Homemade wines can successfully compete with store-bought wines in terms of taste and health benefits. The secret of their uniqueness lies in the correct selection of ingredients and strict adherence to the recipe. Lovers of strong drinks are interested in learning how to make dogwood wine at home, as well as familiarizing themselves with all the nuances of the process. There are several successful ways to prepare an alcoholic drink from this healthy berry with a pleasant sour-tart taste.
Process Features
Dogwood wine cannot be confused with any other similar drink. In terms of its sophistication, it can only compete with pomegranate wine. Dogwood wine has a light, delicate and soft taste, exudes an alluring and sophisticated aroma. Thanks to the expressive and rich color of the precious ruby, this drink is indispensable on holiday tables, during romantic dates and business meetings.
By following the recipe and technological process, wine from dogwood berries can be made at home.
The process of preparing the drink has its own subtleties, which beginners who do not have solid experience in winemaking should definitely know about:
- Only the ripest, juiciest and most beautiful dogwood fruits are used - without damage or signs of rot. It is important that they are clean, picked from the bush, and not fallen to the ground.
- Before preparing wine, dogwood should not be washed, since it is very important that the so-called “live yeast” - responsible for the start of the fermentation process - is preserved on the surface of the berries. Since dogwood contains these microorganisms in minimal quantities, it is additionally recommended to use raisins or fresh grapes.
- Adding sugar should be gradual - this will allow the fermentation process to proceed smoothly and be constant.
- Containers and bottles must be thoroughly sterilized using soda and boiling water. Thanks to this simple procedure, the drink will not turn sour.
- In general, the process of making dogwood wine at home will take three to four months.
Beneficial features
This drink is an excellent find for true connoisseurs of noble wines. In addition to the original taste and aroma, dogwood wine has a number of beneficial properties:
- strengthening the immune system, providing a general strengthening effect on the body;
- removal of toxic substances;
- reducing organ inflammation;
- beneficial effect on the condition of the bronchi, their cleansing;
- decrease in body temperature;
- improving the functioning of the cardiovascular and digestive systems;
- prevention of infectious diseases;
- Positive effect on body weight due to low calorie content.
Set of necessary products
To prepare healthy and tasty dogwood wine at home according to the standard classic recipe, you will need the following set of ingredients:
- two and a half liters of purified drinking water;
- two kilograms of fresh, high-quality dogwood berries;
- 600 grams of white sugar;
- a handful of raisins (you can replace them with 50 grams of wine yeast).
For other options for preparing dogwood wine, depending on the requirements of the recipe, you may need additional ingredients such as honey, raspberries, grapes, lemon and others.
How to make dogwood wine at home
Depending on personal preferences, homemade dogwood wine can be prepared either with or without the addition of special wine yeast. In the second case, it is important to use raspberries or grapes, on the surface of which entire colonies of “live” or “wild” yeast live, taking an active part in the fermentation process.
Simple recipe without yeast
To make this easy recipe you need the following selection of ingredients:
- 3 kg of dogwood berries;
- 1 kg of white granulated sugar;
- 4 liters of purified water;
- a handful of dried grapes.
The first step will be preparing a natural wine starter based on raisins (it can be replaced with fresh raspberries). To do this you need:
- Pour a tablespoon of sugar into a bottle, cup or any other small container and add warm water in the amount of one quarter of a standard glass.
- Add raisins or raspberries to the sweet liquid. There is no need to wash the berries first. When using raisins, it is important that they are not treated with sulfur smoke.
- Cover the top of the container with a piece of gauze and hide it in a warm and dark place for two days.
- Natural sourdough will be ready for further use as soon as foam forms on the surface.
After this, you can immediately begin the winemaking process:
- Sort through the dogwood berries and throw away low-quality specimens if you come across them.
- Mash the berries by hand.
- Add prepared sourdough with raisins or raspberries to the resulting berry mass.
- Add 500 g sugar.
- Mix the ingredients well and cover the container with gauze.
- Take the container to a dark and warm place for another two days. This time will be enough for the fermentation process of the wort to begin.
- Strain the wort through cheesecloth and discard the pulp.
- Add 300 g of granulated sugar to the liquid and stir until all its grains dissolve.
- Make sure that the container is no more than 75% full and close it with a water seal.
- Place in a dark place again and leave for a week.
- After this period has expired, add the remaining 200 g of sugar. Then the fermentation period will continue, which will last from a month to two.
- When bubbles and foam stop forming on the surface of the container, the wine drink must be drained.
- Next, you need to take a sample and, if necessary, add sugar or alcohol.When adding sugar to the container, you should reinstall the water seal - if the fermentation process continues, this will prevent the container from exploding.
- Pour the wine into bottles, seal with corks and put in a dark place for subsequent aging.
Option by leaps and bounds
The recipe with the addition of yeast is a classic one.
Step-by-step cooking process:
- Take a container with a wide neck and place pre-mashed dogwood berries in it.
- After a quarter of an hour, pour a liter of water over the berry mass.
- Leave for a couple of minutes, stirring first.
- Add wine yeast and mix the mixture again.
- Place the container in a dark place with a temperature within +20-25 °C and cover with gauze.
- The fermentation process of the wort will begin in a few days. This will be indicated by signs such as foam, hissing and a characteristic odor.
- At this stage, the berries are filtered and discarded.
- Add 150 g of granulated sugar to the dogwood juice, which has begun to ferment, mix well and pour into a glass fermentation bottle, filling it three-quarters full.
- Close the neck of the bottle with a water seal or a regular rubber glove, and then be sure to check the tightness.
- Move the container to a dark place with a temperature of up to +25 degrees Celsius.
- After five days, pour 300 ml of juice from the bottle and dissolve 100 g of sugar in it, and then pour the syrup back.
- Repeat a similar procedure after another 3-4 days.
- After about three months, the fermentation process will be completed, the wort will become lighter, and sediment will remain at the bottom of the container.
- The wine must be poured into a new glass container, making sure that no sediment gets in.
- Add sugar if desired and bottle.
How to store the finished product correctly and for how long
The shelf life of homemade dogwood wine is from 4 to 6 years. Drink bottles should be kept in a dark and cool place.
Every year it is recommended to remove the resulting sediment from the finished wine so that the refined taste does not deteriorate.
Contraindications for use
Homemade dogwood wine may be contraindicated in extremely rare cases - during pregnancy, increased acidity of gastric juice and nervous overexcitation.
