The Most Authentic Brewing Method
I. Brewing tools.
1. Main fermentation jar. It is recommended to use alcohol-resistant and harmless glass jars, glass jars, glass bottles, ceramic jars, stainless steel bottles or plastic bottles and jars, regardless of size.
2. Secondary fermentation containers and wine containers. You can use empty wine bottles, beverage bottles, mineral water bottles, etc.
3. A thin plastic tube. It is used to siphon the wine out of the fermentation container after fermentation.
4. A stick or chopstick. This is used to stir the grape skins and juice during fermentation.
5. Stocking or fine gauze. Used to strain the wine juice.
Ingredients: Very simple. The main ingredient is ripe black grapes. Under amateur conditions, such as grands crus, rosé, etc. Auxiliary ingredients are icing sugar or white sugar. The weight ratio of grapes to sugar for fermentation is 10:1.
3. Process
1. Thoroughly clean the main fermentation jars (such as glass jars) and control their dryness.
2. 15 days before ripening, take 750g of medium grape with purple skin, remove the stems, pick out the rotten grape beads and dried grape beads, soak and wash, and dry until the surface is free of water drops. Do not rub the grapes with your hands when washing, because the white cream on the grape skins (with lots of wild yeast on it) should be used for fermentation.
3. Wash your hands, squeeze the grapes and squeeze the flesh into the main fermentation jar, then put the skins into the fermentation jar. Don’t throw away the grape skins. First of all, the skins have wild yeast on them, which can start the natural fermentation. Secondly, the grape skins are needed for the grape wine to color. If the fermenter is small, you can squeeze the grapes one by one. If the fermentation tank is large, you can grab three to five grapes at the same time, put your hand into the container and crush them, then release the crushed grapes.
4. When the grapes are filled to about 70% of the capacity of the fermentation jar, stop filling the grapes and close the lid, but do not tighten it completely. The fermentation process will produce a lot of carbon dioxide gas. If it is too full, the precious wine juice will spill out. If the cap is screwed on too tightly, the bottle may explode. In addition, the fermentation of the grapes requires a small amount of oxygen.
5. Place the fermentation jars with the grapes in a cool, ventilated place. Fermentation will begin in about 12 hours after the grapes are in the fermentation jars, which indicates more air bubbles in the must.
After fermentation has started, press the grape skins into the wine twice a day with a wooden stick or chopsticks, then cover with a lid. 7. Within one to two days after fermentation has started, add icing sugar or sugar equal to 1/20 of the weight of the fermented grapes. For example, add half a kilo of sugar to 10 kg of grapes, soak the sugar in the must and stir well. The effect of sugar is to increase the alcohol content. Generally speaking, each liter of grape juice can add one degree with 17 grams of new sugar.
Three to four days after fermentation begins, add an additional amount of rock sugar or sugar equal to 1/20 of the weight of the fermented grapes, i.e., twice the total weight of the added sugar is 1/10 of the weight of the grapes, and soak the sugar in the grape juice and stir well.9. Wine fermentation generally takes 6 to 8 days at room temperature. For example, in Beijing, it takes about 6 days in summer and 8 days in autumn. When there are almost no air bubbles in the fermentation tank, basically only colorless grape skins and seeds remain, and there is basically no sweetness in the wine tasting liquid, the alcohol fermentation is completed.
8. After the alcohol fermentation is finished, pour the wine juice into the secondary fermentation tank by siphoning, then filter the remaining grape skins, seeds and grains with stockings or fine gauze, and mix the filtered wine liquid into the secondary fermentation tank. Throw away the skins, seeds and grains. Note that there is a 1/10th gap in the secondary fermentation tank and the lid should not be tightened. Put it in a cool place.
9. At this point, the wine is cloudy and the color is not good, but it tastes like dry red wine. When the temperature is higher than 22°C, the wine will generally undergo secondary fermentation. The secondary fermentation is mainly malolactic-lactic fermentation and no longer produces alcohol.
