Wine made from apples is a luxurious gift from nature itself, which, while pampering us with ripe fruits, did not forget that we could taste the unsurpassed velvety aroma of homemade wines. There are quite a lot of apples in season and not all of them are used for jams and marmalades, pies and puff pastries. Any gardener has a lot of them left over. But one simply cannot raise one’s hand to throw away such a tasty and healthy product. So I want to preserve all the charm of summer bulk apples in the form of luxurious wines.
In addition, many wine lovers see unnaturalness in store-bought drinks, preferring to prepare wines themselves. And indeed: in the preparation of homemade wines, only natural ingredients are used, the composition is flexibly adjusted to suit taste preferences, and the result is a delicious drink with a storehouse of beneficial properties. So to speak, it’s not a shame to put it on the table, and it’s nice to drink it yourself.
Let's try to learn this completely simple process.
From the inventory we will need: a juicer, containers for fermentation and infusion of wine (2 glass containers) and a rubber pharmacy glove.
The ingredients you need to take are ripened or overripe apples (of any color and variety) and granulated sugar.
Secrets of making wine from apples at home
Making wine at home has its own characteristics. If they are not taken into account, the final result is unlikely to please the manufacturer.
- The most important thing in making wine at home is choosing the right raw materials. Apples vary in degree of ripeness, ripening time, sugar content and acidity level. To make dry wine at home, you should take unripe fruits that have fallen from a tree, but the drink from them does not last long. All late varieties are used for winemaking.
- Homemade apple wine is made from unwashed fruits. They can be wiped with a napkin if there is too much dirt, but it is not recommended to rinse them with water. This is how you can preserve live bacteria; without them, the fermentation process will not begin.
- Choose apples that are not wormy or rotten. Any damage is cut out with a knife before the juice is extracted. The core is removed.
- To get more juice from apples, you need to use a juicer. If it is not there, then grind the fruits with a meat grinder.
- To separate the juice from the pulp, you need to let the raw material stand for three days, stirring every 12 hours, allowing the yeast to distribute evenly.
- Sugar and other components of homemade wine, except alcohol, are added before the preparation begins to ferment.
- The process must take place in a hermetically sealed container. This solution prevents air from getting inside and prevents gas formed during fermentation from escaping. Typically, winemakers use a water seal or a medical rubber glove, having first pierced it with a needle.
- After homemade wine stops fermenting, it should be poured into a clean container for settling. Add more sugar if it is sour, as well as alcohol.
- The best container for fermenting homemade wine is a glass bottle with a narrow neck; if the portion is small, then use a jar.
If you follow all the recommendations, then there will be no problems with making a light apple drink. It will be easy to make dessert and fortified drinks.
How to make homemade wine from apple juice step by step recipe
We offer a simple recipe for homemade wine from apple juice, which includes a minimum of equipment, ingredients and labor.
The first thing you need to start with is preparing the apples. It is advisable to sort through the harvest, leaving juicy, ripe fruits. You can even take slightly broken apples by cutting off the damaged part. Ideally, they should be washed, but most often it is enough to wipe them with a clean cloth or a brush with stiff bristles, removing small debris and dirt. Be sure to cut out the core and remove the seeds. But if you want your homemade apple juice wine to have an original, subtle bitterness, you can leave the seeds.
The second stage of the process is apple processing. As mentioned above, this can be done using a juicer or grater. The first option is preferable, since after the grater there will be wet pulp that will need to be squeezed out.
The third stage is to pour the resulting juice into a pre-prepared container and let it brew for several days (optimally - at least three). During this time, natural yeast, which is present in the peel of apples, transforms the pulp into pulp and juice itself.
The pulp formed on the third day of fermentation must be removed from the surface of the juice. The easiest way to do this is with a sieve or gauze. To prevent acidification and enhance the work of yeast, the pulp must be stirred at least once a day.
The ideal temperature for fermentation is within 22 degrees. In this case, wine should be stored in a darkened room, away from direct sunlight.
