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There are a lot of good wine lovers among Russians. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to buy a real drink in stores. Most often they sell a surrogate. And not everyone can afford real wine. But you do not need to be upset, because a plum intoxicated drink can be prepared independently. Various berries and fruits can be used to make homemade wine.
We will tell you how to make plum wine at home. We will share the secrets of winemaking and show a video. The drink turns out to be much tastier and more aromatic than the store counterpart. In addition, plum wine can be prepared by anyone who has a desire for it.
Cooking raw materials for wine
At home, you can get semi-dry or semi-sweet plum wine, based on taste needs. It all depends on the amount of added sugar.
Unlike using other berries and fruits, there is one difficulty: plums do not want to "share" the juice. These fruits contain a large amount of pectin, so the cooked puree resembles jelly. The juice is obtained after fermentation.
When choosing plums, you need to pay attention to ripeness, since unripe fruits are not suitable for homemade wine. If you have your own garden, then this is much easier. The main thing is not to pick up fallen plums, so that the finished wine does not acquire a taste of earth.
There is always a whitish bloom on the fruits of any varieties of plums. This is natural or wild yeast, without which natural wine at home is difficult to obtain. Therefore, you should never wash plums. Dirt can simply be wiped off with a soft cloth, being careful not to wipe off plaque from the drain. If you cannot do without washing, then wine yeast or raisins will have to be added to the wine for intensive fermentation. It is clear that plum wine at home will taste a little different.
As a rule, for homemade wine, they take dark plums, which contain a lot of sugar and acid, for example, Vengerka. A drink made from plums of this variety is aromatic, with a rich burgundy color.
Home-made intoxicating drink made from white plums does not have a pronounced aroma and special taste. This white plum wine is commonly used in marinades and sauces.
You can make plum wine in a glass or enamel bowl. You will have to purchase a water seal or ordinary medical gloves to protect the wine from contact with air during fermentation. At this point, you should pay attention to when pouring wine: we fill the container for storing the drink "to the eyeballs".
Plum wine options
There are many recipes for making homemade plum wine. It is impossible to tell about all of them. We will focus on two options, note the features of the technology, since it is practically the same.
Whichever recipe you use, the first thing to do after pitting is to chop the plums to puree. Each winemaker chooses his own way:
- rubbing with hands;
- using a blender or sieve;
- pressure with a wooden crush.
Although real winemakers do all the work only with their hands, as it is believed that in this case human energy is transferred to wine.
A simple recipe
Since many people have never made wine, we offer a simple recipe with a minimum amount of ingredients:
- plums - 1 kg;
- granulated sugar - 300 grams;
- water - 1 liter.
And now about making plum wine at home, a simple recipe.
- Put the mashed plums in a convenient container and add boiled water. It is better not to use tap water because of the chlorine content in it.
- We throw a cloth or gauze on top so that insects do not get into the vessel. We put in a warm place for fermentation for four days. During this time, the plum mass will be divided into two layers: pulp and juice. The pulp cap must be constantly lowered to the bottom so that the future wine does not sour and mold does not form on it.
- Then the plum pulp must be separated by filtering through cheesecloth folded in several rows so that there is as little suspension as possible in the wine.
- Then pour the liquid into a jar or bottle for further fermentation. Cast off some of the malt, add sugar and dissolve it. Pour into the total mass. We put on a bottle or jar a water seal or an ordinary glove with a pierced finger. Re-fermentation will continue for several months. You need to keep containers in a warm place, but the sun's rays should not fall on them.
- When the fermentation process is over, we drain the young wine from the lees, filter and taste. If the sweetness is not enough, then add sugar and put the bottle under the water seal again for several days. After that, we filter again and remove to a cool place for ripening.
Plum compote wine
It is not necessary to use fresh fruits to make wine at home. Always found in the cellar fermented jam or compote. It is a pity to throw away the result of your own labors. What can be made from compote at home? Experienced housewives use such blanks for making plum wine.
How to make a hoppy drink from plum compote:
- Strain the compote from a three-liter jar through a cotton cloth to get rid of the berries and pour it into an enamel container. Thoroughly knead the plums and transfer them to the total mass.
- We heat the liquid to the temperature of fresh milk, that is, no more than 30 degrees. Otherwise, the fermentation of the wine will be slowed down or will not start at all.
- Since we no longer have our own yeast on compote plums, we will have to make a sourdough. For this we use raisins. Darker varieties are best and have more sweetness and wild yeast. It is not recommended to wash raisins, because on the surface there are bacteria that activate the fermentation of wine.
- A handful of raisins are enough for the heated mass. We put the pan in a warm place for 24 hours.
- After a day, add sugar to taste, pour it into a five-liter jar or bottle (fill it only 2/3 so that there is room for foam and gas!) And close it with a hybridizer. If no such device is available, a medical glove can be used to make plum wine. But one of the fingers is pierced with a needle in it. If this is not done, the gas will blow off the can when the glove is inflated. And again we put the container in a warm and dark place.
Direct sunlight should not fall on the future wine. The state of the glove makes it easy to determine whether the contents of the vessel are fermenting. If the inflation is insignificant, then you need to add a little raisins or move the container to a warmer place. After 4 days, remove the pulp, filter and filter the liquid and put it back in a warm place. Our wine will ferment for at least one and a half months.
- At the end of the fermentation process, the young plum wine is drained from the lees in accordance with the recipe. It is convenient to do this with a thin rubber hose so as not to stir up the settled yeast. Be sure to taste it: if there is not enough sweetness, add sugar and leave to ferment for another 2-3 days. After the subsequent filtration, pour the wine into clean jars and leave it alone to ripen in a cool place. For plum wine made from compote, this procedure lasts at least two months.
How to make plum wine at home, recipe:
Conclusion
We have told you how to make homemade plum wine on your own. And now some of the nuances:
- Bottles or other containers with young wine must be sealed tightly. The ripening process should take place in the dark and cool. Otherwise, instead of a delicious aromatic drink, you will end up with plum vinegar.
- The color of the finished drink will depend on the type of plum. The dark fruits make a rich red plum wine. And from white, yellow or pink plums, the drink will be of the corresponding color.
Plum wine takes longer to ripen than other fruits and berries. Homemade wine is considered the best if it has stood for at least three years. It contains the whole real bouquet of taste and aroma.
