Home Bakery products Isabella wine at home is simple. Homemade wine made from Isabella grapes. Isable grape varieties

Isabella wine at home is simple. Homemade wine made from Isabella grapes. Isable grape varieties

Many winegrowers are involved in growing grapes for more than just pleasure and delicious berries but also for making the best homemade wine. After all, winemaking, like viticulture, has been going on for many millennia.

Over the years, countless ways of making homemade wines have been created and also tried.

Although at first glance, making wine is not so difficult, it is not worth starting this process without good preliminary preparation.

Today we will acquaint you with the peculiarities of making wine from the Isabella grape variety. We will describe in detail the technology for processing grapes and give examples of several recipes.

Features of Isabella grapes: why is the variety so prized in winemaking?

This variety is one of the few that refer to both dining and technical. In other words, it is grown both for fresh consumption and for processing. In particular, the variety has the following several advantages:

  • Good survival rate and resistance of a vigorous bush.
  • Attractive appearance bunches and berries.
  • High rates of juice content in berries.
  • During processing, juices and excellent red wine with a characteristic sour taste can be obtained.

Thus, due to its good resistance, the variety is very easy to grow. Wherein, one bush is capable of producing quite bountiful harvests, which will allow you to prepare a large amount of wine. In particular, with the mass cultivation of this variety, from one hectare of vine plantations it is possible to collect from 60 to 75 centners of the crop.

With good home care of grapes, you can achieve higher performance.

What medicinal properties does Isabella have?

Products made from this grape variety are very good suitable for treatment colds and diseases of the upper respiratory tract. Use as fresh berries Isabella grape and wine made from it is an excellent expectorant. In addition, wine perfectly warms with colds, therefore mulled wine is often prepared from it.

What you need to know about the technology of making wine at home?

In the preparation of wine, as in any other culinary recipe, has its own characteristics and proportions. Taking into account all the peculiarities of winemaking technology, you can get a product of very high quality, however, it is also very easy to make a mistake.

First of all, you need to prepare the necessary equipment and ingredients for the wine in advance. In addition to the grapes themselves, about the peculiarities of the preparation and processing of which we will tell below, wine for fermentation necessarily needs sugar.

Also, you need to purchase and wash well a special fermentation container in advance, which could accommodate your entire grape harvest (well, or several such containers). During fermentation, air will escape from the grape juice, however, it is highly undesirable for air to get into the juice itself. Therefore, it is also necessary to have a special water seal, which many people often use with ordinary rubber gloves.

And of course, you will need containers for pouring ready-made wine.

How to properly process grapes for further use in winemaking?

To make wine, you do not need to select the most beautiful and largest bunches of grapes. Any will do, but it is very important to examine all of them thoroughly and remove rotten, dried and green berries. After all, they can greatly spoil the taste of wine.

Another very important note: grapes should never be washed before crushing on juice, it will be enough just to wipe the bunches with a dry clean cloth. Do not be afraid that some harmful bacteria will get into the wine - they will all ferment and become completely harmless. After all, all these natural bacteria are just the opposite and serve as natural components of the fermentation of grape juice, acting as substitutes for yeast.

Getting started juicing: how to get a pure product?

Before you get pure juice of Isabella grapes, you need to make a pulp from it, that is, crush grapes... In order to suppress it, you can use the common flea market, which is used to make mashed potatoes.

Of course, ideally it is better to use a press, but for small amounts of grapes at home, you just do without it. Your main task is to crush each berry so that it gives away its juice.

Further, the pulp must be sent to a colander or gauze. If the first time you can't strain the juice well, you can pass it through the colander again. You can use the resulting juice both for further preparation of wine, and after boiling it with the addition of sugar, you can get the finest juice.

How not to spoil future wine: features of fermentation of grape juice

In order for the juice to ferment well, he needs glass and spacious dishes.

For this, large bottles are best suited, in which in the old days our grandparents kept wine or moonshine. You need to take large ones - by 5-10 liters. It is very important that they are perfectly clean and dry, which is why we recommended preparing them in advance.

Only a third of the vessel needs to be filled with juice, since the rest of the space will be needed for the juice for full fermentation.

Next, add the amount of sugar specified in the recipe to the juice and close the bottle with a special lid or pull a glove over it. For our wine to start fermenting well, keep it in a warm, but not hot, place.

But the technology variant described by us is not ideal and the only one, it can rather be called universal. To find out how else you can make wine "Isabella" at home, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the following recipes.

homemade wine recipes

Isabella grape wine recipe # 1

According to this recipe, after the juice has thoroughly fermented and has become, in fact, a real wine, it must be very carefully poured into another vessel. The most important thing is that the dregs and tartar that have settled at the bottom do not in any way mix with the pure product. The bottle in which the juice fermented is thoroughly washed and dried.

Received the same young the wine needs a little sweetening as it will be too sour to consume. For this, 100 or 150 grams (depending on your personal preferences) sugar is added to 1 liter of liquid. We mix all this thoroughly until it is completely dissolved and pour the resulting sweetened wine back into an already dried bottle.

It is very important to close the resulting wine tightly and hermetically so that neither air nor moisture can enter it.

Within a month you will receive the finest wine homemade... It can be safely taken and bottled. In bottles, it also needs to be closed very tightly.

