Wine from apples: 9 recipes at home

What you need to know

Making wine from apples - this is a very wise decision, especially if the harvest exceeded all your expectations. The main thing is not to bring the situation to the point of absurdity. In particular, on the Internet you can come across dubious advice on how to make wine from dried apples.

In fact, you will be told how to make yeast brew from apple pomace diluted with water. In our opinion, you will gain much more if you do not succumb to such provocations, but use the available dried fruits to make a fragrant and tasty brew.

But, for the sake of completeness, Vzboltai still suggests that you familiarize yourself with this recipe.

Also made from apples: tinctures and liqueurs, liqueur, cider, moonshine, brew

How to make wine from apples: the question of raw materials

The most difficult and crucial point in our case is the selection of wine material and determining the amount of sugar. In principle, all the known categories of apple varieties are suitable for our purposes: sour, sweet and sour-sour, sweet and bitter (aka tart). However, there are subtleties and preferences here. So, to obtain a light table drink, it is advisable to use sweet and sour fruits of autumn ripening. When it comes to strong table, dessert, and liqueur wines, emphasis should be placed on sour and sweet and sour winter varieties; for example, serve wine made from Antonovka apples.

However, the aerobatics in apple winemaking is the blending of different varieties. To simplify the task, you can use the classic proportions that have been tested for centuries:

1. 37.5% sweet, 37.5% bitter, 25% sour;

2. 40% sweet, 40% bitter, 20% sour;

3. 25% sweet, 25% bitter, 50% sour;

4. 25% sweet, 75% bitter;

5. 66% sweet, 34% bitter;

6. 66% moderately bitter, 34% sweet.

When preparing raw materials, the degree of fruit ripeness should also be taken into account. So, in the case of summer varieties, they can be put into use immediately after harvest. Autumn varieties must be kept in a dark place for 4-7 days for full ripening. Winter apples need 3-4 weeks of rest in a dry cellar to reach final ripeness.

An equally important issue is the proportional calculation of sugar and apple juice. It depends on both the level of acidity of the fruit and the type of beverage planned for the output. Experienced experts in garden winemaking recommend adhering to the following ratios:

1. Light table wines - 150-200 g of sugar per 1 liter of juice;

2. Strong table wines - 200-250 g of sugar per 1 liter of juice;

3. Dessert wines - 300-350 g of sugar per 1 liter of juice;

4. Liqueur wines - 400 g of sugar per 1 liter of juice.

If your harvest consists mainly of sweet fruits, then in order to avoid overdoing it in terms of sugar content (which, as you know, should not exceed 20%), you need to increase the acidity of the future wine by adding 10-20% of thorn or rowan juice to it.

Basic recipe for apple wine

1. Wipe the apples thoroughly, but do not wash them in any case (without preserving the wild yeast living on the skin, all your efforts will be doomed to failure).

2. Then, rid the fruit of the core, cuttings, seeds, rot, wormholes, mold and disease-affected areas.

3. Use a blender or meat grinder to get a mushy mass. Squeeze the juice out of it using ordinary cheesecloth or a special press. Put the result in a glass or enamel container with a wide neck.

4. Leave the container with the future wort in a dark, warm place for 3 days, covered with gauze. At the same time, do not forget to stir the contents of the vessel 3-4 times a day with a wooden spatula. After the specified period, remove the hat formed from the pulp with a colander, leaving only a small layer of pulp on the surface, whose thickness should not exceed 0.5 cm. If active fermentation has not begun by this time, you can add a little sugar (no more than 20% of the total) to the substance to activate the yeast and extend the preliminary fermentation process for a few more days.

5. Combine the juice prepared in this way with the total mass of sugar (select the proportion), by stirring it until it is completely dissolved.

6. Pour the resulting wort into a dry glass container, filling it to a maximum of 4/5, and leave it in a warm, dark place under a water seal for 30-45 days.

