Grape must: what is it, cooking technology

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Many are engaged in home winemaking, especially gardeners, on whose summer cottage grapes grow. At the same time, everyone has their own production technology, proven over the years. However, beginners are not familiar with all the intricacies of wine production. What is grape must and what manipulations should be carried out with it to obtain the final result?

Definition

Grape must is a preparation for wine, which is obtained by pressing fresh grapes. It is allowed to include extraneous inclusions - bones, skins, combs.

Wine is obtained by fermenting grape must, but there are many subtleties that need to be considered when preparing a homemade drink. According to the amount of sugar, wine is divided into the following varieties:

• dry - no more than 1% sugar;
• semi-sweet - about 2-3%;
• dessert - 13%;
• liquor - 30% or more.

There is also a classification bydrink strength:

• table wine - 8-11% vol.;
• strong table - 12-14% vol.;
• fortified (often with added alcohol) - 16-20% vol.

Dry wine is considered the most difficult to prepare, as it requires especially careful supervision. In sugary drinks, sugar acts as a preservative that prevents the wort from spoiling.

Correct dishes

Experienced winemakers know that the quality of the final product depends not only on the raw materials used, but also on the dishes that were used for cooking. The quality of wine and its taste can be negatively affected by prolonged contact with "bare" metal. Therefore, it is strictly forbidden to use metal containers, copper products.

The best option is such dishes:

• clay;
• enamelled;
• wooden;
• glass.

It should be checked that the container is clean and dry before use. To date, the most popular container for the preparation of grape must is an enameled bucket, in which it is convenient to grind the wine material. For fermentation, glass bottles of 10 or 20 liters are traditionally used. Tools for stirring the grape mass must be wooden or stainless steel.

Preparation of grapes for processing

To obtain high-quality grape must, it is important to carefully consider the choice of grapes. Only ripe or overripe grapes are suitable for further processing. Harvesting must be dryclear weather, and grapes should not lie and wait for their fate for a long time after harvest. A delay of no more than two days is allowed.

Before processing, it is important to sort out the grapes, to separate unripe berries, leaves and other debris from it. It is strictly forbidden to wash the grapes before use. Washing can wash away the wild yeast particles found on the surface of the berry skins. In this case, fermentation may be insufficient, and the wine will not turn out.

Preparation of grape must

In order for the fermentation of grape must to proceed normally, the sugar content of the wine material should be about 22-25%, so you should stock up on a wine meter. You need to add sugar after the wine material along with the cake has fermented for several days. Then you need to squeeze the juice and gradually add sugar, which must first be diluted in a small amount of juice. Cake can be reused to make chacha.

Periodically check the sugar content of grape must with a wine meter. When preparing sweet and dessert wines, sugar should be added in portions, at intervals of several days, since if a large amount is added at once, fermentation can noticeably slow down. During the fermentation process, 1 gram of sugar produces approximately 0.57% alcohol, so sweet wines will be stronger.

How much sugar to add to grape must? To get a classic table semi-sweet homemade wine, the amount of sugar should be 200 grams per 1 liter of liquid.

Whatregarding the acidity of grape must, the optimal amount of acid should be 6-8 g / l. If the acidity is increased, then the wine material should be diluted with water. How much water to add to grape must? The optimal amount of water per 1 liter of juice is no more than 20% of the volume of grape must.

For the fermentation of grape juice with sugar, glass bottles of 10 or 20 liters are used. It is not worth filling them to the top, you need to leave room for foam, which will invariably form during the fermentation of the juice. A water seal must be installed on top of the tank, which is necessary for air to escape from the tank. An ordinary medical glove can be used as a water seal. In addition, it should be remembered that in order to ensure ideal fermentation, the juice must be saturated with oxygen. To do this, pour it several times from one container to another.

Wort fermentation

The key to making good wine from grape must is proper fermentation. It is important to take the temperature regime responsibly. For red wine it is +20-25 degrees, for white - +12-18 degrees. At temperatures below +10 degrees, fermentation slows down, and then stops altogether, as wild yeast falls into suspended animation. At temperatures above +35 degrees, wild yeasts die from the heat. Containers with grape must should be left to ferment in a dark place without drafts, as they can affect the quality of the product.

Activefermentation ends when the wild yeast has processed all the sugar in the wort. This can be understood by the fact that the period of release of a large amount of air has ended. At the same time, the water in the water seal will stop gurgling, the glove will deflate, and sediment will fall on the bottom of the container. At this time, the grape must must be prepared for the first transfusion.