A cold cellar is best suited for storage, although if it is not available, you can put Isabella in the refrigerator. It should be noted that due to the added sugar to the young wine, the resulting product will have a pleasant sweetness. Usually, the strength of such a wine is equal to 11-13 turns, which is still not a lot, although you should not get carried away with it either.

Isabella grape wine recipe # 2

This recipe will suit you if you are worried that the wine will not be able to ferment without adding yeast and sugar. In this recipe, the juice preparation technology itself is significantly different.

In particular, after you have thoroughly rinsed the berries, the pulp is not wrung out, but is sent to a large saucepan and put on fire. In no case should you boil it, just heat up to 75º and remove immediately.

While stirring a little, the pulp should be cooled to a temperature of 23º. A 2% yeast solution that has stood for three days is added to the resulting consistency. After that, the pulp should be covered with a wooden circle and with its help, press it well and squeeze it through a colander. After that, add sugar to the juice, with the calculation of 0.1 kilogram per 1 liter and leave it so that the resulting consistency ferments.

For good and successful fermentation, the container should be closed either with a water seal or with a glove.

After fermentation has already ended, young wine is recommended leave in the same vessel for another couple of months... Thus, it will settle much better, and after filling into bottles, sediment will practically not appear.

After that, it should also be carefully drained from the vessel in which it fermented and settled, and sweetened again. This time, it is worth adding from 120 to 180 grams per 1 liter, focusing on the taste of the young wine obtained and on your own preferences. When the sugar is completely dissolved, the wine is ready to be bottled and stored sealed.

  • Since this resulting wine will still be considered young, there is a way to speed up the aging process. For this, sealed in bottles, it needs to be pasteurized for several hours. For this, the temperature cannot be raised above 60 degrees, we pasteurize alcohol.
  • Best of all, wine is stored in dark and cool rooms, where the temperature does not rise above 12 ° C. In addition, bottles are best kept in a horizontal position.

Isabella grape wine recipe # 3

The third recipe will be clearer in terms of the proportions for the wine. In particular, it will require:

  • 10 kilograms of Isabella grapes.
  • 3 kilograms of granulated sugar (it is recommended to use only the highest grade).

The cooking process should start with the fact that unwashed and sorted out grapes are sent to a large enamel bowl, where they are thoroughly kneaded.

To crush it better, you can add grapes to the bowl in small portions. The resulting mass is simply covered with gauze and left in the same enameled vessel for fermentation for 5 days.

It is very important to put the pot in a warm place so that the grapes are guaranteed to ferment. During fermentation, the grape mass should be mixed well twice a day using a wooden spatula or spoon.

After the fermentation process goes well enough and the mass rises significantly, it is sent to a colander. To squeeze out absolutely all the juice from the pulp (grape mass), you can squeeze it again through cheesecloth, which will give the juice additional purity.

All the necessary sugar is added to the resulting juice, mixed thoroughly and poured into specially prepared glass vessels (jars or bottles) for further fermentation. This time, the bottle must be covered either with a special lid or with a rubber medical glove.

It is important to pierce your fingers while wearing a glove so that you can understand when the wine is ready. At room temperature the fermentation process can take two to three weeks, its completion will be confirmed by a dropped glove.

You should start filtering the resulting young wine only when it brightens and there are no air balloons in it. You need to filter slowly and carefully, trying to leave all the sediment and yeast at the bottom.

Young wine should not be bottled right away because it will still give sediment. It is better to pour it into a vessel washed after fermentation and let it stand for another month, while regularly pouring it over and throwing out the sediment.

After all these laborious processes, the wine can be bottled and sent to the cellar or refrigerator. The real maturity of Isabella wine will come in about a month, then you can taste it yourself and offer it to your friends.

Isabella grape wine recipe # 4

It is worth paying attention to another recipe, which, unlike those described above, involves adding water to the grape mass. This can produce more wine, but its strength will be slightly less... Preparing wine is worth following the following steps:

  • After you have transferred the grapes, as we recommended to do this using a universal technology, the resulting pulp should be sent to an enamel or plastic container.
  • In relation to the total grape mass, about 30-40% water and about 40 grams of sugar per liter are added. This mixture is left for 4-5 days in order for it to begin to ferment. All this time, the pulp must be stirred, while destroying the foam cap that will form during fermentation. When you notice that the cap is forming very quickly, the pulp should be sent to cheesecloth to squeeze out the juice.
  • The squeezed liquid must be mixed with boiled water, the amount of which must be at least 40% of the entire grape mass. Thus, we get grape must, which should be poured into bottles or cans (filling them only by a third). You shouldn't put on a glove right away. It is necessary to plug the hole in the bottles with cotton wool, which will retain the foam formed from fermentation.
  • When the wort begins to ferment more calmly, a glove is pulled over the neck of the bottles or it is closed with a special lid. Remember to poke a small hole in the glove through which the gas will escape.
  • The fermented wine is drained from the vessel in such a way that all the dregs and settled elements remain at the bottom. The bottle, or other vessel you used, is thoroughly washed and dried, and sugar is added to the resulting wine, with the calculation of 200 grams per 1 liter. Sugar must be dissolved by warming up the wine a little.
  • Next, we send this wine back to a dry bottle and let it brew for at least another month. During this time, it can be poured several more times to get rid of the sediment.
  • Already more or less matured wine can be bottled, tightly closed and sent to a cool and dark place. Before bottling, you need to taste it and if the wine does not seem sweet enough to you, you can add a little more sugar to it, but do not stir or heat.

