Home Bakery Isabella wine at home is simple. White and red wine from Isabella grapes. Homemade wine making technology - what you need to know

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Isabella wine at home is simple. White and red wine from Isabella grapes. Homemade wine making technology - what you need to know

The birthplace of Muscat Isabella is South Carolina (US state). At the beginning of the 17th century, this unpretentious fruitful variety was bred there. It was soon brought to Europe where it became very popular. The variety is frost-resistant, therefore it is very common in Russia.

The dark berries of Isabella grapes have a special strawberry (Isabella) flavor, the vine gives generous, stable yields even on poor soils.

In the fruits of Isabella an impressive set useful substances(including vitamins and minerals), which allow you to cleanse the body, strengthen the immune system, restore tone, increase efficiency.

The peel and seeds contain a lot of antioxidants and anthocyanins, which suppress the development of tumors and cancer cells, and have a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system. Berries and leaves of Isabella are used in folk medicine(there is a video on the net).

Isabella is a table-technical variety; juices or wine can be made from its fruits. There is various recipes, which allow you to make white, rose and red wine from this grape.

Wine from Isabella is banned in the European Union as containing significant amounts of hydrocyanic (hydrocyanic) acid and methyl alcohol. In home winemaking, this grape is still very popular. No one will interfere with making such wine, but drinking it, like any alcoholic beverages, is recommended moderately - 200-300 ml per day.

white wine recipe

Recipes for wine from Isabella abound, including old ones. You can watch a video where the cooking process is demonstrated visually.

We offer a simple recipe for dry (table) wine from the berries of this variety. It is worth noting: thick red wine is often made from Isabella (fermentation takes place on the pulp). It takes more effort to make good red wine. When fermenting on juice (white), it is easier to get a good result.

Ingredients:

grapes - 10 kg;
sugar - 100-200 g / l grape juice;
*pure water - 20-100 ml / l of grape juice.

* Water is used if the grapes grew in bad conditions, the berries are not very good quality(little sugar, a lot of acid). To reduce acidity, the juice must be diluted with clean water. High-quality wine material does not need to be diluted, as water impairs the taste and aroma of wine.

Grape preparation

Picking grapes for making wine is recommended in the morning, when the dew subsides. For house wine berries of any size will do. It is necessary to carefully sort out the grapes, remove spoiled, rotten, green grapes. It is impossible to wash grapes intended for wine production. Yeast fungi (wild yeast) live on the surface of the berries, which activate the fermentation process.

Pulp preparation

Isabella is a late variety, the ridges are already dry by the time of harvest, whole bunches are rarely used for wine. Such recipes are popular with lovers of tart wine.

We make wine from grapes. The berries are separated from the twigs into an enameled container (you can use stainless steel or high-quality food-grade plastic utensils), crushed by hand or otherwise. To get the maximum amount of juice, you need to crush all the berries.

It is very important not to damage the grape seeds when crushing the berries. The seeds of this variety contain a large amount of tannins (tannins), which give the wine excessive bitterness.

Wort preparation

The grape mixture (pulp) is allowed to infuse for 3-4 hours. Then the preparation of the wort begins: the mass is filtered through a colander into a prepared clean container. You can squeeze the juice through cheesecloth. The pulp is no longer needed.

Juice (wort) may be sour. Winemakers consider 4–6 g of acid per liter of must to be the norm. Often even mature Isabella grapes show up to 12–15 g/l of acidity.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to accurately determine this indicator at home. This requires an expensive special device - a pH meter. You have to rely on taste.

If the acid is so palpable that it reduces the cheekbones, pinches the tongue, then the recipe should be supplemented by adding water. It is necessary to add water very sparingly, since the addition of sugar lowers the acidity.

Fermentation

For the fermentation of wine, glass bottles (sulei) or jars are used. At home, as a rule, containers of 5, 10 and 20 liters are used. The bottles are thoroughly washed with soda, rinsed, sterilized. The wort is curled into a dry container, filling it by 2/3, so that there is enough space for fermentation. Add half of the sugar required for the given amount of juice.

A water seal is installed on the neck of the fermentation bottle. You can make it yourself (you can watch how to make various designs on the video on the Internet) or buy it ready. A very good alternative is a medical glove with a hole in one of the fingers (it is made with an ordinary needle).

It is important to ensure the tightness of the shutter so that excess wine gas exits only along the route provided for by the design, and air does not enter the bottle so that sour vinegar does not turn out instead of aromatic wine. You can seal the shutter with adhesive tape, plasticine, and other improvised means.

The container with the wort should be placed in a dark place (or covered with a thick cloth). The room temperature should be between 16-22°C. If this is not possible, fermentation will take place in warmer conditions (24-30 ° C), then it is worth filling only half of the fermentation tank with wort, since fermentation proceeds more rapidly at high temperatures.