7. At the end of fermentation, let the wort stand for a week, then remove it from the sediment and pour it into a clean, dry glass container for further maturation.

8. Warning! If the fermentation is not completed 55 days after the start of the process, the liquid should be carefully drained from the sediment and transferred to a clean vessel, covering it with a lid with a water seal. Otherwise, you risk getting a bitter drink that is not suitable for consumption.

9. Before being sent for aging, young wine can be sweetened by adding a certain amount of sugar to it. In this case, the drink must be kept for a few more days to clear the conscience under a water seal. There is also another possibility: add 5-15% of good vodka or a forty-degree water-alcohol solution, thereby obtaining fortified apple wine.

Before you seal the container with the drink sent for maturation, make sure that it is full to the brim. This precaution is necessary to prevent the wine from turning sour from contact with air. Otherwise you will have to process it into apple cider vinegar with a squeaking heart. The aging period for the drink varies from 2 to 4 months, but it would be better if you wait up to six months. The wine ripens in a cool, dark room at a temperature of 8-15°C. After that, if necessary, the drink is removed from the sediment again, bottled and consumed.

Wine from frozen apples

In principle, if necessary, frozen apples can be used to make a perfectly acceptable drink. However, it should be borne in mind that freezing will make the fruit less juicy, and in addition, it will lose wild yeast, which is so valuable in this case. In this regard, in basic recipe you have to make some changes.

First: apple juice, or rather applesauce obtained from thawed apples, will need to be diluted with water in a 1:1 ratio.

Secondly: at the stage of preliminary fermentation, add a handful of unwashed raisins to the wort (200 g per 1 liter of liquid).

And thirdly: reduce the amount of added sugar to 100-150 g per 1 liter of wort.

Apple wine from jam

If the apple jam harvested for the winter has become sugary or fermented (but not sour) and the frog is pressing to throw it away, try turning it into wine.

The method of preparation

1. Dilute the jam with water heated to a temperature of 20-25°C in a 1:1 ratio.

2. Next, in the case of a sugared product, add unwashed raisins at the rate of 15-20 g per 1 liter of substance; in the case of a fermented version, put granulated sugar in a proportion of 150-200 g per 1 liter of wort instead of raisins.

3. Cover the container with the resulting substance with a lid with a water seal, and then follow to the basic recipe. At the same time, pay special attention to removing the wine from the sediment, replacing it with a full filtration if necessary.

And, of course, do not expect a stunning result. You will get a drink, let's face it, for an amateur.

A simple recipe for apple wine

Ingredients

1. Apples - 1 kg

2. Sugar - 700 g

3. Water - 2 liters

4. Cinnamon - 1 tbsp.

The method of preparation

1. Wash the apples, cut them into small slices and put them in a container, add water and cinnamon and cook until the mass softens.

2. Then rub the mass through a sieve and leave to ferment.

3. After fermentation, strain and add sugar, let the wine stand and strain again.

4. Pour the finished homemade wine into bottles and store in a cool place.

Wine from apples with pear

Ingredients

1. Apple juice - 10 liters

2. Pear juice - 1.5-2 cups

3. Sugar - 2 kg

The method of preparation

1. A mixture of sour and sweet apples (choose the proportion) chop, leave for 2 days, squeeze the juice.

2. Add pear juice and sugar to the apple juice.

3. Put the finished wort to fermentation.

4. After fermentation, strain and add sugar, let the wine stand and strain again.

5. Bottle and leave for at least a month.

Apple wine with rowan juice for better clarification

Proportion: 9 parts of apple juice to 1 part of rowan juice.

Ingredients

1. Apple juice - 6.3 liters

2. Rowan juice - 0.7 liters

3. Sugar - 2.5 kg sugar

4. Water - 1.5 liters

The method of preparation

1. To get the wort, take apple (preferably from late varieties of apples) and rowan juices, add sugar and water.

2. After thoroughly mixing the juices with water and dissolving the sugar, pour the wort into bottles and put it to fermentation.