Prepared according to this recipe and kept in a cold place, the wine will be completely ready for consumption in a month. There will not be many turns in it, but such "Isabella" will turn out to be very sweet, it will be possible to try it even for children.

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The Isabella variety belongs to the table and technical varieties of grapes, it can turn out to be quite a worthy drink for itself, if you take into account some advice from experienced winemakers. Despite criticism from professionals regarding the quality of the berries, many gardeners grow crops on their plots in order to replenish their home stocks with excellent wine.

Homemade drink made from Isabella grapes very fragrant rich color... The taste is set off by a strawberry note.

Due to the different technological processes of making wine, you can change the color from dark burgundy to white. This is achieved by using pure juice of various isabelable hybrids (without skin and seeds) as a raw material base.

The incredible popularity of Isabella is explained by the following advantageous characteristics of the plant:

  • high yield(60-75 kg / ha);
  • strong immunity against typical grape diseases;
  • frost resistance, which does not require the creation of a special shelter for the winter period;
  • quick recovery of frozen vines;
  • good survival rate of seedlings, intensive release of new shoots;
  • indicators sugar content and acidity are in the required ratio;
  • a lot of juice in fruits;
  • bright flavor notes can be complemented by the aromas of other products without losing varietal expressiveness;
  • simple rules of agricultural technology.

Gardeners note the unpretentiousness of the plant, it develops well literally on any soil with low and high humidity.

However, in addition to the ease of cultivation, experts distinguish and medicinal properties Isabella. Derivatives from grapes are used as adjuvants in the treatment of colds and upper respiratory tract infections. This effect is achieved due to the expectorant properties of the berries.

Wine is used to prepare mulled wine, which warms well in frosty or damp weather.

Every year, tons of Isabella wines are added to private collections and wine cellars of production complexes, which confirms the popularity of grapes.

In recent years, a taboo has been introduced on the cultivation of the Isabella variety in European countries.

This is allegedly due to the presence of methanol in berries - a substance hazardous to health. In fact, the statement is incorrect, since this component is part of any alcoholic beverage... In the wine material from Isabella, its concentration is below the permissible level. Therefore, many experts associate the forbidden move purely with marketing policy.

When and how to pick grapes

The technical ripeness of the Isabella variety falls on last decade of October months. In order for the berry to accumulate a sufficient amount of sugar content, you need to wait another week, only then can the grapes be harvested and the grapes are ready for processing into wine.

It is important to have time to harvest the harvest before frost... When choosing the day for cutting the bunches, weather conditions are also taken into account, there should be no precipitation.


Ripeness is determined by its pleasant sour taste and multifaceted aroma. The skin of the berries is dense, even slightly tough. Ripe healthy hands are selected for wine, all damaged, unripe or diseased fruits are removed. When cutting bunches, it is important not to damage the integrity of the berries so that they do not lose their juiciness.

The sorted grapes are placed in a clean, dry container for further processing. There is no need to wash it at home, there are bacteria on the surface of the berries that function as natural yeast.

How to make homemade dry or semi-sweet wine with your own hands

Ingredients

To prepare wine, many ingredients are not required, it is worth cooking only grapes and sugar... Also, you will need containers for work: bottles (wine), a spacious barrel (preferably made of oak blanks), a sieve.

Gases are released during fermentation, and a special gas is required to release them. odor trap and thin hose... Often these devices are replaced in everyday life with rubber gloves.

Correct preparation for processing

For the preparation of wines are selected only healthy bunches with quality berries... Quality does not mean parameters and beauty, but integrity and the absence of signs of damage or disease.


For further processing of bunches it is not necessary to wash, it is enough to wipe each with a dry cloth, removing street dust. You should not be afraid of harmful bacteria and microorganisms, they will become absolutely safe during fermentation. According to microbiological laws, the same bacteria are natural substitutes for yeast, so their presence improves fermentation.

Getting juice

The juice is not obtained without the application of physical force, as required spinning berries. In the good old days, a large barrel was filled with grapes, which were subsequently crushed with pre-washed feet. In large industries, a press machine was used.

Modern winemakers at home use different methods:

  • crushing the berries with your hands, followed by filtering through a sieve;
  • passing bunches through a grape crusher;
  • using a crush, which chokes potatoes for mashed potatoes, etc.

The methods of obtaining juice can be used completely different, but it is important to take into account that when pressure is applied to the berry, the bone should not be damaged. Also, contact with the peel is not allowed. They change the taste of the wine material, complementing it with astringency and bitterness.


In order for the berries to give the maximum amount of juice, you must first crush them in a prepared container without damaging the seeds, and let them stand for several days (3-4). Only then strain the pulp, separating the juice from the peel and seeds.

Wort fermentation technology

To make wine, a fermentation stage is provided. To ensure normal conditions, you need to choose under the wort spacious glassware(bottle for 10, 15, 20 and more liters).

The containers are pre-washed and dried well. It is not worth filling the container to the top with juice; at least 2/3 of the space should be left free. This will maintain the correct fermentation conditions.