Adding sugar

At the first stage of fermentation, only half of the sugar calculated for a given volume of juice was added to the wort. The rest should be divided into 2. Add the first batch of sugar on the fourth or fifth day (half of the remainder).

The shutter is removed, poured with a hose into a clean container of half a liter of wort, sugar is dissolved in it, the liquid is poured into the fermentation tank, and a water seal is installed.

Repeat this procedure after four to five days.

When re-installing the water seal, be sure to check its tightness! If you use a rubber glove, it is more practical to use a new one each time.

Wine made from Isabella grapes can ferment from 35 to 70 days. It is necessary to monitor the process so as not to miss its completion. This is important, since wine that has stood on the lees significantly loses its taste qualities.

The main signs of the end of fermentation are: no gas is released (if you have a glove, it will deflate), the liquid in the fermentation bottle will become transparent and lighter, there will be a sediment layer at the bottom of the bottle.

If fermentation lasts more than 45–50 days, then experienced winemakers recommend pouring the wine into another bottle (draining from the sediment) using a rubber hose or a dropper tube. This must be done carefully so as not to disturb the sediment.

Young wine is carefully drained from the sediment. It can be filtered through multilayer gauze or special filters.

Adjusting the taste of young wine and aging

The drained wine should be tasted to decide on further actions. If the taste is excellent, then the wine can be bottled. Young wine is bottled, hermetically sealed and left for further maturation (aging).

If the taste characteristics do not suit you, then at this stage you can adjust them.

If the intoxicating drink turned out to be too sour, the situation can be corrected with the addition of sugar (to taste). After adding the required amount of sugar, the sweetened wine should be put under a water seal for about a week. Then pour into a clean container and seal tightly. Pour the drink in the container to the top so that contact with air is minimal.

You can fix the wine with vodka or alcohol (add from 2 to 15 percent alcohol per volume of finished wine). Fortified wine has its fans, but, in addition, such wine is better and longer stored.

Containers with wine should be placed in a refrigerator or cellar, where there should be an appropriate temperature regime (5-15 ° C). Exposure for wine from Isabella at home must be at least 3 months.

The condition of the wine must be constantly monitored. If sediment appears at the bottom, then the wine must be promptly poured (drained from the sediment) into a clean container, sealed tightly. The procedure is repeated until the precipitate falls out. During the aging period, a unique bouquet, aroma and color of the wine is formed.

Storage

After 3-6 months, Isabella wine will be ready to drink. It is poured into wine bottles, hermetically sealed. Store in a horizontal position on a refrigerator shelf or on racks in the basement.

If the technology for making wine is observed, the exposure is six months, then the strength of the drink will be 9-12% (without fixing). The shelf life of such wine is 5 years (subject to storage conditions).

The color of white wine from Isabella is light golden, the pulp of this variety is almost uncolored, coloring substances are found in the skin of grapes.

Red / rose wine

Isabella is a wonderful grape from which to make different types wines with good taste. You just need to choose the right recipe and strictly adhere to the cooking technology.

Isabella wine is found in the lines of many Russian producers. This semi-sweet red wine with berry aroma has long been well known to our compatriots. Especially it fell in love with home winemakers. Due to its unpretentiousness and frost resistance, the grape variety is widely distributed in summer cottages and farms.

Making wine from Isabella grapes at home practically does not differ from the general wine technology, but knowing some of the features will make it possible to make better quality wine.

Isabella grapes

Characteristics and features

Isabella grapes are a typical representative of table and technical varieties. This means that berries with a large amount of juice are best used for processing: winemaking, production of juices and compotes. In this they differ from table varieties, the pulp of which practically does not contain juice and gives more pleasure when consumed fresh.

The hybrid variety Isabella was bred by American breeders for the northern states. It tolerates a variety of climatic conditions well, pleases with high yields even with high humidity, a short sunny day, and the onset of early frosts. The maturation period is long and is 5-6 months. Therefore, the harvest takes place in September-October.

Dense clusters consist of medium-sized berries. The classic variety has a dark skin color, there is a white variety of Noah. Difficulties winemaker can deliver the taste of grapes. Depending on the geography of the growing region, the sugar content of juice from the Isabella variety rarely exceeds 12-15%, but the acid content is not less than 7-12 g / l.

Collection and preparation of grapes

It is better to harvest grapes as late as possible, but before the onset of severe frosts and seasonal rains. The quality of grapes is determined not by the size of the berries, but by their ripeness. You need to harvest in dry weather.

It is important to keep a bluish coating on the skin of the berries. It is a natural yeast needed for fermentation. There are numerous substitutes for wild microorganisms: wine, dry, pressed yeast. But using them kills the natural fruit flavor. grape wine. Therefore, the harvested crop cannot be washed. Wipe very dirty berries with a soft dry cloth.

