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There are many lovers of good wine among Russians. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to buy a real drink in stores. Most often they sell a surrogate. But not everyone can afford real wine. But you don’t need to be upset, because you can make your own plum drink. To produce homemade wine, you can use various berries and fruits.
We will tell you how to make plum wine at home. Let's share the secrets of winemaking and show a video. The drink turns out much tastier and more aromatic than the store-bought counterpart. In addition, plum wine can be prepared by anyone who has the desire to do so.
Preparing raw materials for wine
At home, you can get semi-dry or semi-sweet plum wine, based on your 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 prepared 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 collect fallen plums, so that the finished wine does not acquire an earthy taste.
The fruits of any variety of plums always have a whitish coating. These are natural or wild yeasts, without which it is difficult to make natural wine at home. Therefore, under no circumstances should you wash plums. Dirt can simply be wiped with a soft cloth, being careful not to wipe off the deposits from the drain. If you cannot do without washing, then you will have to add wine yeast or raisins to the wine for intensive fermentation. It is clear that homemade plum wine It will taste a little different.
As a rule, for homemade wine they take dark plums that contain a lot of sugar and acid, for example, Hungarian. The drink made from plums of this variety is aromatic, with a rich burgundy color.
An intoxicating drink made from white plums, prepared at home, does not have a pronounced aroma or special taste. This white plum wine is commonly used to make marinades and sauces.
You can prepare plum wine in glass or enamel containers. You will have to purchase a water seal or regular medical gloves to protect the wine from contact with air during fermentation.You should pay attention to this point when bottling wine: fill the container for storing the drink to capacity.
Plum wine options
There are many recipes for making homemade plum wine. It is impossible to tell about everyone. We will focus on two options and note the features of the technology, since it is almost the same.
Whatever recipe you use, the first thing you need to do after removing the seeds is to grind the plums to a puree. Each winemaker chooses his own method:
- rubbing with hands;
- using a blender or sieve;
- pressure with a wooden masher.
Although real winemakers do all the work only with their hands, since it is believed that in this case human energy is transferred to the wine.
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.
- Place the pureed plums in a convenient container and add boiled water. It is better not to use tap water due to its chlorine content.
- Place a cloth or gauze on top to prevent insects from getting into the vessel. Place in a warm place to ferment for four days. During this time, the plum mass will be divided into two layers: pulp and juice. The cap of pulp 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 straining 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.We pour out some of the malt, add sugar and dissolve it. Pour into the total mass. We put a water seal on the bottle or jar or a regular glove with a pierced finger. Repeated fermentation will continue for several months. The containers should be kept in a warm place, but the sun's rays should not fall on them.
- When the fermentation process is complete, drain the young wine from the sediment, 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 this, we filter again and put it in a cool place to ripen.
Plum wine from compote
To make wine at home, it is not necessary to use fresh fruits. Always found in the cellar fermented jam or compote. It would be a pity to throw away the results of your own labors. What can you make from compote at home? Experienced housewives use such preparations to prepare plum wine.
How to make a hop 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. We 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, wine fermentation will be slow or not begin at all.
- Since the plums from the compote no longer have their own yeast, you will have to make a starter. For this we use raisins. Dark varieties are best because they have more sweetness and wild yeast.It is not recommended to wash raisins, because there are bacteria on the surface that activate the fermentation of wine.
- A handful of raisins is enough for the heated mass. Place the pan in a warm place for 24 hours.
- After a day, add sugar to taste, pour into a five-liter jar or bottle (fill only 2/3 so that there is room for foam and gas!) and close with a hybridizer. If you don’t have such a device, you can use a medical glove to make plum wine. But one of the fingers is pierced with a needle. If this is not done, the gas will blow off the can when inflating the glove. And again put the container in a warm and dark place.
Direct sunlight should not fall on the future wine. Based on the condition of the glove, it is easy to determine whether the contents of the vessel are fermenting. If the inflation is insignificant, then you need to add a few raisins or move the container to a warmer place. After 4 days, remove the pulp, strain and filter the liquid and put it in a warm place again. Our wine will ferment for at least another month and a half.
- At the end of the fermentation process, drain the young plum wine from the sediment according to the recipe. It is convenient to do this using a thin rubber hose so as not to disturb the settled yeast. Be sure to taste it: if the sweetness is not enough, add sugar and leave to ferment for another 2-3 days. After subsequent filtration, pour the wine into clean jars and leave it alone to mature 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 told you how to make homemade wine from plums yourself. And now some nuances:
- Bottles or other containers with young wine must be sealed tightly.The ripening process should take place in darkness and coolness. Otherwise, instead of a delicious aromatic drink, you will get plum vinegar.
- The color of the finished drink will depend on the type of plum. The dark fruit produces a rich red plum wine. And from white, yellow or pink plums the drink will be the appropriate color.
It takes longer for plum wine to ripen than other fruits and berries. The best homemade wine is considered to be one that has stood for at least three years. It has the whole real bouquet of taste and aroma.