Prescription-added sugar should be mix well until completely dissolved... Then the neck of the bottle is closed with a special stopper (rubber glove).


It will be good to ferment the juice in a warm place, so you need to find a suitable corner in advance. But it is not recommended to place the container under the sun's rays or in a too hot room, as there is a high likelihood of souring of the wort.

As soon as fermentation begins, a hole is made in the cork and a tightly thin hose is inserted into it, the joint is fixed with plasticine or wax. Its other end is dipped into a jar filled with water. Thus, gases are released.

Sugar consumption rate per liter of juice is from 100 to 300 grams... It all depends on the recipe and the type of wine made (dessert, table).

The container with the wort should be in a darkened room with a temperature regime 16-22 degrees... At high temperatures, the bottle can burst from intense gases. The maximum allowable figure does not exceed 28-30 degrees.

Sugar is added in portions, for the first time it is mixed with juice before fermentation begins. In this case, only half of the prescription volume is used. 4-5 days after the start of fermentation, another 25% of the sweet component is added to the container. After thorough mixing, the neck is closed with a water seal, and after 5 days the remaining portion of sugar is poured into the bottle.

The fermentation process takes 35-70 days.

Signs of the end of the stage are:

  • cessation of gas evolution from a hose (or a deflated rubber glove);
  • precipitation at the bottom of the dishes;
  • clarification of the wine and the appearance of transparency.

If, after 55 days of settling, the fermentation is not completed, the wine must be drained through a straw into a clean container and clogged again with a water seal with the release of gases. When pouring, it is important not to touch the precipitated sediment, otherwise it will add bitterness to the drink.

Maturation and flavor adjustment

It is easier to adjust the taste if the farm has a special device for determining the acid level in grape juice (pH meter). After receiving the wort, measurements are taken, then compared with the indicators of the norm. They must be within 4-6 g per 1 liter of juice.

The result can change annually, as acidity is influenced by several factors, in particular weather conditions. Experienced winemakers have learned how to taste the level of acid: if it reduces the cheekbones, and the tongue tingles at the same time, then the indicator is increased.

After the fermentation stage is completed, the wine adjusted for sweetness... Sugar is added taking into account the wishes and preferences of the winemaker, but alcohol or vodka is not recommended to be used as an additional ingredient.

Fortified wines have a longer shelf life, but they taste harsher. In any case, this additive should not exceed 2-15% of the total volume blanks.


Semi-sweet or dry, balanced in taste, is poured into clean bottles that are hermetically sealed. The container should be filled to the very top so that the wine comes into contact with oxygen as little as possible.

If sugar addition is required to adjust the taste, then the wine is defended for another 7-8 days with a water seal to release the resulting gases. Only then comes bottling and hermetic sealing.

Home wine stored in cellars or refrigerator at temperature conditions 6-16 degrees... The aging period of the drink is 3 months. During this period, every 10-15 days, the contents of the bottles are poured into a clean dish through a straw to get rid of sediment. After 3-6 months, you can make the first test.

Stand up the finished wine product while observing technological process maybe about 5 years... Home-made wine has a strength of 9-12%.

Cooking with water

Among the wine recipes from Isabella grapes, the technology with the use of water is popular. The added liquid in this case regulates the acidity of the juice, but reduces the strength of the drink. The main advantage of the method is to obtain a large amount of product.


The steps of the process of making wine with the addition of water step by step:

  • Fold the pulp into a clean bulky dish, add sugar (40 grams per 1 liter of juice) and water (30-40%).
  • Place the container in a warm, dark room for 4-5 days... Stir the mixture periodically and beat down the foam.
  • With intensive formation of a foam head, filter the juice using a sieve or gauze.
  • Dilute the juice 30-40% of the total mass boiled water.
  • Pour the blanks into bottles, plugging the neck with cotton wool.
  • If the fermentation process takes place calmly, then a water seal or a rubber glove is fixed on the neck.
  • The fermented mixture is poured from the sediment by distilling the wine material into a clean dish.
  • Warm up the drink slightly and add sugar to it ( 200 gr. for 1 l).
  • The wine is kept at a temperature of 6-16 degrees for 1-2 months. Periodically, you need to drain the drink from the sediment until transparency is achieved.

Water-based winemaking is recommended to balance acidity... This method is used in regions with an unfavorable climate, where, due to a lack of sun and waterlogging of the soil / air, the berry contains a low sugar index, but is characterized by high acidity.

With a normal sugar to acid ratio, add water Not recommended, it spoils the taste of the drink.

When processing 15 kg of grapes, add 100-200 gr. sugar per 1 liter of juice and from 50 to 500 ml of water for each liter of wort. The output is 9-12 liters of wine.

Isabella grapes look very beautiful as a gazebo, giving it an aesthetic look and shade. The plant is easy to care for, it does not take much time for pruning and garter. And in the fall and before winter comes, after harvesting, you can be creative and prepare delicious homemade wine, adding your secret ingredient to the recipe, which will give the drink an exquisite taste.

In fact, if you follow this recipe clearly, without deviating from it, then even those who make wine from Isabella grapes for the first time will end up with a high-quality drink, and most importantly, natural and very tasty. This recipe is designed for 10 liters of fresh grape juice, which will become the basic component of the drink.

Interesting! Traditionally, only dark grape varieties are used for home wine, and this is not necessarily "Isabella", but for home winemaking conditions, you can experiment and try any other available variety.


Just eight simple steps - and the delicious wine will be an honorable "guest" on any festive table!

What grape varieties are still used to make red wine?

Isabella is not the only variety that is great for the art of winemaking. But to really get delicious drink, it is necessary to choose technical wine varieties, since it is in such varieties that there is a lot of juice, and after all, juice is the foundation of a drink, it is thanks to the juice that wine is obtained, and therefore there should be a lot of it.

One of the best varieties for making homemade wine is a canteen. Such bunches of grapes have distinctive characteristics: berries are not too large, but very aromatic. For homemade wine, the ideal option is Muscat varieties, which have an excellent taste and rich aroma.

The most common grape varieties from which wine is made around the world are:

  • Muscat;
  • Cabernet;
  • Regent.

Agree, you have repeatedly met these names on wine bottles in the store and were at a loss, and what kind of wine is tastier? At home, you can use not only these varieties, but even a mix of varieties. You can also mix dark varieties of these berries with light ones. After all, one of the advantages of home winemaking is not only naturalness, but also the ability to experiment!

Why Isabella is so in demand in winemaking

One of the key features of this variety lies in the fact that it belongs to both technical and table varieties, and it is precisely these varieties that are used all over the world to make wines. This variety is grown both for fresh use and for further processing. Whatever the path of this variety, it is always guaranteed tasty.

Other advantages of the Isabella variety include:

  • Good survival rate in virtually any terrain and the stability of a vigorous bush;
  • The appearance of bunches and berries is almost ideal for grapes;
  • Abundant juice content in berries;
  • When processed, you can get excellent red wine with pleasant sour notes;
  • A rich harvest can be harvested from one bush;
  • Unpretentious care.

It turns out that the Isabella variety is very easy to grow, and due to its rich harvest, you can get a lot of homemade wine, spending a minimum of time. Isabella ripens late, but this is not a hindrance in order to prepare several bottles of homemade wine for the winter. Maybe the wine will not have time to brew by the New Year, but by February 23, one of the bottles will definitely be opened!

Moreover, all products made from the Isabella variety, including homemade wine, have medicinal properties, as they are in the berries themselves and are preserved during processing. It is especially useful to take products from Isabella grapes for those who have a cold and suffer from diseases of the upper respiratory tract. As an expectorant, it is fashionable to eat whole ripe fruits of berries, or you can drink wine from Isabella grapes, prepared at home. In addition, homemade wine warms up well for colds, and therefore you can add spices from it, as well as oranges, to get vitamin C, and enhance the effect of the drink, thereby strengthening the immune system. Of course, if wine is used for treatment, then you need to drink it in moderation, the principle “the more, the better” does not work.

Technological nuances in making homemade wine

In the recipe for homemade wine from Isabella grapes, as in any other culinary process, has its own nuances. If you take them into account and follow the correct technological steps, then you can really make wine of the highest quality. It is a mistake to believe that winemaking is easy, because it is important to know the principles of work and follow the instructions, then the business will progress quickly, efficiently, and most importantly, without gross errors and violations.

Several useful tips using the technology of making homemade wine will help turn this process into a pleasant pastime:

As practice shows, the main time costs are due to the long fermentation process, as well as due to the fact that after it the wine takes time to infuse. But, the process of wort preparation itself does not take much time. If everything is done correctly, following our proposed simple recipe wines made from Isabella grapes at home, then you will definitely get a fragrant, tasty and high-quality wine!

It is important to understand that wine is also alcoholic beverage, and therefore, no matter how tasty it turns out, you should not abuse it and take it in large quantities. Alcohol abuse is harmful to your health!

Many summer residents grow grapes on their backyards. different varieties for pleasure or delicious berries. But homemade wine made from Isabella grapes can become not just a decoration for your table, but also a treat for friends, as well as an excellent idea for starting your own, albeit a small business.

Why this particular variety?

The alluring smell of this grape variety makes the wine bouquet unique and recognizable!

The secret is quite simple, Isabella wine turns out to be especially aromatic and rich in taste and color. The grape variety itself has a number of advantages:

  1. The grapes of this variety take root well in the harsh climatic conditions of the country, and its bunches have an attractive appearance.
  2. Its berries contain a high percentage of sugar and juice, which makes it a wonderful fresh dessert. And aromatic, homemade wine with a rich, somewhat sour, but bright flavor characteristic of this variety is an excellent addition to the table.
  3. High yield - accordingly, you can make more wine at home without compromising its quality.

That is why isabella is so popular among “home winemakers”! Now is the time to move on to considering recipes for making homemade wine from Isabella grapes.

Homemade wine making technology - what is worth knowing?

Making Isabella wine at home is a simple process, but it has its own characteristics, which should be taken into account in the production of an aromatic drink.


The grapes are ripe. It remains to stock up on the necessary attributes and patience

First of all, you should prepare a container in advance - a bottle sufficient for the fermentation of wine material, as well as a special water seal that will remove air from the container during the fermentation of wine. You will also need grapes, sugar and alcohol, and only then bottles, into which the finished product will be poured.