The fourth stage is to enhance the taste by adding sugar. Its concentration depends on the optimal level of sweetness you prefer. There are two types of apple juice wines: table and semi-sweet. The proportion is as follows: per liter of dry wine you need 200 grams of sugar. For dessert wine you will need twice as much (400 grams for the same 1 liter).
The next step in making wine is sealing it. The resulting amount of juice must be poured into a container suitable for fermentation. This can be a glass bottle or a wooden barrel. It can be filled to a maximum of 80% of the total volume - the remaining 20% will account for the released gas and foam.
- We take a small tube, place one end directly into the vessel, and attach the second to the hole in the lid of the tank;
- if a bottle is used as a vessel, then an ordinary medical glove can be pulled over its neck, which must first be pierced with a needle over the entire area;
- You can also purchase special plastic tips.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=B5XuL0qY8vg%3Ffeature%3Doembed
At the same time, it is very important to prevent the flow of oxygen inside, otherwise instead of wine from apple juice we will get vinegar. It is advisable to leave the container with the future wine to “play” for 30-45 days
After this time, the finished wine must be filtered, separated from the sediment. To do this, it is poured into another vessel, which is sterilized in advance. Professionals use special tubes for such purposes that resemble a siphon. With their help you can completely remove the pulp. After completing the procedures, put the wine back in a dark place for at least 2 months. During this time, the drink will fully develop its taste and “reach”. If necessary, you can strain it again.
If you don't know how to make apple juice wine taste more expressive, feel free to use spices when serving it. Cinnamon and anise go well with the neutral taste of apples. They can be added to heated wine, enhancing the taste with honey.
Despite the length of the process and certain manipulations, wine prepared from apple juice at home allows you to enjoy a wonderful drink that does not contain artificial colors or flavors.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=vRwY37ZQ7Ns%3Ffeature%3Doembed
How to make homemade wine from apples - a simple recipe
To make apple wine aromatic at home, use late varieties. An unusual taste is obtained by mixing sour and sweet apples.
For preparation take:
- 20 kg apples;
- 150−400 g/l juice.
The wine making process consists of several stages, you need to know more about each.
Obtaining and settling juice
Initially, you need to extract juice from the fruit. The best solution would be to use a juicer; if you don’t have one, a grater or meat grinder will do. The apples are crushed, and then the mass is squeezed through gauze.
The juice is placed in a container, covered with gauze, protecting it from insects, and allowed to stand for 3 days. During this time, natural yeast is activated. During settling, the pulp rises - pulp.
On the third day, the layer on the surface becomes dense; it is removed using a colander. After such manipulations, juice and a thin film remain. As soon as foam, hissing and a slight smell of alcohol begin to appear, proceed to the next step.
Adding sugar
The amount of sugar depends on the type of apple; if they are sweet, then use it to a minimum. When its concentration is more than 20%, fermentation does not occur. Therefore, you need to carefully calculate the amount of this component.
When making dry homemade wine, 150 g of sugar is used per 1 liter of juice, and 200 g of dessert wine. Add in portions:
- removing pulp 100 g/l;
- after 5 days 50−100 g;
- 30−80 g after 5 days.
The first time it is poured directly into the juice. Part of the wort is drained through a tube, an important ingredient is diluted in it and returned back again.
Fermentation
This stage does not allow the juice and air to come into contact. If their contract occurs, vinegar is formed. Therefore, for making wine, it is better to choose bottles made of plastic or glass that are hermetically sealed.
Advice! There should be 4/5 of raw materials in the container and no more.
During fermentation of apple juice, a large amount of carbon dioxide is released. To drain, use a water seal or a rubber glove pierced with a needle.
Fermentation should take place in a room with an air temperature of 18 to 25 ° C. The process will take about 2 months. Its completion will be indicated by a deflated glove, sediment at the bottom, and the absence of bubbles in the water into which the water seal tube enters.
Excerpt
So, the apple wine is ready. If there is a strong smell and taste, then aging is needed. You will need glass containers, washed and dried. The wine is poured through the tube carefully, without disturbing the sediment. The drink seems sour, then add sugar, close the container with a water seal, and let it sit for a week.