3. Fermentation lasts 7-10 days. The result is a wine with a strength of 5-11 degrees.

If you want to make the wine stronger (16 degrees), you need to alcoholize the wine. For 10 liters of wine, take 0.5 liters of alcohol or 1 liter of vodka, evenly distribute it in bottles, mix thoroughly until a uniform strength of wine is obtained. Leave the wine for 5 days. After that, filter and bottle.

Alternative recipe for apple wine

Ingredients

1. Apples - 1 kg

2. Sugar - 1.5 kg

3. Water - 4.5 liters

4. Cinnamon - 1 tbsp.

5. Yeast - 20 g

6. Lemon - 2 pcs.

The method of preparation

1. Wash the apples and cut into small slices, pour boiling water over them and put the mass under a press.

2. Keep under the press for 4 days, then strain and add lemon juice, cinnamon and yeast.

3. Put the container in a dark place to ferment. When the fermentation process is over, stir the mass and leave for 2-3 days.

4. Then strain again and pour into the keg. In it, homemade wine is aged for six months, and then bottled and stored in a cool place.

Recipe for apple and grape wine

Ingredients

1. 2 kg of apples (it is best to use varieties such as sempervivum or antonovka)

2. 1 kg of grapes (preferably a variety with white grape berries)

3. 1.5 kg of sugar

4. 4 liters of water

5. 1 packet of wine yeast for wine

6. 1 teaspoon of citric acid (optional)

Method of preparation

1. Prepare the apples, wash them, remove the seeds and cut them into pieces.

2. Rinse the grapes and separate the berries from the bunches.

3. Combine the chopped apples and grape berries in a large saucepan.

4. Add sugar and water to the fruit pan. If you want the wine to be sour, add citric acid.

5. Put the saucepan over low heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Then reduce the heat and cook the mixture for about 30-40 minutes until the fruit is soft.

6. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.

7. Pour the mixture into large bottles or Burgundy fermentation barrels. Add the wine yeast according to the instructions on the package.

8. Seal the bottles with waterproof stoppers or use special fermentation caps.

9. Let the mixture ferment at room temperature for 2-3 weeks until fermentation is complete. You can check whether the fermentation process is over by the water constipation bubbles - when they stop rising, the fermentation is over.

10. Pour the wine into other bottles, leaving the sediment at the bottom.

11. Seal the bottles with corks and store the wine in a cool, dark place for several months to allow it to mature.

12. The wine will then be ready to drink. Enjoy your homemade wine made from apples and grapes!

Please note that the fermentation and maturation process of wine can take several months, and the quality of the wine can improve over time.

Wine from dried apples

Ingredients

1. Dried apples of sour and sweet varieties - 1 kg

2. Sugar - 100 g

3. Water - 1.73 liters

4. Yeast (preferably wine) - 1 tsp.

5. Alcohol 70% - 500 ml

The method of preparation

1. Take dried apples of sweet and sour varieties, put them in a wooden or enamel bowl, pour hot water at 80-90 °C and leave for a day (for 1 kg of apples, take 800 ml of water).

2. Then squeeze the apples, pour the resulting liquid into a bottle, add 10% sugar syrup (for 1 liter of syrup, take 930 ml of water and 100 g of sugar) and yeast, close the bottle with a fermentation stopper and leave for fermentation.

3. After 5-6 days, the wort can be alcoholized by adding 500 ml of 70° alcohol per 1 liter.

4. Pour the mixture into a clean bottle, close it and let it stand for 3-5 days.

5. Then carefully remove the wine from the lees and leave it to mature in a tightly closed container for 6-8 months. At the same time, make one or two transfusions with a tube (depending on the amount of sediment).

6. Remove the finished wine from the lees again, bottle, cork and store in a cool place.

Table for preparation of 100 liters of wort for the brewing of 80 liters (120 bottles).) apple wine

Update: 02.10.2023

Category: Wine and Vermouth