Homemade apple wine recipe for connoisseurs of a fine drink

Tell me the recipe for apple wine at home. We don't have a lot of fruit this year, but my husband and I decided not to let them in for jam (there was a preservation from last year), but to make wine. The question immediately arose - should we add water to it? My husband says that we need pure juice, but it seems to me that the drink will be too cloying and sour. Which of us is right?

Both dry and dessert wines can be made not only from grapes, but from other berries and fruits, for example, from apples. This allows you to get an interesting drink with an original aroma, special taste and beautiful color. The homemade apple wine recipe is very similar to making grape wine. But apple can be safely called a drink for ladies - it will be lighter, with a strength of up to 12 °. And how sweet the wine turns out depends on the amount of sugar and the variety of apples used.

What apples can you use

There is no specific variety from which to make a delicious wine. Apples are suitable in different varieties, red and green, summer and winter, sweet and sour. The main thing is that they are well ripe and preferably juicy in order to get more juice for the wort. An original blend can be obtained by mixing sour and sweet fruits of different varieties.

Washing the fruit is not recommended in order not to wash away the yeast that lives on the skin. Then the wort will ferment badly. But removing the seeds and core from them will not hurt - they add bitterness to the drink. By the way, volunteers can also be used, only you need to cut off the spoiled pulp well.

Apple wine recipe at home step by step

The whole process of apple winemaking is divided into several stages:

• juicing;
• wort preparation;
• fermentation;
• maturation.

How to make apple juice

The best option is to use a juicer to get the most out of the skin and pulp. But if it is not there, a regular grater will do. The fruits are rubbed, and then they squeeze the mass well and let it settle for a couple of days, covered with a cloth from insects. During this time, live yeast is activated, and the pulp will separate from the juice and float up.

During the settling period, the juice is stirred several times every day. When all the pulp has collected on the surface, it is selected with a saucepan. The apple wort is ready when it starts to foam and smells like vinegar.

How much sugar to add to the wort

It is better to introduce sugar into the fermented juice in several steps, for 3-4 visits, making 50-100 g at a time. The total amount of sugar depends on the sweetness of the apples, but you cannot put too much of it, so as not to stop fermentation.

In general, the following ratio of sugar per liter of wort is recommended:

• for dry wine - no more than 220 g;
• preparation of dessert and sweet wines - no more than 400 g.

The first time sugar is added immediately to the fermented juice. In subsequent times, part of the juice is drained, another portion of sugar is added to it, dissolved and poured back into a common container. After adding sugar, be sure to put a water seal.

And another most common question is whether you need to add water to the wort. If the apples are sweet and the juice is sweet too, then you better not. Then the wine will be more intense and tasty. And only if the fruits are sour and the juice, respectively, is also sour, you can slightly dilute the wort with water.It will help reduce acidity, but you should not get carried away - 100 ml is enough for each liter of juice.

Where and how much must ferment

The wort is poured into a glass container, without adding a fifth of its volume to the top. The bottle is placed in a dark and warm place with a temperature of 22 ° C heat. Wine preparation ferments for at least 2 months, but if the room is warmer, then fermentation will end in a month. This can be determined by precipitation and the disappearance of bubbles.

If the room is cool, fermentation can take more than 2 months. In this case, the wort must be removed from the sediment and poured into another bottle so that it does not tarnish.

How long does apple wine mature?

Fermented wine is ready to drink, but has a pungent taste and smell. To soften them, the wine must mature. To do this, it is poured into a clean container and again removed from the sediment every time it appears. Apple wine fully matures in 2-4 months, but already in a cool and dark place, where it is then stored, tightly closed.

Homemade apple wine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6KnbhOmDCA