The optimal temperature for standing is from 6 to 16 °C. Time: 2-4 months. The first 2 weeks are poured, removing sediment.
Homemade apple wine lasts up to three years, its strength is 12°.
Fresh Apple Juice Wine Recipe
The proposed simple recipe for wine from apple juice is accessible to any novice winemaker and can be easily implemented at home. The alcoholic drink turns out to be very tasty, with bright and deep notes of the fruit used, and its aroma is dominated by fresh shades of ripe fruit.
Alcohol is a light soft drink that can refresh and invigorate on a hot summer day. Some winemakers recommend diluting the sweet liquid with water in order to get more wine, but for me the quality of the product is more important, so I present a version of wine made from pure freshly squeezed juice.
List of components
Ingredients | quantity |
apples | 20 kg |
granulated sugar | 150-350 g per 1 l |
Cooking process
- We sort through the unwashed fruits, choosing juicy and ripe apples. Next, cut out the core and remove the seeds. If you want to make homemade alcohol with a slight bitterness, then you should put the seeds in a separate container and then add them to the wort.
- We squeeze the juice from the prepared fruits in a way convenient for you. In this situation, the best option is a juicer, which allows you to obtain pure liquid with a minimum amount of fruit pulp, which will greatly simplify further production.
- Pour the resulting juice into a large saucepan, cover with gauze to protect against insects and leave in this form for three days. During this time, wild yeast spores transform the liquid, separating it into pulp and juice itself.
- We collect the resulting pulp from the surface of the liquid using a colander or saucepan. As soon as foam appears on the surface of the wort, a quiet hiss will be heard and a characteristic sour-alcohol smell will spread throughout the room - this means that fermentation has begun and it’s time to move on to the next stage.
- Add granulated sugar to the fruit liquid and stir the wort well, trying to dissolve the grains of the wort as much as possible. The amount of sweet component directly depends on the initial sweetness of the fruit and the optimal level of sweetness that you want to achieve. To prepare dry alcohol, I recommend adding 160-200 g of sugar per liter of fermented wort; for dessert and sweet varieties - twice as much. I don’t recommend exceeding these standards, as the wine will turn out too sweet.
- Pour the resulting mixture into a wooden barrel or glass bottle for further fermentation. The container should not be filled more than 75%; the remaining space is accounted for by the released foam and gas.
- We install the hydraulic valve and move the container to a warm place with an optimal temperature of 19 to 23 degrees. It is very important that the wort is hidden from direct sunlight.
- We leave the wort to “play” for 35-45 days.
- We filter the fermented alcohol through gauze folded in 4-5 layers and pour it into a pre-pasteurized dry container using a silicone hose or a special straw. Fill the vessel to the top and seal it tightly with a tight stopper or lid to avoid contact with oxygen as much as possible.
- We transfer the bottle to a cool, dark place for at least two months. During this time, the drink will “reach” and fully develop its taste. If noticeable sediment appears at the bottom of the vessel, pour the wine into another container - this will allow you to prepare crystal clear alcohol.
- When the sediment stops appearing, pour the finished product into bottles and seal them tightly. The shelf life of this homemade alcohol reaches three years, and the strength degree ranges from 8 to 10 revolutions.
Fortified homemade apple wine
This homemade apple wine recipe involves adding products that contain alcohol. To prepare it you will need:
- 10 kg apples;
- 10 tbsp. Sahara;
- 1/2 tbsp. dark raisins;
- 1 tbsp. vodka.
Step-by-step technology for making wine:
- Wipe the apples with a rag, cut them, remove the seed box.
- Grind the fruits through a meat grinder, add sugar and raisins.
- Fill a wine container with the prepared mixture and cover with a glove.
- Leave to infuse for 3 weeks.
- After 21 days, a sediment will appear, pour the contents into another container, add 1 tbsp. sugar, mix.
- Close the bottle hermetically again and let stand for 14 days.
- After 2 weeks, pour the mixture again, removing the sediment, add vodka, stir, and send to the basement.
- After 21 days, homemade apple wine can be served.
The result is a drink with a strength of 16°.