The secondary fermentation produces a small amount of fine white foam. After two to three weeks, the secondary fermentation is almost complete and the wine becomes clear (but without clarifying agents, it is not as clear as the purchased wine). The wine is siphoned into other containers, filled as much as possible, and the lid is screwed shut. At this point, the wine is called wine, and it is completely dry red wine.
Throw away any remaining sediment (dead yeast sludge, etc.). If you don’t drink it right away, you can add some unadulterated high white wine (such as dibenzou) to the wine and store it in the refrigerator. Adding white wine will improve the precision of the wine and extend the storage time. This wine can usually be stored for up to two years. However, if the wine produced is of high quality and has a high alcohol content (up to 15°C), it can withstand aging without the addition of white wine.
4. Notes.
1. All containers must be cleaned. Grapes should not come in contact with oil, iron, copper, tin, etc. during the winemaking process, but can come in contact with clean stainless steel products.
2. During fermentation, do not block the lid of the fermentation tank to prevent explosion.
3. Don’t put too much sugar, it will affect the fermentation process and produce unwanted ingredients. If you want to drink sweet wine, you can add sugar after fermentation.
4、Although wine is delicious, it should be consumed in moderation. Is it easy for you to make your own dry red wine? Follow my instructions and I guarantee you’ll make delicious wine!
Production methods.
1. Crushing. After washing the ripe red grapes with water, remove the stalks, green grains, moldy grains, broken grains, etc., and put them into a sterilized container (small jar) and crush or crush them by hand, but before doing so, wash your hands, sticks, containers, etc. once with potassium permanganate water, then rinse them once with water, and then do it again to prevent contamination by bacteria. Also, be careful not to crush grapes with metal tools and containers such as iron and copper (or sterilized cups with clean aluminum spoons).
2. Fermentation. Fermentation is the production of alcohol and carbon dioxide from the sugar in the grape juice through the action of yeast. Pre-fermentation in red wine is a process of mixing the skins and juice together and adding yeast to the juice as the grapes are crushed. Since the frost on the skins contains yeast, there is no need to add additional yeast to the fermentation process for homemade wines. The optimal fermentation temperature is 15-25°C and should not exceed 35°C. However, fermentation in small containers can easily dissipate heat and usually does not exceed 32°C.
Fermentation usually starts after one day after the juice is placed in the container. The liquid level starts to calm down. After 2-3 days, a large amount of carbon dioxide is released and the leather residue floats to the bottle cap. As you taste the juice, the sweetness gradually decreases and the flavor of the wine gradually increases. During the fermentation process, you should use sterile chopsticks to press the floating grape skins into the juice twice a day. On the one hand, this prevents the skins from becoming moldy and sour. At the same time, the pigments on the skins can be immersed in the juice, releasing carbon dioxide, so that the yeast can get oxygen and ferment more vigorously.
After reaching the climax, the fermentation power starts to weaken. At this point, sugar can be added. The sugar is dissolved in the original wine instead of adding sugar with water. After the sugar is completely dissolved, the fermentation continues in the vessel. Finally, the carbon dioxide is released to a weak and almost calm level, the wine is very concentrated, the sugar content drops to less than 1%, and the juice begins to clarify, i.e. after the fermentation is finished, it is pressed and the peel is separated from the juice.
3. Pressing. Pressing is done by squeezing or twisting with a clean cloth bag or gauze, and the red wine liquid will flow out and is called genmaicha.
4. Add egg whites to clarify. 30ml of wine contains about one egg white. The method is to beat the egg white into a foam, stir it thoroughly and mix it with a small amount of wine, then add it to the wine.
Add it to the wine, stir well and let it rest until the wine is clear and the sediment is discarded.
5. Sweetening of wine. Most people are used to thinking that wine should be sweet. Therefore, it is necessary to add sugar to the wine. The new amount of sugar is about 12-14%. To dissolve the sugar, stir it with the original wine. In this way, a sweet and sour red wine with a strong “rose” flavor is created, but if the sugar is added to the wine, the wine will be sweet and sour.