Transfusion and further fermentation

Pour the fermented wort in such a way as to prevent sediment from getting from one container to another. This is done in the following way: the container with wine is placed on a hill, for example, a table, while the new container should be lower level. Then the liquid is drained using a rubber tube. At the same time, it is important not to touch the sediment, since further fermentation with sediment can add bitterness to the drink, and therefore it will not be so pleasant to drink it.

After transfusion, grape must can be called young wine. It has a slightly hazy hue, so it must be insisted for it to go through the "silent fermentation" phase. This will lighten the drink. It will also have to undergo a few more transfusions, as wine sediment will accumulate during the "silent fermentation" process. After several cycles of transfusion, the young wine is ready to drink.

Wine aging

The final stage in home winemaking is wine aging. This takes from 40 to 150 days. In this case, fermentation and death of the yeast occurs, the sugar residues are finally processedinto alcohol. This stage is very important, because it is during the aging period that the wine acquires "character" - it becomes brighter, acid and astringency disappear, a unique bouquet appears and the taste is saturated.

At this stage, storage conditions are also important, otherwise the grape must in the wine runs the risk of turning into vinegar. Storage of containers in the cellar, at a temperature of +15 degrees, is considered optimal. Ready wine under good storage conditions can be stored for years without losing its taste.

Stop fermentation

Many beginners in home winemaking may encounter such a problem - grape must does not ferment, although it has not yet passed the stage of active fermentation. What's wrong with him?

1. Fermentation did not start immediately after pressing the grapes. The fact is that the fermentation process depends on the amount of wild yeast that is on the surface of the berries. If their number is relatively small, then fermentation may begin later. Do not start to panic, you should wait 5 days. If after this time fermentation has not begun, then factory wine yeast should be added to the must.
2. Insufficient sealing of containers with grape must. Many beginners in winemaking face this problem. At the same time, the fermentation process remains invisible, as the air passes by the water seal. In this case, air from the environment can also get inside the container, due to which the wort will start to turn sour. This is unacceptable to obtain a quality product. To avoid this, additionalseal the joints of the water seal, for example, cover with plasticine.
3. Thick must. Most often this is typical for berry wine, as it turns out too much pomace. However, when using grape varieties with small berries, this problem can also arise. In this case, you just need to dilute the wine material with water, no more than 15% of the total must.

Any problems that arise in the process of making wine are solvable, it is important to notice them in a timely manner.

Wort concentrate

Sometimes concentrated grape must is used to produce wine. What it is? Must concentrate is a product made from grape juice, which contains up to 67% solids. It is produced industrially using vacuum wort technology.

At the same time, the characteristics of the wine material also change - the color becomes richer, acquires amber hues, the taste qualities are filled with caramel tones, the chemical composition of the product changes.

Method of concentration

For the preparation of grape must concentrate, special equipment is required, which not every winery has. The concentration of wort at home is out of the question.

In production conditions, the wine material is immersed in a container under vacuum and heated to a minimum boiling point of 55-70 degrees. In this case, the liquid evaporates and the product thickens. Caramelization of sugars naturally found in grape juice should be avoided, as this will significantly impair the properties.wine material.

Quick Wine

There is also a way of making wine, where grape juice from the store plays the role of grape must. This option is quite risky, as there is a chance to get a low-quality product. It all depends on the naturalness of the purchased grape juice.

Cooking method:

1. For "quick" wine you will need the following ingredients: - grape juice - 3 l, raisins - 50 g, sugar - 50 g, water - 250 ml.
2. First, you need to make a starter from raisins. To do this, dissolve sugar in warm water and place raisins there, then wait for fermentation to begin.
3. The sourdough is then filtered and poured into grape juice to produce must.
4. Wine material should be placed in a dark warm place to ensure conditions for fermentation.
5. After 10 days, it is recommended to taste the wort and add sugar if necessary. Most often, this is not required, since store-bought juice contains a fairly large amount of sweetness.
6. Juice in containers is left in a dark place to ferment for 3-4 weeks.
7. When sediment appears, the liquid is poured into a new container, and 50 g of vodka is added to it to stop fermentation.
8. After all the manipulations done, the wine drink is considered ready to drink.

Of course, the taste of such a "wine" cannot be compared with a drink made from grapes using technology, but it is quite acceptable for urban residents who want to somehow join winemaking.

Conclusion

Grape must is the basis for any wine. All production, as well as the taste and properties of the finished product, depend on its quality. Careful consideration should be given to the selection of grapes and their preparation for processing into must.

It may seem to many that making homemade wine is too complicated, but it does not require many physical and material costs. But after going through the entire cooking procedure, the novice winemaker will have a reason for pride, as well as a certain amount of high-quality home-made alcohol.