Plum wine: 6 recipes at home + tips and videos
About the drink
Hand on heart, plum is not the best raw material for homemade wines. Its chemical composition does not allow you to make low-alcohol drinks from natural juice.
The thick, almost jelly-like substance that is plum juice must be diluted with water. Hence, the capriciousness and instability of the resulting drink, which turns sour with or without reason. In addition, cloudy plum wine - and there is simply no other in nature - cannot be made transparent at home even by the most thorough cleaning.
It is also made from plums: liqueurs, liqueurs and tinctures
Tips before you start
Keep in mind that plum wine requires special attention and time when preparing the fruit. Plum fruits contain a large amount of pectin, protein and mucilage substances, which is why plum juice is poorly clarified.
For better juice extraction, it is recommended to heat the fruit in a little water to 80-85 ° C and keep it until the skin cracks. Then the fruits are crushed and pressed. The resulting juice can be used to make sweet wort and fermented in the usual way.
Instead of heat treatment, you can use the fermentation of pulp with yeast with the addition of 60 g of sugar per 1 kg of crushed berries (do not remove the seeds).
The pulp should be fermented in a vessel with a closed fermentation valve and after 7-10 days, pressed and the juice separated.
Prepare a sweet wort from the juice by adding 0.3 liters of water, 200 g of sugar, nitrogenous nutrition per 1 liter of juice.
Then add a dilution of yeast (3%) and place in a dark place for fermentation under a water seal. Fermentation lasts 8-10 weeks, with 20 g of sugar per 1 liter of wort added on the 4th, 7th and 10th day.
The readiness of the wine is determined by the cessation of carbon dioxide and clarification of the wine.
Classic plum wine
The main advantage of this recipe is its versatility. Adding the minimum amount of sugar indicated below will result in a dry wine, the maximum amount will result in a dessert wine, and various intermediate variations will allow you to get semi-dry and semi-sweet drinks.
Ingredients
Ripe plum - the amount is arbitrary
Water - 1 liter per 1 kg of plum pulp
Granulated sugar - 100-350 g per 1 liter of wort
The method of preparation
-
Sort the plum thoroughly and leave it in direct sunlight for three days. Then mash into a smooth puree.
Mix the resulting mass with water, place in a fermentation vessel, cover with gauze and send for several days in a dry, dark place with a temperature of 18-25°C.
At this stage, the future wort must be stirred 3-4 times a day with a wooden spatula, drowning the pulp that floats to the surface.
When signs of fermentation appear (foam, hissing, sour odor), the wort should be filtered through cheesecloth, poured into a clean container, add half of the estimated amount of sugar, tightly close the lid with a water seal and return to a dark, dry place.
On the fifth and tenth day of fermentation, add another 25% of granulated sugar to the substance.
It is best to pre-dissolve it in a small amount of future wine (2 parts sugar to 1 part must), drained for this purpose through a tube.
In the end, the container should be no more than three quarters full.
After about 2 months, the fermentation process should be completed; and therefore, the future drink should be filtered or drained from the sediment and placed in a glass jug for decanting.
At this stage, you can make the last changes to the composition of the wine: to increase its shelf life and strength, add something forty-degree in the proportion of 15% of the total volume of liquid or add sugar to taste.
In the latter case, in order to avoid unpleasant surprises associated with fermentation, the jug should be kept under a water seal for a week.
The maximum possible clarification and final maturation of wine in a tightly sealed glass container occurs in a dark, cool room with a temperature of 6-16°C.
At the same time, you should not even puzzle over how to clarify plum wine at home. Its chemical composition and dense consistency will almost negate any intricate manipulations with protein, gelatin, skim milk, fish glue or white clay.
Best of all, rely on the natural process of clarification. This drink requires a period of two to three months to two to three years. It all depends on your patience, as well as the presence or absence of aesthetic prejudices.
The main thing is not to forget to periodically remove the sediment with a straw and your wine will turn out great!
Wine from plum jam
Making wine from fermented or sugared jam has become an ingrained tradition these days. And plum jam in this case is by no means an exception.
Ingredients
Plum jam - 1 kg
Water - 1 liter
Granulated sugar - 150 g
Method of preparation
Put the jam in a three-liter jar, add water and 100 g of sugar, then mix everything thoroughly.
Pull a medical glove over the neck of the jar, pierced on one of the fingers, and put this simple structure in a dark, warm place.
As soon as cake appears on the surface of the substance, immediately remove it and add the remaining 50 g of sugar to the future wine.
We strongly recommend that you regularly taste the jam that continues to ferment, and at the first hint of sourness, immediately add more sugar to it.
After fermentation, the wine should be filtered through thick cheesecloth and placed in a cool, dark room for 3 months for relative light.
Filter and bottle the result again.
Of course, this wine will not be able to boast of crystal clarity, but given the secondary nature of its origin, no one will blame you for this.
Wine from plum compote
This also happens. We made compote for a family holiday, but it went unclaimed. Yes, why not dispose of it in a similar way?
Ingredients
Plum compote - 3 liters
Granulated sugar - 100 g
Water - 1 liter
Raisins - 55 g
The method of preparation
Strain the compote, separating its liquid component from the fruit.
Take 200 g of liquid. Heat it to 30°C and add the raisins mashed with 50 g of sugar.
