Sourdough made from raisins speeds up the fermentation of homemade wine. But dried grapes can be completely replaced with fresh ones. The advantage of raisin wine is that it is easy to prepare in winter, when the vines of a country vineyard are resting. The recipes will be of interest to novice winemakers who are far from growing grapes, and experienced gardeners will be interested in comparing the taste and aroma of a drink made from ripe and dried grapes.
Features of making raisin wine
Dried berries should still contain wild yeast. Therefore, raisins are not washed before processing.
Wine from dried grapes is prepared in the same way as from fresh ones. The wort for fermentation is poured into a bottle with a water seal. The raisin starter is pre-prepared. At this stage, it will become clear whether the selected product is suitable for winemaking.
If bubbles actively float to the surface, a leavened, wine-like aroma appears - you will get a good wine.
The starter is stored in the refrigerator for up to 30 days. Before use, you need to keep it at room temperature for 48 hours, adding 0.5 tablespoons of sugar.
Rules for selecting ingredients
For wine you should choose berries:
- medium-cured;
- large;
- with a whitish yeast coating;
- sweet variety.
Raisins that are too soft or too hard, shiny, moist, do not have wild yeast. The product is not suitable for winemaking due to treatment with preservatives.
How to make raisin wine at home
The drink is prepared in a glass bottle with a water seal. To remove wine gas, put a plastic cap with a tube on the neck of the container or firmly tie a rubber medical glove with a puncture in the finger.
Classic recipe without sugar
The composition includes a minimum amount of ingredients:
- kilogram of dried grapes;
- 0.5 liters of raisin sourdough;
- 5 liters of plain spring water.
How to cook:
- soak the dried fruit in 2 liters of warm water and leave for 2 hours, then mash in a meat grinder or blender;
- transfer the mixture into a bottle, pour in the water from the raisins and the remaining fresh water, filling ¾ of the container;
- add sourdough;
- close the bottle with gauze and leave for 3 days in a warm place, up to +25 degrees;
- Shake when foam forms;
- put a water seal on the neck and leave to ferment for 60 days;
- when the wine stops playing, leave it under a water seal in the dark and cool for 3 months.
Pour clear wine without signs of fermentation into prepared bottles.
Option with rice
Ingredients:
- 250 grams of raisins;
- 750 grams of sugar;
- 2 liters of spring water;
- ¼ teaspoon citric acid;
- 500 grams of unparboiled rice;
- 250 grams of sourdough.
Preparation:
- pour 1.5 liters of water into a saucepan, mix citric acid and sugar;
- cook over low heat, stirring, until the grains dissolve, then leave to cool;
- pour rice into a glass bottle and pour in the prepared syrup;
- cover the container with gauze and leave for a day;
- add water, raisins and sourdough;
- stir, cover again with gauze;
- keep in the dark at +20 degrees for 2 days, then leave under a water seal for a month;
- upon completion of fermentation and sediment formation, strain the drink, pour into a clean bottle and leave in a dark place until clear for 60 days;
- filter the wine, keep in clean bottles in a cool place for 3 months.
Raisin wine with rice is a type of Japanese sake; it is strong but soft, with a pleasant tartness.
With dried fruits in Polish
Compound:
- 5 liters of water;
- 500 grams of raisins and dried apricots;
- 100 grams of dried black elderberries, blueberries or blackberries;
- 600 grams of sugar;
- wine yeast.
Preparation:
- Soak the yeast in warm water;
- prepare sugar syrup;
- grind dried fruits in a meat grinder, place in a bottle, pour in sugar syrup;
- add berries, yeast, mix and cover the bottle with gauze;
- when the mass begins to ferment, put on a water seal and leave for 7-15 days;
- Strain the fermented, cleared drink and leave under a water seal for up to 5 months, periodically removing sediment.
The finished wine will become transparent and take on a pink tint.
Recipe with sugar
Compound:
- 600 grams of dried grapes;
- kilogram of sugar;
- 4 liters of water;
- leaven.
Preparation:
- put ground dried fruit, sourdough, 500 grams of sugar into the fermentation container and pour in water;
- stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves;
- leave for 5 days under a water seal until foam and bubbles appear;
- drain a liter of liquid, add 250 grams of sugar, pour it back and wait another week;
- pour the same amount of sugar into the container and leave for 2 months;
- after gas formation stops, pour the drink into another container;
- strain periodically.
The readiness of the wine is determined by its transparency.
With beer
Ingredients:
- 2 kilograms of raisins;
- 400 grams of granulated sugar;
- 5 liters of water;
- 500 milliliters of beer.
How to cook:
- pour the ground dried grapes with water and leave for 3 days;
- after foam formation, leave under a water seal for 15 days;
- strain the wort, pour into another container, mix with sugar and beer;
- leave in cool place for 7 days.
Strain the finished wine.
With vodka
Compound:
- 1.5 kilograms of raisins;
- 0.5 liters of vodka;
- 2 kilograms of sugar;
- 8 liters of water;
- sourdough or yeast.
Cooking method:
- mix mashed drying powder, sugar and leaven in a bottle, pour in water;
- cover with gauze, wait 3 days for fermentation;
- install a water seal;
- pour the fermented drink into another container along with the sediment;
- add vodka, mix and pour into smaller bottles.
After 90 days the wine is ready. Adding vodka makes the drink stronger.
With hibiscus
Ingredients:
- kilogram of dried grapes;
- 1.5 kilograms of sugar;
- 250 grams of hibiscus;
- 7 liters of water;
- leaven.
Preparation:
- grind the grapes to a paste;
- add hibiscus and cook for 5 minutes;
- cool to room temperature;
- Infuse under gauze and a water seal according to the usual recipe.
Hibiscus gives the wine fresh acidity and a raspberry hue.
With millet
Compound:
- 500 grams of raisined grapes;
- kilogram of millet;
- 1.5 kilograms of granulated sugar;
- 0.5 teaspoon of citric acid;
- 0.5 liters of starter;
- 4 liters of clean water.
Recipe:
- prepare syrup by mixing sugar with citric acid, let cool;
- add millet and leave in a warm place for a day;
- pour liquid with millet, raisins, sugar, sourdough into a fermentation bottle, leave for 3 days under gauze;
- keep under a water seal for 2 months;
- at the end of fermentation, pour the drink into a clean container and leave in the dark until clear, periodically removing sediment;
- Pour the cleared wine into bottles.
The drink will mature within 3 months.
DIY wine yeast from raisins
How to prepare sourdough:
- grind 200 grams of raisins;
- put the mixture in a glass jar;
- add 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar;
- pour water into the wort until it reaches the surface;
- keep the jar covered with gauze warm until fermentation.
At 18-25 degrees, the starter should ferment for 3-4 days.
Storage rules
Raisin wine is stored at 10-25 degrees, warm and dry. Over time, the drink gains strength, so the shelf life is unlimited.