When sorting through grapes, you need to get rid of dry, spoiled and unripe berries. A few rotten berries are quite capable of spoiling the entire batch of wine.

Cooking steps

Classic way

This simple recipe allows you to make up to 15 liters of Isabella red wine with a strength of 9-12%.

Ingredients:

grapes - 20 kg;
sugar - 2-4 kg;
water - 0.5–7 liters.

Manufacturing technology

Juice extraction and must preparation

We squeeze the juice from the selected berries. For this, it is recommended to use wooden rather than metal fixtures. You can crush each berry with your hands, but be sure to wear protective gloves, because. juice has high acidity and irritates the skin of the hands. It is important to keep the bones intact. The tannins contained in them will add excessive bitterness.
Crushed berries, together with juice, pulp and skin, are transferred to a container with a wide neck and covered with a loose cloth or multilayer gauze. For 4–5 days, stir the juice several times a day, lower the resulting pulp cap to the bottom.
At the first sign of fermentation, we filter the juice and carefully squeeze the pulp through gauze. The resulting juice must be quantitatively measured and tasted. Very sour, tongue-tingling juice should be diluted with water. Depending on the acidity of the water, 20 to 200 ml per liter of juice is required. With the addition of water, you need to be careful, because. after adding sugar, part of the acid will leave in the process of fermentation in a natural way.
Add sugar to juice. Its amount also depends on the characteristics of the grapes and is determined by taste. The average value is 100-200 grams per liter of juice. Classic recipe wines from Isabella grapes recommends adding sugar in parts. This helps keep fermentation active. At the very beginning, 50% of the total amount is enough.

Wort fermentation

The finished wort is poured into fermentation containers. At the same time, we leave room for the foam formed during the fermentation process, at least a quarter of the volume. We install a water seal on the neck of the container. It can be either homemade or store bought. A simpler option is a rubber or latex glove with a pierced finger. This design allows the formation of carbon dioxide to be removed and protects against souring.
The must must be rearranged in a dark place with a constant temperature regime of 18-28 ° C. At a lower or higher temperature, the yeast will die or fall into suspended animation. The warmer the room, the more active and faster fermentation will go, and the production of wine will take less time.
After 5 days, you can add the next batch of sugar. We take 25% of the total amount of sugar. We remove the water seal and pour half a liter of fermenting wort for each kg of added sugar. We dissolve the sugar in the liquid and return the resulting syrup back. After 5 days, repeat the procedure and in the same way add the remaining quarter of the sugar.
Fermentation lasts 1.5–2.5 months. The readiness of the mash for homemade wine Isabella is determined by a number of signs: precipitation, clarification of the mash, lack of sweetness in taste, cessation of gas formation in the water seal. Carefully drain the mash that has played out from the sediment. A silicone hose or flexible tube will help not to touch the turbidity at the bottom.

Taste stabilization and aging

After completion of fermentation, the wine should be tasted for sugar content. If it seems that it turned out not sweet enough or even too dry wine, a serving of sugar will help fix this. As before, we dissolve the sweetener in a small amount of wine, which we then mix in the rest.
To age, pour the young grape wine into a clean container. If sugar was added, it is necessary to install a water seal for 1-1.5 weeks, because. fermentation may resume. To clarify the drink from suspensions, you need to choose a dark and cool place with a temperature of 10-15 ° C.
The aging process takes about 3 months. During this time, once every 1.5-2 weeks or as needed, the wine must be drained from the sediment. The absence of sediment indicates the readiness of the wine and the transition to the next stage.

Bottling

It is better to pour homemade wine into medium-sized glass bottles. We fill the container to the very neck, tightly cork and put it in the refrigerator or cellar.
You can store prepared wines at home for up to 5 years.

fortified drink recipe

Fortified wine is distinguished not only by an increased degree, but also by a long shelf life. Fixing with alcohol makes the taste of Isabella more even and stable. Subject to storage rules, the taste is preserved even after several years. This cooking recipe can be called a continuation of the previous one. The basis is a batch of mash made according to the classic recipe.

Ingredients:

young wine Isabella - 10 liters;
sugar - 200 grams;
alcohol - 0.5-1.5 liters.

How to make wine:

Sugar is added to the wine from Isabella, made by hand. Recommended amount: 15-25 grams per liter. Stir the measured sugar in a small amount of wine. The resulting syrup is poured into the rest of the wine.
We hide sweetened wine from direct light in a place with a temperature of 10–16 ° C. Adding sugar can restart fermentation, so a water seal is required.
After a month, you can get the wine and add alcohol to taste.
To store Isabella wine at home, it must be poured into glass bottles, filled to the top, and tightly corked. A suitable place for storage is a refrigerator, basement or cellar.

