Homemade grape wine Isabel is a worthy alternative to store-bought drinks. If the technology is followed, a tasty wine with the required sweetness and strength is obtained. The preparation process includes harvesting, preparing containers, fermentation and subsequent storage of the wine.
Features of the variety
Isabella is a table 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. In Russia, these grapes are grown everywhere: in black soil areas, in the Moscow region, the Volga region and Siberia. The plant is highly resistant to freezing.
The variety was originally obtained in North America. Taste qualities, high yield and unpretentiousness to external conditions made Isabella popular in winemaking.
Isabella has certain characteristics that must be taken into account when obtaining wine:
- average fruit weight – 3 g, size – 18 mm;
- the berries are dark blue in color, so red wine is made 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. Berries with the best characteristics are obtained with plenty of sun and warm weather.
Preparatory stage
Before you start making wine, you need to collect the berries and prepare the container. The final result largely depends on proper preparation.
Vintage
Isabella wine is made from ripe berries. If the grapes are not ripe enough, they retain a large amount of acid. Overripe fruits promote acetic fermentation, which leads to spoilage of grape juice. Fallen berries are also not used to make wine, as they impart a wine-like flavor to the drink.
Harvested grapes should not be washed to preserve microorganisms that promote fermentation. If the berries are dirty, they are carefully wiped with a cloth. After harvesting, the grapes are sorted, leaves, twigs and low-quality berries are removed. It is recommended to use the fruits within 2 days.
Preparing containers
For getting homemade grape wine choose glass or wooden containers. It is allowed to use food-grade plastic containers or enamel dishes.
Wine, regardless of the stage of readiness, should not interact with metal surfaces, with the exception of stainless steel items. Otherwise, the oxidation process will begin and the taste of the wine will deteriorate. It is recommended to knead the fruits manually or using a wooden stick.
Before use, the container must be sterilized to eliminate harmful bacteria. The easiest way is to wash them with hot water and wipe dry.On an industrial scale, containers are fumigated with sulfur.
Best Ways to Get Wine
Selecting a method making homemade wine from Isabella depends on the result you want to get. One of the best is the classic recipe for making red wine. If necessary, its taste is adjusted with sugar or alcohol. If you need to make dry white wine, use unripe grapes.
Classic recipe
To prepare wine 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:
Extracting juice from grapes
The collected berries are crushed manually or with a wooden device. The resulting mass, which is called pulp, must be stirred every 6 hours so that a crust of berry pulp does not form on the surface. Otherwise, the wine will sour.
After 3 days, the crushed berries are passed through a large sieve. At this stage, the sweetness of the wine is assessed. The optimal acidity of homemade grape wine Isabella is 5 g per liter. Even in ripe berries this figure can reach 15 g.
If grape juice makes your cheekbones cramp, then it is diluted with water in an amount of 20 to 500 ml. Some of the acid will go away during fermentation of the juice.
Grape juice fermentation
At this stage, container preparation is required. It is best to choose glass containers with a volume of 5 or 10 liters.It is filled 2/3 with grape juice, after which a special device is installed - a water seal.
You can make it yourself from scrap materials or purchase a ready-made device.
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 to only ½ volume.
Adding sugar
To obtain semi-dry grape wine, it is necessary to add sugar. The Isabella variety requires 100 g of sugar per 1 liter of juice.
By following the following procedure, you can solve the question of how to make wine sweeter:
- 50% of sugar is added when installing a water seal.
- 25% is added after 4 days.
- The remaining 25% is due over 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 from 35 to 70 days. When the release of carbon dioxide stops (the glove deflates), the wine becomes lighter in color and sediment forms at the bottom of the container.
Wine bottling
Young Isabella wine is carefully poured into storage containers to remove sediment. To perform the procedure, you will need a thin transparent hose.
The resulting wine is stored at a temperature from 6 to 16°C. The drink requires 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 bottled in glass bottles, which are stored in an inclined position. The bottles are closed 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 receives white wine. The fruits must be clean and fresh. For every 10 kg of grapes, 3 kg of sugar is taken.
The procedure for preparing dry white wine is simpler. You can make homemade wine from Isabella grapes using the following recipe:
- The grapes must be separated from the bunch and crushed by hand.
- The mass is left for 3 hours.
- Using gauze, separate the fruit pulp and add sugar.
- The grape juice is mixed and poured into a container 2/3 of its volume.
- The container is closed with a lid with a hole into which the tube is inserted. Instead, you can use a water seal.
- You need to blow into the tube, then lower it into a bucket of water.
- The seal of the container must be ensured (the lid can be covered with plasticine).
- The container is left in a cool place for 3 months.
- Change the water in the bucket periodically.
- The resulting wine is tasted. If necessary, add sugar and leave it for another month.
Fortified wine recipe
Fortified wine has a more tart taste, but its shelf life is longer. For the Isabella variety, add from 2 to 15% alcohol or vodka of 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 a fortified drink. For this you will need:
- 10 kg of grapes;
- 1.2 kg sugar;
- 2 liters of alcohol.
The recipe for homemade wine from Isabella grapes takes the following form:
- The collected grapes are kneaded and placed in a glass container.
- After 3 days, sugar is added to the berries and the mass is left for 2 weeks in a warm room.
- After fermentation, the mixture must be filtered through gauze 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.
- The finished wine is filled into bottles that are stored horizontally.
The simplest recipe
There is a simple recipe that allows you to get Isabella wine in a shorter time. This procedure is simpler than the classic one and includes several stages:
- 6 kg of sugar is 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 bottled for permanent storage.
Conclusion
Homemade wine is obtained as a result of fermentation of grape mass. One of the most popular 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 produced from unripe berries.
The process of obtaining Isabella wine can be seen in the video:
