How to make a sourdough wine from grapes

The fermentation of grape juice began to attract the attention of our ancestors. They began to think about how to control this process. It is now known that all processes start to happen thanks to yeastwhich are the basic principle of the preparation of the intoxicating drink. But in order that the juice just does not turn sour or turned into vinegar, it is better to use sourdough for wine from grapes. How to do it at home, we'll talk in this review.

What is the starter for

In industry, it is possible to observe sterile conditions, temperature and other equally important parameters that guarantee a high-quality product at the outlet. At home, as a rule, there is no such opportunity. Therefore, the yeast may begin to die, and instead other microorganisms develop, which will lead to the appearance of mold, the souring of the drink and the impossibility of its further use. With an insufficient amount of yeast or their poor activity, a cloudy product can be obtained. with questionable taste.

Sourdough for wine

To avoid the above-listed troubles, it is necessary to dilute the colony of wine yeast in advance (prepare sourdough) and then add it to the ready wort. In this case, fermentation will proceed according to all the rules and the wine will not end up spoiling.

In this way, the main purpose of the leaven for wine from grapes - It is the prevention of the spoilage of the wort due to the lack of yeast on the harvested berries. It can also significantly speed up the process of producing an alcoholic beverage without losing its taste.

How to make a sourdough of wine

From grapes

For cooking, you need to select a few ripe bunches of grapes. An important condition is that the material should be collected only in dry and sunny weather. It is under these conditions that the maximum amount of yeast accumulates on the berries. In rainy and windy weather they will be washed away, and in cold weather they will be destroyed.

For the preparation of wine sourdough suitable grapes of any variety

The flavor qualities of the berries selected to make the starter are not important. This parameter will not significantly affect the taste of the final product. It does not make sense to increase the amount of sugar in the event that the berries are with characteristic sourness. You can also neglect the grape variety. The main thing is that the fruits are ripe and dry.

Wine yeast is prepared from such a calculation, so that about 200 grams of berries (that's about 1 cup) are needed per 10 liters of wort. You need to prepare it a week before you plan to start making the wine itself.

1. Berries need to be separated from the twigs. Under no circumstances should you wash them. For 1 cup of fruit you need to take 50 grams of sugar. All this is ground in a clean dish.
2. After chafing you need to prepare a clean jar and pour the pulp into it.
3. Next to the pot add so much waterso that it is filled to a third and mix everything thoroughly.
4. Jar tightly closed with cotton or folded in several layers of gauze. Air should pass unhindered, but insects and harmful bacteria should not penetrate.

The sourdough jar must be tightly closed with gauze or cotton

In conclusion, the vessel should be removed in a warm place with an optimum temperature of 22-25 ° C. A couple of times a day, the bank needs to be stirred up a little. After 5 days, the pulp should be separated from the liquid and float to the top. It produces a large number of bubbles. This indicates a successful fermentation process.

During this period, the cake should be separated. Through gauze the liquid is poured into another clean dish, and the remaining pressed pulp is discarded. The leaven obtained in this way is cleaned again in a warm place. After a day, a foam should appear on the surface, which will indicate a normal course of the process. Still, you need to shake the container a couple of times a day.

Strain the mixture, freeing it from the pulp

After straining the leaven, it is kept for about 5 days, to complete all the processes. Next, you need to use it in just a couple of days, otherwise it can ferment and even sour. During the specified time you need to start producing wine and have time to fill it with cooked sourdough.

As soon as the wort is ready, it is simply added to the prepared self-leaven and then it acts according to the standard recipe.

From raisin

It so happens that the weather does not allow to collect grapes for the preparation of wine yeast. In this case, you can replace it with raisins, which are also not washed in any way. Berries need to sort and discard having obvious signs of damage. At 250 grams of raisins you will need to take 80 grams of sugar. The resulting mixture is poured with boiled water cooled to room temperature in a volume of 500 milliliters (0.5 liters). All is thoroughly mixed until sugar is completely dissolved and transferred to a warm room for 5 days. After cooking, the leaven can be stored in the refrigerator, but the shelf life should not exceed 1 week.

Preparation of raisin sourdough

With the addition of pre-prepared leaven, the winemaking process is significantly accelerated. Also, this ingredient makes life easier for novice winemakers. After all, the risk of getting low-quality product or spoil everything is reduced to almost zero.

Fermentation is best carried out in glass in the form of bottles or cylinders.

Starter preparation - the procedure is simple and does not require special skills. It can even be carried out by a beginner with a certain stock of theoretical knowledge. But to neglect this component and to refuse from its use is quite risky and can lead to the fact that all the labor of harvesting and processing it will be used for smarting.