The best recipes for making wine from sour grapes at home

Acidity level is the most important parameter of grapes. Tartaric and malic acids make up 90% of the berry, the remaining 10% is allocated to organic, aromatic phenolic acids. With high acidity, the fruits are used to make wine and fruit drinks. Winemakers recommend making wine from sour grape varieties. By adjusting the acidity level, you can get a tasty, aromatic drink.

Process Features

The berries are collected by hand at the end of September in dry weather. The collected bunches are not washed to preserve wild yeast on the berries. They stimulate fermentation.The harvested crop is sorted, removing rotten, cracked, green, spotted specimens.

To obtain a quality product, the following conditions must be met:

1. Wine is made from fresh berries. It is important not to puree the grapes. Crushed seeds will add bitterness to the drink.
2. It is necessary to observe the timing of pumping and transfusion of the drink. If filtration is not done in a timely manner, the taste characteristics of the wine will deteriorate.
3. Winemakers prefer wooden, plastic, and enamel containers for preparing the drink. It is recommended to use glass and stainless steel utensils. Metal pots/basins are prohibited.
4. The berries are not washed or rinsed. The process of washing fruit helps remove wild yeasts on the surface. They are necessary to preserve their natural environment and prevent the development of pathogenic microorganisms.
5. If there is mold or bacteria, the wine will turn sour. This process can be prevented by sterilizing containers and instruments.

The bottles are washed with soap/soda solution, scalded with boiling water, and rinsed. Dry the containers naturally or with paper towels.

Which varieties are suitable

Any available variety is suitable for making grape wine. You can make the preparation with dark and light varieties of sour grapes. They are used separately or combined with each other.

Ideal varieties for wine are:

• Platovsky;
• Crystal;
• Regent;
• Friendship;
• Saperavi;
• Stepnyak;
• Festival;
• Dewdrops;
• White Muscat;
• Firstborn of Magarach;
• Feteaschi;
• Silvanera.

These grapes are easy to care for and have a high sugar content. You can dilute the taste with Isabella, Lydia.Elite “wine” varieties - Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet, Aligote, Riesling - can enhance the taste of wine and reveal its flavor palette.

What you need for the recipe

The main products for making wine are:

• sour grapes;
• water;
• granulated sugar;
• leaven.

The equipment you will need is a glass bottle, an enamel basin, wooden spatulas for stirring the berry mass, and a water seal. After washing, boiling, and drying, the bottles are smoked with sulfur.

After harvesting, the berries are crushed by hand. At this stage, it is important to use rubber gloves - they will protect the skin of your hands from staining and irritation. Gloves also prevent germs from your hands from getting into your drink.

The fruits must be ripe. Green grapes have a high level of acidity and low sugar.

Overripe fruits promote acetic fermentation, the conversion of squeezed juice into acetic acid.

You can neutralize the acid by diluting the wine with water. At the same time, the taste of the product may deteriorate. This technique is used when the acidity of the grapes is similar to lemon.

How to make wine from sour grapes at home

Moderate consumption of wine made from sour grapes contributes to:

• prevention of diseases of the cardiovascular system;
• normalization of blood pressure, sleep patterns;
• improving the functioning of the digestive system and respiratory organs;
• increasing immunity, relieving fatigue;
• elimination of autoimmune processes.

To prepare wine you need to stock up on:

• sour grapes 10 kg;
• granulated sugar 3 kg.

Cooking technology:

1. The grapes are sorted, crushed, and mixed with water.
2. The mass is mixed with sugar (2 kg), stirred, put in a warm place for 4 days, stirring occasionally.
3. The pulp is squeezed out, the liquid is filtered, mixed with the remaining sugar (1 kg). The mixture is stirred, poured into a clean bottle, and covered with a water seal.
4. After 30 days, the liquid will stop fermenting and will become covered with sediment. The wine is poured into bottles using a rubber tube and mixed with sugar as desired.

If the wort does not ferment, it is mixed with a starter of raisins or wine yeast. The mixture with the starter is infused for 3-4 days. The finished drink is hermetically sealed and left to infuse for 1 month. The liquid is filtered, poured into sterilized bottles, closed, and sent to permanent storage.

The absence/disappearance of fermentation on the 6th day means that:

1. The bottle has become depressurized. In this case, the container is checked and hermetically sealed.
2. The sugar content has increased. The wort becomes a preservative, stopping the fermentation process. To correct the situation, add water and fresh juice (20-140 ml per 1 liter of wort).
3. Yeast activity has stopped/stopped. They are activated by sourdough, unwashed berries or raisins, and wine yeast.
4. The alcohol concentration in the drink reached 14%.

The cessation of fermentation processes is determined by the water seal - it stops gurgling. In this case, the sediment is drained, this will help preserve the clarity of the wine, aroma, and eradicate bitterness.

How and how long can you store

Winemakers recommend using special wine bottles - they are stronger and hermetically sealed with long corks.

An important step is sterilizing the bottles. They are washed with soda/soap solution, rinsed, and doused with boiling water.

The wine is poured to the brim, leaving a distance of 1.5-2 cm. To store the drink, you must choose a dark, dry, cool place with a moderate level of humidity, such as a closet, cellar, basement.White wines are stored at a temperature of +6-7 ^OC, red - at +8-13 ^OC. Bottles are placed horizontally - this ensures the elasticity of the corks and hermetically sealed containers.

The aging period for velvety, dense, dessert and liqueur red wines is 1.5-2 years. Light red wines are consumed after the first year. Full-bodied, aromatic white wines require 6-12 months to age; light drinks infuse for 3-6 months.