Keep the resulting leaven for 4 hours under gauze. After fermentation has started, mix it with the main liquid in a large glass container.
Close the vessel with a lid with a water seal or pull a rubber medical glove with a puncture on the finger around its neck.
Send the container to a warm, dark place and take care of the plums.
Grind the fruit that was in the compote with the remaining sugar, wait until it releases juice and boil the resulting mass over low heat.
Then, cool it to room temperature, put it in a separate jar, fill it with water and leave it in a dark, warm place under a water seal.
When the fermentation in both containers is complete, drain the contents from the sediment, mix, filter and bottle.
A simple recipe for plum wine
Ingredients
Plums - 5 kg
Water - 3 liters
Sugar - 500 g (for every 2 liters of juice)
The method of preparation
Remove the seeds from the plums and crush the pulp, place in a barrel or bottle and add 3 liters of hot boiled water for every 4 kg of pulp.
Cover the container with gauze and leave for 2 days. Then drain the liquid, and squeeze the pulp through cheesecloth in 4-5 layers or press it out.
Pour the resulting liquids into a barrel or bottle and add 500 g of sugar for every 2 liters of juice.
Crush 1/5 of all the seeds removed from the plums and add to the wort.
Put the dishes to fermentation under a water seal. The process of fermentation and self-clarification of this wine can last up to 12 months.
Wine from prunes
Ingredients
Prunes - 7 kg
Granulated sugar - 1 kg
Water - 1 liter
The method of preparation
Take a good ripe prune, pit it, put it in a 10-liter glass bowl, pour warm boiled water on top and leave it to ferment.
After 5 days, squeeze out the pulp, add granulated sugar to the liquid and stir 2-3 times a day with a wooden stick.
When fermentation stops completely, strain.
After 2-3 weeks, you will get a sweet and sour wine of dark color.
Recipe for plum wine without water
Ingredients
Ripe plum - the amount is arbitrary
Granulated sugar - 200-300 g per 1 liter of wort
The method of preparation
Mash the sorted unwashed plum thoroughly without removing the seeds and place the resulting mass in a container, cover it with cheesecloth and put it in a warm, dark place.
It should be in this state until the start of fermentation, i.e. until fermentation begins.е., about 4 days (do not forget about periodic mixing of the substance).
Next, the wort formed in the vessel should be very carefully filtered and sugar should be added to it (depending on personal preferences and the level of acidity of the fruit, from 150 to 250 g for each liter of liquid that is obtained).
Then, pour the wort into a large saucepan and put on low heat.
Stir the substance until the sugar is completely dissolved, without bringing its temperature to 40°C (otherwise the yeast will live a long time).
Cool the wort to room temperature, pour it into a clean glass fermentation container, tie the neck with gauze and leave it for 20 days in a dry, dark place at 18-25°C.
After the specified period, carefully pour off the fermenting liquid from the sediment with a straw into a new clean glass vessel.
After that, you need to add another 50 g of sugar per liter of wort to the future wine (it is best to use the method specified in the previous recipe).
Seal the sweetened substance tightly with a watertight lid and relocate it again to a dry, dark place.
Upon completion of fermentation (after about 35-40 days), the young wine is carefully removed from the lees and bottled.
-
The final maturation and decanting of the drink takes place in a cellar or refrigerator at a temperature of 6-15°C.
Some practical tips
If you decide to deal with plum wine, you should consider several important points related to its production and consumption.
Plum wine turns sour: what to do?
Sour, or rather, sour plum wine can be processed into vinegar of the same name.
To do this, mix the drink with the sediment with water in a 1:3 ratio, add granulated sugar to it at the rate of 100 g per 1 liter of water and leave the resulting mixture to ferment under gauze for one and a half to two months.
Strain and bottle the finished vinegar. It can be used both as an exotic dressing and for medicinal purposes (in particular, to improve intestinal function).
Warning! Fermented wine is not recommended for distillation. The distillate from it will turn out to be sour and no amount of filtration will help you fix it.
Plum wine is bitter
To avoid the appearance of bitterness in plum wine, you need to carefully monitor how long the drink is fermenting.
If the period of intensive fermentation exceeds 50-55 days, the liquid should be drained from the sediment and transferred to a clean fermentation container to complete the process.
If you missed the moment, try to remedy the situation by further purifying the drink by adding egg white or gelatin to it.
After settling, remove the sediment with a straw, the bitterness should be significantly reduced.
Plum wine smells like acetone
If the drink gives off acetone, then you are very unlucky. The fruit you used has a special type of yeast that produces acetone.
If you feel sorry for pouring out a defective batch of the drink, find an experienced moonshine master who will be able to make moonshine from plum wine, separating all the acetone from it in the process.
What to drink plum wine with
Dry and semi-dry plum wine is well suited to meat dishes.
Sweet and semi-sweet varieties will serve as a good addition to the dessert.
In addition, the said drink, given its digestive properties (see.(see below) can also be used as an aperitif or digestif.
Plum wine: health benefits and harms
Drinking a low-alcohol plum drink is very appropriate in case of hypertension, anemia, and minor vision problems.
In addition, the said wine improves the functioning and restores the intestinal microflora and can also help to eliminate stomach pain.
However, as in the case of other alcohol, the main thing here is not to overdo it. And we sincerely hope that this will not happen.
Update: 07.09.2020
Category: Wine and Vermouth