After the collection and processing of grape bunches, the spoiled berries and leaves are sorted out, but it is not worth washing it before laying. It is unwashed berries and microorganisms on them that will accelerate the fermentation process, acting like yeast, preventing sourness and spoilage of the wine material. If you want, you can simply wipe the berries with a dry towel, but do not wash them under running water.


We place grapes in a container to obtain a juice-containing mass

Making wine from isabella at the very beginning, according to the recipe, provides for the receipt of pulp. To do this, it is necessary to crush the berries with a press or, if it is not there, with an ordinary crush. They are filtered and used in the future for making wine.


Or you can use the proven old-fashioned way to get pulp

Further, the recipe for making homemade wine provides that the resulting wine material is poured into a bottle by a third and, adding sugar, in the amount prescribed by the recipe, is placed in a dark place for fermentation. The neck itself is covered with a rubber glove and that's it. Below we will consider the most common recipes for homemade wine made from Isabella grapes.

Isabella homemade wine recipes

When the harvest is harvested and all the marriage is selected, it remains only to get acquainted with the basic recipe for cooking homemade drink... The production of wine itself is simple and uncomplicated, and hand-made, it will be even tastier. What wine recipes can a novice winemaker take on board in order to get a fragrant, natural drink of Bacchus?

Recipe number 1. - Classic cooking recipe

The presented recipe for wine from Isabella grapes is simple, when at the very beginning they squeeze the juice from the grape bunches, let it ferment in a dark place until a sediment appears at the bottom. After that, homemade wine is bottled carefully so as not to stir up the sediment.

The resulting young and still playing drink will be sourish - sugar should be added to it for sweetness at the rate of 100-150 grams. per liter of wine material. Everything is thoroughly mixed and tightly corked, so that air and moisture do not pass, they are placed for a month in a dark, cool place.

A simple recipe, when, after a month's period, the wine is filtered and bottled, tightly closed and sent to the cellar for further storage. Making wine using it is downtime and according to this recipe its strength is 11-13 rpm, it is marked by a sweet-tart, rich taste.

Recipe number 2. - With sugar and yeast

How to make Isabella wine at home so that it doesn't go to waste? Adopt a recipe with added sugar and yeast. The technology of pulp production differs significantly in it. The berries are washed, crushed, and the pulp itself is not squeezed out, but everyone is poured into a large saucepan and on a small fire, but they are not brought to a boil, but heated to 75 degrees.

Then, after removing from the heat, cool and introduce a long-standing, 3-day 2% yeast solution, cover the container and use a press to pass everything well through a press, after passing it through a colander or sieve. Sugar is introduced into the resulting juice - 100 g is enough for a liter, the container is closed with a rubber glove or a hydrozer and allowed to stand and ferment for several months.

After the allotted period, the liquid is drained without stirring up the sediment and once again add sugar per liter 150-180 gr., After finally bottling. The container is corked and stored in a well-ventilated cool and dark place, placed horizontally on the shelves.

Recipe number 3. - Fortified wine from Isabella

You will not be able to come up with an easier approach to making a homemade fortified drink from grape berries according to this recipe, since it requires strict adherence to proportions. To prepare it, you need 10 kg. grapes, 3 kg of sugar and the production process begins with the unwashed bunches being sorted out, placed in an enamel container and kneaded. After it is covered with gauze and the workpiece is left to ferment for 5 days - it must be put in a dark, cool place. Stir occasionally for a better fermentation process.

When the fermentation process is in full swing and the skins and grains rise up with a hat, the wine must be filtered and sugar is added to the resulting juice. Everything is mixed well and poured into glass bottles for subsequent fermentation - in this case, the neck of the container is covered with a rubber glove, pre-piercing holes in the fingers with a needle. This will help you understand that the fermentation process is complete and the wine is ready.

This isabella wine recipe provides that at room temperature the wine material will ferment for about 3-4 weeks - until the glove goes down. After that, carefully pour over the fermented wine, without stirring up the sediment - leave it to ferment for another couple of weeks. After a month, you can finally bottle it and seal it tightly, send it to the cellar - by the New Year you can try the results of your labors.

Recipe number 4. - Recipe for wine with the addition of water

Homemade Isabella wine in this version of the recipe, in its technology, involves adding pure water to the grape pulp, and it is due to this that a larger amount of wine is obtained, but the strength of the home product will be lower. How to make wine according to this recipe - follow the following steps:

  1. After picking berries and sorting them, selecting leaves and garbage of dry and spoiled fruits, the resulting wine material is placed in an enamel container. Then water is added - the calculation in this case is simple, when 30-35% of water and sugar are taken from the total mass of wine material, per 1 liter. 40 grams each.
  2. Then everything is thoroughly mixed in the container itself, then put for 5 days in a dark place for natural fermentation... During this time, the mass itself should be periodically stirred and destroyed the foam cap, giving access to oxygen and so accelerating the fermentation process.
  3. After the allotted time, the pulp is separated from the juice by simply filtering and squeezing it through cheesecloth. Further, the squeezed liquid is simply mixed with water - as noted above, it is taken no more than 35% of the juice volume, and this is how you get that very grape must.
  4. The resulting wort is poured into a glass container - it is filled by no more than a third and the neck is sealed. But here it is worth remembering - the hole is not clogged with a rubber glove, but with cotton wool, which will allow air to pass through, but at the same time retain the foam formed during fermentation.
  5. When the wort fermentation process proceeds more calmly, the recipe for making wine provides that the container itself should be sealed with a glove or a lid with small holes for gas to escape. As a rule, it is held until the juice itself becomes light and the dregs fall into the sediment. Only after that, the top is carefully drained, without stirring up the sediment in the bottles - sugar is added to the finished product at the rate of 200 liters of wine.
  6. After that, the wine material is sent back to the bottle and allowed to stand for another 1-1.5 months. During the allotted time, it is worth pouring it several times, and so removing the sediment - in the end you get a light wine that can be bottled. They are sealed tightly and placed in a cellar or refrigerator.

