Simple recipes of black wine

Blackberry aronia, or aronia, is not just a healthy berry for jam, but also an excellent basis for making noble alcoholic beverages, and many aspiring winemakers avoid it for fear of the specific tart flavor that is passed on to the final product. squirt When properly processed, it turns into an exquisite depth, characteristic of high-quality red wines.

Unlike grapes, aronia requires more careful preparation and compliance with temperature regimes, but the result is worth it. Simple recipes for black wine are available even for beginners who do not have complex equipment. The main thing is to understand the chemical processes that occur during fermentation and strictly follow the technology.

In this article, we will explore classic cooking methods, the role of sugar and water, and how to avoid common mistakes. You will learn how to create a drink that will become the pride of your home collection and surprise guests with its rich ruby color.

Preparation of raw materials and equipment

The first step is always to carefully collect and sort the berries, and for a quality product, you need to use only fully ripened black fruit, collected after the first frost, when its tartness decreases and sugar content increases. Spoiled berries It should be removed immediately, as even one rotten berry can spoil the taste of a whole batch of wine.

Pay special attention to hygiene. All dishes that come into contact with the wort should be sterile. Bacteria and wild yeast living on surfaces can trigger unwanted processes of oxidation or acetic souring.

⚠️ Warning: Do not use metal containers to store the wort. The acid contained in the juice of the black fruit reacts with the metal, which can lead to an unpleasant taste and change the color of the drink.

For fermentation, narrow-necked glass bottles with water shutters are ideal, and you'll also need gauze for primary filtration and a hose for sludge transfusion. water-gate Critical point: it must be sealed, but let carbon dioxide out without letting air in.

Classic wine recipe with raisins

This method is considered the basic and most reliable for obtaining a stable result: raisins in this recipe are the source of wild wine yeast that trigger active fermentation without interrupting the aroma of the aronia itself. The proportions are simple: 1 kg of berries usually take 200-300 g of sugar and 1 liter of water.

The berries must be stretched, trying not to damage the bones, as they contain tannins that can give excessive bitterness, the resulting mezza is mixed with water and half a norm of sugar in a large container. Fermentation at this stage, it takes place in open form under gauze in a warm place.

After 3-5 days, when the mezga is brought to the surface, it needs to be squeezed out and the juice poured into a fermentation tank, and then you add the remaining sugar, and it's important not to fill the bottle more than 75%, so that the foam does not spill over the edge when it is fermented.

• 🍇 Aronia berries are thoroughly processed and washed, removing the peduncles.
• 💧 Water is used pure, preferably spring or filtered, but not boiled.
• 🍬 Sugar is applied fractionally: first half, then after 4-5 days another third, and the residues at the end of fermentation.

Technology of cooking with cherry leaf

One of the most popular options is cherry leaf wine, which gives the drink a subtle almond-cherry flavor, softening the sharpness of the black fruit, a technology that is not much different from the classic, but has its own nuances in dosage.

For 1 kg of berries, 80-100 fresh or dried cherry leaves are usually added, and they can be boiled for 10 minutes in a small amount of water and add the decoction to the must, or simply boiled with the berries. Cherry leaf It contains substances that contribute to better lightening of wine.

The fermentation of this wort may be a little slower due to tannins in the leaves, so it is important to maintain a stable room temperature (20-25°C). If the fermentation has stopped prematurely, you may need to apply sourdough or some fresh juice.

The finished cherry leaf wine has a milder, rounder flavor, requires less long exposure to soften tannins, although it does not give up, a drink often enjoyed by those who do not like too tart varieties.

The secret of fragrance

Cherry leaf contains benzaldehyde, which gives the characteristic smell of bitter almonds and cherries, which is perfectly in harmony with the fruit esters of aronia.

Recipe without yeast and adding water

There's a recipe for pure juice for concentrated tasters, and in this case, no water is added at all, which allows you to get a drink of high strength and saturation, but the lack of water makes the environment more aggressive to yeast.

It's critically important to have a presence. fermentationThe berries are not washed (or washed very quickly) to avoid washing the wild yeast from the skin surface. They are crushed and left under the gauze for 3-4 days, regularly stirred.