Often, practicing winemakers are ready for the surprises that an insidious grape drink can bring. They already know how to make the right must and how to make the right taste of wine. So that the first difficulties do not stop novice lovers, before making Isabella wine at home, we advise you to familiarize yourself with the possible difficulties and ways to solve them.

Too long fermentation

If fermentation does not stop after 55 days, the wine should be drained from the sediment. Long interaction of young wine with fermentation products can lead to its bitterness. You need to install a water seal on the bottle again and wait for the end of fermentation.

Watery taste

A weak, slightly pronounced wine taste appears when the must is strongly diluted with water. In order not to spoil the wine, water must be added in parts and tasted. You need to get rid of the sharp acidity, but the sour shade should remain.

musty taste

Such a problem can be caused by improper storage, loose sealing of the bottle, lack of acid. The latter cause can be corrected by adding ascorbic or citric acid.

Sour taste

An unpleasantly sour taste indicates a lack of sugar. The simplest solution is to sweeten the wine and age it again under a water seal. When the signs of fermentation stop, the drink is ready to drink.

Benefit and harm

Isabella wine is one of the most controversial and partially banned varieties. On the one hand, the pulp of Isabella has a set of vitamins and minerals that is characteristic of any other grape variety. The high content of antioxidants and anthocyanins help to heal and cleanse the cardiovascular and immune systems of the body. Leaves from Isabella's vineyards have been used in folk medicine as an antipyretic.

The other side of the coin is the increased level of pectin in the thin grape skins. This is a characteristic feature of all hybrid varieties. Pectin is harmful only for winemaking, since it is in the process of fermentation that it is converted into methanol. For this reason, in the territory of the European Union it is impossible to make wine from hybrid grape varieties, including Isabella. The import of these wines is also prohibited.

Our compatriots consider the neighbors' panic somewhat exaggerated. From myself, we advise you to set a potentially safe daily allowance of 200-300 ml and not exceed it.

Attention, only TODAY!

Wines made at home, unlike most store-bought products, are not just fragrant, they are also tasty and healthy.

Isabella is especially popular with home winemakers. This is a delicious wine made from the grape variety of the same name.

Subject to all the subtleties of its preparation, you can get a really natural tasty, and most importantly useful for the body. alcoholic drink medium strength, handmade.

Isabella grapes are great just for use in processed form.. It produces not only excellent table wine, but also wonderful juices, as well as compotes.

The preparation of any alcoholic product begins with the preparation of raw materials, in this case, with the collection and preparation of the grapes themselves.

Harvesting

In order for the finished wine to turn out to be really tasty and healthy, the berries must be collected in accordance with certain rules.

Important! The taste of finished grape alcohol is influenced not so much by the size and color of the berries themselves, but by the degree of their integrity and ripeness.

Harvest Rules:

Harvesting should be carried out as late as possible. At the same time, it is important to have time to do this before the first frosts and before heavy rains. It is worth remembering that overripe grapes, as well as berries with traces of rot, cannot be used.
It is best to pick berries in dry, calm weather, after the dew has dried.
Care must be taken to ensure that the plaque on the grapes is preserved. It is he who in the future will start the natural process of fermentation.
It is strictly forbidden to wash the berries before further processing!

The harvested crop must be removed from the brushes, all damaged and rotten berries should be removed, and if they are very dirty, they should be wiped with a dry soft cloth.

For storing and picking berries, it is best to use wooden, glass or plastic containers. The same recommendations apply to other stages of preparation.

This recipe is designed to obtain 15 liters of finished alcoholic beverages.

Therefore, in the future you will need:

grapes - 20 kg;
filtered water up to 700 ml;
granulated sugar - about 4 kg.

Getting grape juice

It is this stage that is considered the key in cooking. To squeeze the juice, you should use wooden tools, although you can just squeeze the grapes well with your hands.

After all the juice has been obtained, you must perform the following steps:

The liquid, together with cake and seeds, is placed in a wide container and covered with gauze folded several times.
Over the next five days, the mixture is thoroughly mixed a couple of times a day. Be sure to lower the pop-up pulp to the bottom.
As soon as the fermentation process begins to actively manifest itself through gauze, the liquid should be filtered, while the pulp is squeezed out and removed.

Now you need to evaluate the taste of the resulting wort, the more acidic it is, the more water you need to add on average, its volume ranges from 20 to 120 ml per liter of fermented juice.

After that, 50% of the total volume of sugar is added to the liquid.

Reference! You can add the entire volume of granulated sugar at once, but experienced winemakers advise adding it in parts, since in this case it is easier to control the sweetness of the must.