Dry apple wine at home
This wine is prepared with a minimal amount of sugar, but has a spicy taste. Products:
- 5 kg apples;
- 100 g sugar / l juice;
- 10 tbsp. water.
Step-by-step technology for making dry homemade wine:
- Grind the apples with a blender or meat grinder.
- Fill the fermentation container 2/3 with chopped fruits.
- Distribute the sugar evenly, cover with gauze, and let stand for 4 days. Strain.
- Fill the container with juice and cover the neck with a glove.
- Leave to ferment for 30-60 days. The end of the cooking process is determined by the deflated glove.
- Pour into bottles and let it brew.
Homemade apple wine without yeast
Ingredients:
- 2 kg apples;
- 4.5 liters of hot water;
- granulated sugar;
- 1 kg of grapes.
A simple recipe for homemade apple wine of an amber hue with a delicate taste is prepared as follows:
- Cut the fruit into slices, removing the seed box.
- Pour the finished raw materials into a bucket, fill with hot water, but not to the brim, and add sugar.
- After the infusion has cooled, add crushed grapes, close the lid tightly, and leave to ferment for 4 days.
- Strain the wort from the bucket, pour into a bottle, adding sugar (200 g per 1 liter of mixture). Install a glove or water seal and leave to ferment for 5 months.
When the fermentation process is complete, strain the homemade wine into clean bottles and send it to the cellar.
Apple wine with raisins recipe
Of the components we will need:
- selected juicy apples – 10 kg
- sugar - 2.2 kg
- raisins (not washed) - 100 grams
Let's prepare it like this:
- Wash the apples, cut them, remove the core, mince them
- add granulated sugar and raisins to the puree, stir
- transfer the sweet mass into a glass bottle, on which we put on a rubber glove with a small puncture in one of the fingers
- after 20 days, filter the wine from the sediment and, adding 200 grams of granulated sugar, seal it in a container for maturation in a cool place without access to light
- You can pour 150 grams of good quality vodka into ripe wine, and, after stirring, pour it into bottles
- Wine should be stored in a cool place (refrigerator or cellar)
Recipe for semi-sweet homemade apple wine
Raw materials for making homemade wine from apples with a glove:
- 12 kg apples;
- 3 liters of water;
- 10 tbsp. Sahara.
Cooking technique:
- Wipe the fruits with a cloth and chop them in any convenient way, for example, with a meat grinder. Transfer the apple puree into a container and cover with gauze.
- As soon as the pulp rises to the surface, stir.
- After 5 days, remove the pulp.
- Divide the granulated sugar into 10 portions, add one at once, stir, let stand for 5 days, using a glove.
- Leave homemade apple wine to infuse at a temperature of about 20−25 °C for 40−45 days.
- Fermentation is over - the drink is ready. Pour into bottles. To improve its taste, leave it to stand for 3-4 months.
Wild apple wine
It often happens that somewhere near the house there is a wild apple tree, the fruits of which do not have a good taste and aroma. Such apples often find no use and simply rot on the ground. We propose to make excellent apple wine from such low-quality raw materials.
In addition to 10 kg of wild apples, the alcoholic drink includes 3 kg of sugar, 1 pack of fresh yeast and 3 liters of water. Making wine according to this recipe can be described by the following points:
- Wash the apples, cut into small pieces, after removing the core.
- Add a third of the required amount of water and sugar to the apples. Place the mixture of ingredients in a warm place for 5 days, sealing with a lid. Apples should be stirred daily.
- After 5 days, the pulp must be removed from the total volume of the wort and the juice must be strained for further use.
- Add the remaining 2 kg of sugar, water and yeast. After thorough mixing, pour the liquid into a glass container and cover the container with a rubber glove (lid with a water seal). Leave the wine for 45 days to ferment.
- After the recommended time, the wine must be filtered and poured into a clean container with an airtight lid. After a couple of days, sediment will appear in the wine. This means that the drink must be strained again.
- Pour clean, clear wine into bottles, seal tightly and send to a cool place for subsequent storage.
Thus, you can make light apple wine even from sour or even bitter fruits that have an unsightly appearance. When using such non-standard raw materials, you can get a very original drink with a unique blend.
Having decided to make low-alcohol, invigorating apple cider, the housewife can use not only the recipes proposed above, but also another recipe for homemade wine, which is described in detail in the video:
How to make apple wine with lemon at home
Light aromatic apple wine with a delicate citrus aroma is prepared from the following products:
- 8 kg apples;
- 2 large citrus fruits;
- 8 tbsp. Sahara;
- 10 liters of water.
Step-by-step technology for making homemade wine from apples with a glove recipe:
- It is better to take the sour variety of fruits, peel them from the seed box, and cut them into pieces.
- Grate the lemon zest and mix with sugar.
- Pour the ingredients into a bottle, pour in water, and cover with gauze.
- Let it sit for 7 days so that the drink begins to ferment.
- After a week, strain the wine.
- Pour the finished drink into bottles.
How to make spiced apple wine at home
Spices will help add a touch of piquancy to homemade apple wine. Ingredients:
- 2 kg of fruit;
- 8 tbsp. water;
- 1 tsp. cinnamon;
- 6 tbsp. Sahara.
Cooking steps:
- Wipe the apples with a cloth, remove the seeds and cut into slices.
- Combine fruit, water and cinnamon. Cook until the apples become soft. Grind the ingredients through a fine sieve.
- Pour into a bottle with a narrow neck to further the maturation process.
- Close the container hermetically, using a water seal or a medical rubber glove, making several holes with a needle.
- Every 7 days, filter the liquid, add sugar in small portions, and so on for 3 weeks.
- After 21 days, drain the wine, removing the sediment. Pour into bottles and let mature. After 30-60 days, you can try homemade wine.
How to make homemade wine from dried apples
This homemade drink is made with yeast sourdough. The process is fast, the wine has a tart taste with a sour note. Strength depends on the amount of alcohol used. Raw materials:
- 1 kg of fresh fruits - 100 g of dry, 1 tbsp. Sahara;
- alcohol - 1 tbsp/l of wort;
- 1 liter of wort - 300 g of starter;
- water 4 tbsp./kg of fruit.
To make homemade wine you need to follow these steps:
- Cut the apples into slices, add water, heat to 60 °C, leave for 3 days, then remove the pulp.
- Let the liquid ferment.
- It's time to prepare the starter: 100 g of wine yeast, dilute with water (1 tbsp.), wait for bubbles to appear.
- Fill the container with starter, sugar, cover with a glove, and give 20-40 days for fermentation. Determine the readiness of homemade wine by deflating the glove.
- Drain the wine, trying to keep the sediment intact, add alcohol. Pour into bottles and let stand for 2 weeks.
Homemade apple jam wine
It’s difficult to eat all your apple jam reserves during the winter. Over time it becomes more, then you can make homemade wine. For 1 liter of jam you will need to take the same amount of water and 1/2 tbsp. seedless raisins.
Stages of making homemade apple wine at home with photos:
- Wash the container with soda and pour boiling water over it.
- Boil water, cool.
- If the jam is not sweet enough, then you need to prepare a syrup by mixing water and sugar, ratio 1:2.
- Place the jam mixed with syrup in a jar, add raisins. Leave for 10 days.
- During fermentation, pulp will appear on the surface; remove it.
- Drain the liquid without touching the sediment and install the glove.
- The fermentation process of homemade apple wine will last about 40 days. The deflating glove will tell you about its completion.
- Pour the clear drink into bottles and let it brew for 2 months.
An aromatic homemade wine with a strength of 13° is prepared from old apple jam.
Applesauce wine (classic recipe)
This is the most famous and simplest recipe for making apple wine. The result will be table wine with a strength of 9–120. Sweet and sour autumn apples are good for it. You can take sweet and sour varieties in a ratio of 1:2. The juicier the fruit, the tastier the wine will be.
- Apple slices – 15 kg;
- Water – 3 l;
- Sugar – 2.4 kg.
First, prepare the apples: wipe them, remove the seeds and cut them into slices. Then grind the slices into puree (three on a fine grater or grind in a meat grinder). Place the apples prepared in this way into an enamel container (with a wide top) and cover the top with a layer of gauze (from insects). Place in a room at room temperature and stir every 12 hours, this is necessary for more intensive formation and connection with the yeast liquid.
After 72 hours, stop stirring. We compact the collected top layer (pulp) a little with a spoon and remove it, leaving only 3–5 mm.
Now pour the contents of the container into glass containers (preferably 5-liter jars or bottles). There should be space at the top (1/5 of the volume) for foam and bubbles.
Add water to the resulting mixture according to the recipe, add 1.2 kg of sugar, mix everything thoroughly. Then we close the dishes with a water seal and leave them for 4 days in the fermentation room (dark and warm: 18–240). On the fifth day, suck out a glass of liquid through a thin tube and mix it with 3 glasses of sugar (600 g), stir until syrup forms, and then pour it back through the tube.
On the eleventh day we repeat the procedure with sugar syrup (exactly as on the 5th day). The fermentation process takes an average of 45 days, its duration depends on the temperature in the storage. You can guess its end by the fallen glove or the absence of bubbles in the glass. If after 50 days the gurgling continues, then you will need to drain the wort from the jar/bottle (without sediment) into a sterile one and seal it again with a water seal. After the fermentation process is completed, the wort is poured into a glass container with a wide neck and left to settle. To do this, every 12 days, the settled homemade apple wine is carefully poured into a sterile container, leaving the sediment in the old container. When the liquid becomes light and there is no sediment at the bottom of the container, the finished drink is packaged in bottles, capped, and placed in storage with standard indicators (described at the end of the article).
Making wine at home from apple pulp
When preparing apple juice, housewives often preserve it for the winter; a lot of pulp remains. It would be a pity to throw it away, and why would it? They make a delicious drink from it.
You can make wine from apples at home using a simple technology:
- Place the main ingredient in a container after weighing it. A 3-liter jar will require 2 kg of cake, a 10-liter jar will require 8 kg.
- For every 1 kg of cake add 1 tbsp. Sahara.
- Fill the container with water, leaving room for fermentation so that the foam does not come out.
- Cover with a cloth and do not touch for 3 days.
- After the allotted time, the cake will rise; it should be removed and the liquid carefully drained.
- After straining, add more sugar at 100 g/l, close with a water seal or glove, and leave to ferment for 30 days. After the process is complete, let the young homemade apple wine calm down, then carefully drain it without touching the sediment.
- Pour into bottles and let steep.
Wine recipe from store-bought apple juice
It’s a little easier and faster to make wine at home from packaged store-bought apple juice.
The finished product has a wonderful aroma of ripe fruit and attracts with its original, pure taste with dominant notes of juicy apples. The color of the alcohol is striking in its golden hue with light amber reflections and will certainly delight the fair sex.
List of components
Ingredients | quantity |
Apple juice | 4 l |
granulated sugar | 1 kg |
dry yeast | 8 g |
Cooking process
- Pour the fruit juice into a suitable container and heat over low heat to 25 degrees.
- Add granulated sugar there and, with constant stirring, dissolve it in the liquid.
- We dilute the yeast in a separate bowl, following the instructions on the package exactly.
- Add the yeast mass to the prepared mixture and stir everything thoroughly.
- We pour the wort into a fermentation bottle and install a hydraulic seal on it.
- We transfer the vessel to a warm, dark place and leave until the fermentation process stops completely. Typically fermentation takes one and a half to two months.
- Carefully drain the young drink from the resulting sediment, then strain it through gauze, having previously folded it into 3-4 layers.
- The finished alcohol is bottled and sent to a cool place to ripen for about a couple of weeks.
Rules for storing homemade apple wine
Making apple wine is only half the battle. The drink needs to be properly stored over the next few years.
- After pouring, the wine is tightly closed and placed horizontally.
- The optimal temperature for settling wine is +6−16 °C.
- The basement should not be exposed to direct sunlight, the lighting should be dim.
- Move bottles with drinks periodically and subject them to vibration.
By following all the recommendations, you can keep homemade apple wine tasty and healthy for a long time.