The most noble and refined wines are grape. Their bouquet depends on many parameters: variety, place of growth and degree of ripeness of berries, amount of sugar, other ingredients, cooking technology and even various random factors. Because of this, it will not be possible to produce vintage wines at home, moreover, wine from grapes at home is different every day. However, whatever the bouquet of the homemade grape drink is guaranteed to be better than the cheap store wines (and good grape wine is expensive). At the same time, wine made at home is no less useful than purchased wine.

Technology features

The production of grape wines has its own characteristics, which a winemaker must know about so as not to ruin the drink.

  • Not all grape varieties are suitable for winemaking. Beautiful large berries of table varieties are pleasant to the taste, but they are not suitable for the production of wines: the wine from them is unstable, with a weakly expressed aroma, devoid of a noble aftertaste. Small bunches, dotted with small, tightly adjacent berries - this is what usually looks like wine grapes. The names of these varieties are well known: Chardonnay, Cabernet, Riesling, Merlot, Lydia, Isabella and others. They have the desired sugar content and acidity, give the drink a rich aroma, deep taste, and delicate aftertaste.
  • The harvest time for wine depends on the region of its growth and on the weather conditions prevailing in a particular season. It is important that the berries are as ripe as possible. However, for dry wine, you can use just ripe berries, and for dessert wine, even those that have already slightly wandered.
  • Grapes for wine should be harvested in the morning, in sunny weather, but only after the dew has completely disappeared. In rainy and foggy weather, in the evening and at dawn, grapes are not harvested. Wine needs to be dry.
  • You cannot wash the grapes. A whitish bloom on it is yeast, without which the fermentation of the wort will not be possible. They need to be preserved. In this case, no additional yeast can be added to the wort. However, it is not forbidden to add a small amount of pure culture yeast or sediment of already well-fermented wine, and this is why: yeast can be different, and they may have a conflict, and the addition of wine yeast will ensure victory for exactly those species that are needed for good fermentation.
  • The nutrient medium for yeast bacteria is sugar, which is not always enough in the grapes themselves. In wine-growing regions, grapes may still contain the required amount of sugar, but in the central regions the sugar content of grapes does not exceed 20%, while wine production requires at least 25%. Therefore, sugar is added at the rate of 50–250 g per liter. The more it is, the sweeter and stronger the finished drink will be. Interestingly, white grapes tend to be less sweet than red ones, so they are more suitable for making table wines.
  • In order to prevent wort contamination, only clean and dry dishes should be used. Experienced winemakers have for this purpose several glass bottles with a volume of 10 or 20 liters. Initial fermentation can be carried out in enamelled containers, as well as in stainless steel dishes. Containers for dairy products are categorically unsuitable.
  • The optimum temperature for fermentation is 22-26 degrees for red wine, 18-22 degrees for white wine. At a higher temperature, the process will be too violent, at a lower temperature, it will stop.
  • Fermentation of grape wine goes through several stages: intensive takes 21-28 days, quiet - from one and a half months to a year, post-fermentation (or maturation) - from two months to three years.

The rest of the subtleties of technology and the sequence of making wine from grapes at home should be considered with specific examples.

Red table wine made from grapes: a universal recipe

  • grapes - 10 kg;
  • granulated sugar - 1.5 kg,
  • pure culture wine yeast (optional) - 1-2 g

Cooking method:

  • Carefully sort out the collected berries - not a single rotten one should get into the wort. Separate the grapes from the ridges (as winemakers call the twigs of the bunch). Discard the unripe.
  • Mash the selected grapes with clean hands or a wooden pestle. The utensils with which the manipulations are carried out should not be aluminum or copper. Naturally, cleanliness must be observed: the dust on the grapes then settles, but pathogenic microorganisms, if they get into the drink, will not be able to get rid of. While kneading, make sure that each grape is crushed, but the seeds do not need to be crushed: they will give the drink a bitter taste. It is better to knead the berries if you take them in small portions.
  • Put the whole mashed berry, together with the juice that came out of it, into an enamel bucket or basin. Pour in 0.5 kg of sugar, stir, cover with gauze and ferment at a temperature of 22 to 26 degrees. At the same stage, wine yeast should also be added, if a decision is made to use it. Stir the juice as often as possible, melting the pulp - this simple action will protect the wort from souring. Oxygen will start active fermentation.
  • After three days, carefully drain the juice into a clean container, pour the juice squeezed from the pulp through a sieve covered with gauze into it. Add a glass of sugar by dissolving it in a little juice. Drain everything into a clean bottle. Install a water seal on it. This device usually looks like a thin rubber tube descending into a container of water. Making it at home with their own hands, winemakers often use dropper tubes. However, you can find a ready-made structure in wine shops. It is designed to block the access of air to the wort, but at the same time not to interfere with the release of carbon dioxide formed during fermentation. The most budgetary analogue of a water seal is a rubber glove with a pierced finger.
  • On the fourth day, pour a glass of wort into a bowl through a tube: if one end of the tube is placed in the wort, and the other is lowered lower, then the liquid will flow through it by itself, obeying the laws of physics. Dissolve 0.25 kg of sugar in the wort and drain the syrup back into the fermentation tank. Replace the odor trap.
  • Repeat this procedure on the seventh and tenth days.
  • Wait until the end of the vigorous fermentation. This will happen on day 20-30. On the second day after the water seal has stopped gurgling, pour the wine through the same tube into a clean container, without lowering it to the very sediment (leave at least two centimeters before it): it is better to get less wine, but good.
  • At this stage, the wine can be sweetened or fortified, although this is usually not the case with table grape wines. For this reason, neither sugar nor alcohol is included in the recipe.
  • Close the bottle tightly and leave in a cool place (16–20 degrees) until the wine is completely clarified. The quality of the drink will be higher if it is poured once a month, freeing it from sediment, into a clean bottle. The clarification process is lengthy, taking from two to ten months. The longer the period for which you leave the wine to clarify, the more beautiful and tastier it will be. Some speed up the clarification process artificially by adding egg white, but experts say that this does not affect the organoleptic qualities of the drink in the best way. Another way is sterilization: bottles are filled with wine, corked loosely, wrapped in a cloth, placed in a high saucepan, pouring water into it up to the shoulders, heated to 60 degrees. This temperature is enough for the yeast to die and fermentation to stop. However, in this case, it will be necessary to pour the wine into other bottles several times, separating it from the sediment. In addition, there is a risk of overheating or underheating the drink. Therefore, it is better to be patient and wait for the clarification to complete naturally.
  • After clarification, the wine is filtered and bottled. They are laid horizontally. Store at a temperature of 12-16 degrees.

Bottled young wine can already be drunk, but it is still better to let it ripen, after waiting at least six months. During this time, it will acquire a deeper taste, its aroma will be thinner. When prepared according to the specified recipe, you should get a semi-sweet table wine. If you need to get dry sugar, you should add half as much at each stage. It is assumed that dry wine completely fermented, no more than one percent of sugar should remain in it.

Homemade wine made from Isabella grapes

  • Isabella grapes - 10 kg;
  • sugar - 3 kg;
  • water - 1 l.

Cooking method:

  • Sorted out, but unwashed berries, separating them from the comb, mash.
  • Prepare syrup from 1 kg of sugar and 1 liter of pure water. Usually, water is not added to grape wines, as this lowers their persistence, however, Isabella grapes, harvested in central Russia, have a high acidity, so it is necessary to dilute it with water, albeit in a minimal amount.
  • Cooling the syrup to room temperature(it should not be hotter than 38 degrees, so as not to destroy the live yeast, and better even cooler), pour the grape mass. Covering the container with it with a thin cloth that does not interfere with the access of oxygen, put it in a warm place to start fermentation. Stir every 8 hours to prevent the pulp from becoming moldy and acidic.
  • After three days filter grape juice, squeeze the pulp and, adding 0.5 kg of sugar, pour into a fermentation bottle. Install a water seal on it.
  • On the 4th, 7th and 10th days of fermentation, pour 0.5 liters of wort, mix 0.5 kg of sugar with it and pour back into the bottle with the wort.
  • After the end of fermentation, separate the wine from the sediment, filter, put in a cooler room for quiet fermentation.
  • After three months, drain the wine, freeing it from sediment, filter twice and pour into bottles, sealing them tightly.

The wine will ripen only after six months, and you will be able to appreciate its taste. This recipe will make a sweet wine with a strength of about 12-14 degrees. It can be served as a dessert.

Homemade white grape wine

  • white grapes - 10 kg;
  • sugar - 2–2.5 kg.

Cooking method:

  • Mash the berries, add 0.8 kg of sugar, cover with gauze and heat. Do not forget to stir three times a day.
  • After three days, drain the juice into a fermentation bottle, squeeze the pulp by placing it in a cheesecloth folded in several layers, add the resulting juice to its first portion. Pour in 0.3 kg of sugar, install a water seal.
  • Every three to four days, add sugar three times in an amount of 0.3 kg, mixing it with a small amount of wort poured from a bottle.
  • After fast fermentation is complete, wait 2 days and drain the wine, separating the sediment from it, filter and taste a small amount. Decide if your drink is sweet enough. If you want to get a sweeter wine, dissolve a little more sugar in it, but not more than 0.5 kg. Pour into a clean bottle, install a water seal.
  • After two weeks, drain the wine again, separating it from the sediment, strain, pour it back into a clean bottle. Close it tightly and transfer to a cool place. For six months, drain the wine every month, freeing it from sediment, and filter.
  • Six months later, pour the drink into bottles, cork them and send them to ripen in a cool corner.

White wine can be served no earlier than six months after bottling. The longer it lies, the more noble it becomes.

There are different opinions about how difficult or simple it is to make wine from grapes at home. You can only find out by trying. If you take into account the important features and follow the recipe exactly, then the result will meet expectations.

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