Homemade grape wine Isabel is a worthy alternative to store-bought drinks. If the technology is followed, a delicious wine with the required sweetness and strength values is obtained. The preparation process includes harvesting, preparing containers, fermentation and subsequent storage of the wine.
Features of the variety
Isabella is a table and technical grape variety. It is not used for fresh consumption, so it is usually grown for making wine.
The Isabella variety is harvested quite late: from late September to November. On the territory of Russia, this grape is grown everywhere: in the black earth territories, in the Moscow region, the Volga region and Siberia. The plant is highly resistant to freezing.
The variety was originally produced in North America. Taste qualities, high yield and unpretentiousness to external conditions made Isabella popular in winemaking.
Isabella has certain characteristics to consider when making wine:
- average fruit weight - 3 g, size - 18 mm;
- the berries are dark blue, so red wine is obtained from them;
- sugar content - 15.4;
- acidity - 8 g.
The acidity and sugar content of the Isabella variety largely depends on the conditions in which the grapes grew. The berries with the best characteristics are obtained when the sun is abundant and the weather is warm.
Preparatory stage
Before you start making wine, you need to collect the berries and prepare the container. The final result largely depends on the correct preparation.
Vintage
Isabella wine is made from ripe berries. If the grapes are not sufficiently ripe, they retain a large amount of acid. Overripe fruits contribute to vinegar fermentation, which leads to spoilage of the grape juice. Fallen berries are also not used for making wine, as they add a wine flavor to the drink.
Harvested grapes must not be washed in order to preserve fermentation-promoting microorganisms. If the berries are dirty, then gently wipe them with a cloth. After harvesting, the grapes are sorted out, leaves, twigs and low-quality berries are removed. It is recommended to use the fruits within 2 days.
Container preparation
To receive homemade grape wine choose a glass or wooden container. It is allowed to use containers made of food-grade plastic or enameled dishes.
Wine, regardless of the stage of preparation, should not interact with metal surfaces, with the exception of stainless items. Otherwise, the oxidative process will begin, and the taste of the wine will deteriorate. It is recommended to knead the fruits by hand or using a wooden stick.
The container must be sterilized before use to eliminate harmful bacteria. The easiest way is to wash them with hot water and wipe them dry. On an industrial scale, containers are fumigated with sulfur.
The best ways to get wine
Method selection making homemade wine from Isabella depends on the result you want to get. One of the best is the classic recipe for red wine. If necessary, adjust its taste with sugar or alcohol.If you need to prepare dry white wine, then take unripe grapes.
Classic recipe
To prepare wine in the traditional way, you will need the following ingredients:
- Isabella grapes in the amount of 15 kg;
- sugar (0.1 kg per liter of juice);
- water (up to 0.5 liters per liter of juice, used if necessary).
How to make Isabella wine in the classic way reflects the following procedure:
Getting juice from grapes
The collected berries are crushed by hand or with a wooden device. The resulting mass, which is called the pulp, must be stirred every 6 hours so that a crust from the pulp of the berries does not form on the surface. Otherwise, the wine will turn sour.
After 3 days, the chopped berries are passed through a large sieve. At this stage, the sweetness of the wine is evaluated. The optimum acidity of homemade Isabella grape wine is 5 g per liter. Even in ripe berries, this figure can reach 15 g.
If it reduces the cheekbones from grape juice, then it is diluted with water in an amount of 20 to 500 ml. Part of the acid will go away during the fermentation of the juice.
Fermentation of grape juice
At this stage, the preparation of the containers is required. It is best to choose a glass container with a volume of 5 or 10 liters. It is filled 2/3 with grape juice, after which a special device is placed - a water seal.
It is made independently from improvised materials or a ready-made device is purchased.
Grape juice is stored in a dark room, where the temperature is maintained in the range from 16 to 22 ° C. If fermentation takes place at higher temperatures, then the containers are filled only ½ of the volume.
Sugar addition
To obtain semi-dry grape wine, sugar must be added. For the Isabella variety, 100 g of sugar per 1 liter of juice is required.
If you follow the following procedure, you can decide how to make the wine sweeter:
- 50% of sugar is added when installing a water seal.
- 25% is added after 4 days.
- The remaining 25% is made in the next 4 days.
First you need to drain a small amount of juice, then add sugar to it. The resulting solution is added back to the container.
Fermentation of Isabella wine takes 35 to 70 days. When the release of carbon dioxide stops (the glove is deflated), the wine becomes lighter, and a sediment forms at the bottom of the container.
Bottling wine
Young Isabella wine is carefully poured into storage containers to eliminate sediment. To complete the procedure, you will need a thin transparent hose.
The resulting wine is stored at a temperature of 6 to 16 ° C. The beverage needs at least 3 months for final aging. During this period, sediment may form at the bottom, then the wine is carefully poured into another container.
After 3-6 months, Isabella wine is poured into glass bottles, which are stored in an inclined position. The bottles are sealed with wooden stoppers. Wine can be stored in oak barrels.
Good homemade wine Isabella has a strength of about 9-12%. The drink is stored for 5 years.
White wine recipe
From green grapes Isabella gets white wine. The fruits must be clean and fresh. For every 10 kg of grapes, 3 kg of sugar are taken.
The procedure for preparing dry white wine is simpler. You can make homemade wine from Isabella grapes according to the following recipe:
- The grapes must be separated from the bunch and crushed by hand.
- The mass is left for 3 hours.
- With the help of cheesecloth, separate the pulp of the fruit and add sugar.
- Grape juice is mixed and poured into a container for 2/3 of its volume.
- The container is closed with a lid with a hole where the tube is inserted. Instead, you can use a water seal.
- It is necessary to blow into the tube, then lower it into a bucket of water.
- The tightness of the dishes must be ensured (the lid can be covered with plasticine).
- The container is left in a cool place for 3 months.
- The water in the bucket is changed periodically.
- The resulting wine is tasted. If necessary, add sugar and leave it for another month.
Fortified wine recipe
Fortification wine has a more tart taste, but its shelf life is longer. For the Isabella variety, add from 2 to 15% alcohol or vodka from the total volume of wine.
Fortified wine can be prepared according to the classic recipe. Then the addition of alcohol is made after removing the wine from the sediment.
There are other ways to make fortified drink. This will require:
- 10 kg of grapes;
- 1.2 kg of sugar;
- 2 liters of alcohol.
The recipe for homemade wine from Isabella grapes takes the following form:
- The harvested grapes are kneaded and placed in a glass container.
- After 3 days, add sugar to the berries and leave the mass for 2 weeks in a warm room.
- After fermentation, the mixture must be filtered through cheesecloth folded in three layers.
- The squeezed juice is left in a dark and cool place for 2 months.
- Alcohol is added to the resulting wine and left for another 2 weeks.
- Bottles are filled with ready-made wine and stored horizontally.
The easiest recipe
There is a simple recipe that allows you to get Isabella wine in a shorter time frame. This procedure is simpler than the classical one and includes several stages:
- 6 kg of sugar are added to the harvested grapes (10 g).
- The mixture is left for 7 days.
- After a week, add 20 liters of water to the mass and leave it for a month. If a different amount of grapes is used, then the remaining components are taken in appropriate proportions.
- After a specified period of time, the wine is filtered through cheesecloth and poured into permanent storage.
Conclusion
Homemade wine is obtained from the fermentation of the grape mass. One of the most sought-after grape varieties is Isabella. Among its advantages are high frost resistance, productivity and taste. Traditionally, the Isabella variety is used to make red wine, but white wine is obtained from unripe berries.
The process of making Isabella wine can be seen in the video:
