daily intake should be divided into 2 doses - drink 100 milliliters 2 times a day 10 minutes before lunch and dinner.

The best varieties for the drink

Wine varieties are distinguished by small berries, but the concentration of juice in them is greater. Therefore, red wine takes on a rich shade of carmine and burgundy.

Several varieties of black grapes are suitable for home winemaking:

• Athos;
• Baikonur;
• Isabel;
• Black Pearl;
• Merlot;
• Original;
• Chardonnay.

From Cabernet Sauvignon grape varieties wines with chocolate and coffee flavors are obtained.

How to make wine from black grapes at home

Different types of wine can be made from berry varieties with low or high sugar content:

• from sugar - sweet fortified dessert drinks;
• from sour - dry wines.

Mulled wine is prepared with the addition of spices. In a simple recipe, increase or decrease the amount of sugar and the taste of the wine will change.

Simple recipe

Ingredients:

• 10 kilograms of dark grapes;
• 250 grams of sugar.

Cooking method:

• peel the berries from the cuttings, sort them along the way and leave only whole and smooth ones;
• squeeze the juice by hand, with a silicone or wooden pestle, to obtain a homogeneous mass;
• transfer the juicy grape pulp into an enamel or glass bowl, cover with gauze to prevent insects and dust;
• place in the dark at a temperature of +20 degrees;
• leave for 3 days, stir the layer of peel on the surface with a wooden spoon;
• squeeze out a layer of peel through cheesecloth and strain the concentrate;
• pour liquid into a dark bottle 3/4 full;
• pull a rubber non-sterile glove over the neck of the bottle and tie it with threads;
• pierce a hole in the index finger to release carbon dioxide during fermentation;
• keep the bottle in a dark place at 22-26 degrees for 2 months;
• when the wine is infused, wait another 3 days and drain a liter of liquid;
• add sugar;
• pour the sweetened liquid into the bottle, close the neck with a water seal glove and leave in the dark;
• when the gas stops inflating the glove, strain the liquid and store for ripening for 3 months in a dark place.

The squeezed grape skins or pulp can be discarded. At the last stage, ripening, you need to periodically express the sediment. When it stops appearing and the drink becomes clear, you can taste it.

Sugar free option

Wine from sweet grapes, for example Isabella, Pinot Noir, is prepared without adding sugar.The rest of the preparation follows a simple recipe.

In both cases, the first time the bottles should be filled two to three thirds, since carbon dioxide expands the container. From 10 kilograms of grapes 5 liters of concentrate are obtained.

With honey

For 10 kilograms of berries or 5 liters of concentrate you will need:

• 5 liters of water;
• 1.5 kilograms of flower honey;
• 500 grams of raisins for sourdough.

How to cook:

• pour 800 milliliters of boiling water over the raisins and leave for 3 days in a dark place;
• crush the grapes, infuse the wort according to a simple recipe;
• Pour water into the strained concentrate and add the starter;
• infuse in a bottle with a glove as described in the usual recipe;
• when expressing, add 300 grams of honey to each liter instead of sugar;
• leave for 3 months, straining the sediment.

Add water to the concentrate at room temperature, not lower than 23 degrees.

Instead of raisins, you can use ready-made wine starter.

Spiced

For a 1-1.5 liter bottle you will need:

• 2 cinnamon sticks;
• 4 seeds of cloves.

Crush the spices and sew them into gauze or cotton bags. Place the bag in a clean container, pour in the ripened wine and seal. Infuse the drink in the dark at a temperature of 6-12 degrees Celsius, and after 21 days, strain and pour into clean bottles.

Fortified wine

The list of ingredients includes:

• alcohol or vodka - 200 milliliters per liter;
• sugar - 1.2 kilograms.

Recipe:

• add sugar to the strained concentrate and leave in a bottle with a water seal for 2 months;
• when fermentation stops, strain the drink and add alcohol;
• After 2 days, strain the drink, pour into clean containers and leave for 3 months.

You should also monitor the formation of sediment.

Dry drink

The recipe is designed for 10 kilograms of grapes, but is slightly different from the simple one:

• leave the squeezed pulp and juice at a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius until the juice becomes a rich dark red color;
• squeeze the wine mixture through cheesecloth;
• pour the squeezed concentrate into a container and close it with a water seal;
• insist for 3 months;
• strain the drink;
• Let it ripen for another 3 months, periodically removing sediment.

The finished wine will lighten in color. Then the drink should be poured into clean bottles and stored at 6-12 degrees for 2 months.

Infusing the squeezed pulp takes an average of a week. If the juice does not reach the desired color, continue to insist.

Is it possible to make white wine from black grapes?

White wine is also made from red grape varieties. The red tint comes from the skin of the berries. To make the drink light, you need to remove the skins from the mashed mass and infuse according to the usual recipe without them.

The grapes are pressed or passed through a juicer. It is important not to damage the seeds, otherwise they will add astringency to the wine.

The squeezed juice will contain the coloring skin. It needs to be kept for 6-12 hours so that the pulp rises to the surface, and then collected.

Rules of use

How to handle homemade wine to reveal its taste:

• open the bottle an hour before tasting;
• the optimal temperature of the drink in summer is +16-18 degrees, in winter – +20;
• hold the glass by the stem so that the wine does not heat up from the palm of your hand;
• Before sipping, lightly wash the walls of the glass with the drink;
• Hold the first sip in your mouth for 3 seconds.

A good drink will leave a long aftertaste.

Terms and conditions of storage

How to store homemade wine:

• at temperatures from 5 to 12 degrees Celsius;
• Place glass bottles at an angle so that the wine inside washes over the cork;
• in a dark container.

The drink needs rest. Bottles should not be moved or shaken. It’s better not to even wipe the dust off them.

A constantly moistened cork in a horizontally lying bottle will maintain its tightness for many years. In a bottle standing upright, the cork will dry out and let air through. When exposed to oxygen, the wine will turn into vinegar. Light and heat also destroy the drink. Therefore, the rack with bottles should be in the dark.

Under the right conditions, naturally fermented homemade wine can be stored for 5 years, and fortified wine – 10 years.