After the juice is separated, it is added sugar at the rate of 200-300 g per liter. Fermentation is violent and long. It is important to ensure that the wine does not boil too much, losing aromatic substances, such a drink is often called "heavy" wine because of its density.

Parameter	With water.	No water (clean juice)
Fortress.	10-12%	14-16%
Fermentation time	40-60 days	60-90 days
Taste.	Light, snuffy.	Saturated, tart.
Complexity	Low.	Medium

When working with pure juice, there is a high risk that the fermentation will go tight due to the high acidity and sugar content, in which case experienced winemakers can add a little water (10% of the volume) during the sugar application stage to make it easier for the yeast crops to work.

The fermentation process and the care of wine

The most important step is to control fermentation, and after the water shutter is installed, the bottle is removed to a dark place, and the temperature must be stable: sudden jumps can kill yeast or, on the contrary, cause too much fermentation.

Periodically, you need to check the state of the wine, and if the water shutter stops gurgling and the bubbles stop coming out, then the process is complete, but you should not rush to remove the precipitation. Quiet fermentation It can last for several weeks, during which time the wine is self-cleaned.

Removing the wine from the sediment should be carefully, using a thin hose to avoid shakening the fallen layer of yeast. This procedure is repeated 2-3 times during the entire ripening period, each transfusion saturates the wine with oxygen, which helps it "breathe" and develop.

• 🌡️ Optimal fermentation temperature: 18-24 C.
• 🚫 Avoid direct sunlight, which destroys the structure of the wine.
• 💨 Check the water seal tightness daily.

If you notice that the wine has become turbid or smells bad, it's a signal of problems, maybe an infection or lack of nutrients for yeast, in which case you may need to introduce special fertilizing.

Maturation, lightening and storage

After the fermentation is over, the young wine is sent to ripen, the bottles are tightly closed with corks and cleaned in a cool cellar or basement, the storage temperature should not exceed 15 ° C. It is during this period that a bouquet is formed.

Black produce contains a lot of coloring and tannins, so the lightening can take a long time. If after six months the wine remains cloudy, you can use natural lighteners such as bentonite or egg white, but at home, more often just wait.

⚠️ Warning: Do not keep the wine warm after fermentation has ended, which can lead to re-starting processes or the development of acetic bacteria if the air is not completely blocked.

The finished wine is considered to be transparent, acquired a beautiful ruby hue and a stable aroma. The shelf life of properly prepared black wine can reach 3-5 years. Over time, its taste becomes softer and the astringency goes into a noble aftertaste.

It is better to pour the finished product into smaller bottles so that when opened, a large amount of the drink is not immediately oxidized. Store them in a horizontal position so that the cork does not dry out.

Frequent mistakes of beginner winemakers

Many newcomers find that the wine does not ferment or ferment too poorly, often due to poor quality sugar or chlorinated water, which inhibits yeast, and a common mistake is the violation of the temperature regime in the early stages.

Another problem is that molds come on the surface, and this happens if the mezga hasn't been completely immersed in the juice, or if there's a lot of air left in the container, and the mold gives the wine the smell of rot, and it's almost impossible to save it.

Keep the dishes clean, too. Residues of detergents or fatty films can kill the fermentation culture, and use only baking soda or special bottle sterilization products.

Why does wine smell like rotten eggs?

The smell of hydrogen sulfide (rotten eggs) comes from a lack of nitrogen in the wort, and the yeast starts to process sulfur from amino acids, and you can fix this by adding yeast fertilization or by transfusing wine for airing.

Can I wash the berries before cooking?

If you use wild yeast (with or without raisins), it is not recommended to wash the berries so as not to wash away the natural microflora. If you bring wine yeast from a bag, the berries can and should be washed.

How much sugar is needed for sweet wine?

For sweet wine, sugar is not added all at once, some sugar is added at the end of fermentation when the yeast has weakened, or the wine is stabilized to stop fermentation, and then the sugar is added to taste.

How do you get the tartness out of wine?

Patience is removed by time. With prolonged exposure (a year or more), tannins polymerize and precipitate, and it also helps to freeze or add a small amount of gelatin to lighten.