9 easy step-by-step recipes on how to make red currant wine at home
Currant is considered a unique berry that combines affordability and useful properties. Many summer residents are engaged in the cultivation of currant bushes, as they bear fruit well and are easy to look after. The harvested crop is often used to spin delicious compote or jam. Wine is also made from red currants. However, before preparing such a drink, you need to familiarize yourself with how to make it correctly.
The subtleties of cooking
Before you start creating wine, you need to study in detail the subtleties of its preparation:
- to make a dry semi-sweet wine correctly, you need to add a small amount of granulated sugar to it;
- for the preparation of the drink, only ripe currant berries are used, since they are the least acidic;
- when creating alcohol, the proportions of adding water and sugar must be observed;
- the containers in which the liquid will be fermented must be sterilized;
- it is necessary to store the prepared drink in a cool cellar.
Requirements for the main ingredients
To make the prepared wine drink aromatic and tasty, you need to choose the right ingredients from which it will be made. The main ingredient you need to create an alcoholic beverage is red currant. Experienced winemakers advise using ripe berries. They are not sour and therefore a minimum amount of sugar will have to be added during cooking.
When choosing berries to create a drink, they carefully examine their surface. There should be no traces of dirt or mechanical damage on it. Also, rotten currants should not be used, as it will negatively affect the taste.
How to make red currant wine at home
There are nine recipes for making an aromatic wine from red currant berries.
A simple recipe without vodka and yeast
This step by step recipe will help you prepare an alcoholic currant drink. Before you start cooking, prepare the following ingredients:
- ten kilograms of berries;
- five kilos of granulated sugar;
- 10-14 liters of water.
First, all the berries are poured into a saucepan, covered with sugar and heated to sixty degrees. Then the juice is squeezed out, and the remaining cake is re-poured with water. Two days later, the juice is mixed with the settled cake and put on the first fermentation in jars with a glove.When the composition stops fermenting, it is poured into other containers without sediment. The filled container is transferred to a cool room for the liquid to settle. The settled wine is drained and re-fermented for 2-4 months.
Recipe for 10 liters
You can prepare a fragrant drink according to this recipe. For this you will need:
- ten liters of water;
- 7-8 kilograms of berries;
- 4-5 kilograms of sugar.
In order for the currants to start juice, they are poured into a bowl, mixed with sugar and water and heated on a gas stove. After that, the juice is squeezed out, which is then thoroughly mixed with water and cake. The resulting mixture is left to ferment at room temperature. Then the fermented liquid is filtered, defended and left to re-ferment. It should last 2-3 months.
With the addition of cherries and sugar syrup
To make a delicious drink with your own hands, you can add sugar syrup and cherries to it. The drink is prepared from the following ingredients:
- eight kilograms of red currant berries;
- a pound of cherries;
- 450 grams of granulated sugar;
- liter of water.
To begin with, all the berries are pounded in a bowl and left to ferment for a week and a half. Then the composition must be compressed, and the selected juice must be passed through cheesecloth. A sweet syrup is created from water and sugar, which is mixed with currant-cherry juice. The mixture is infused for about forty days, after which it is bottled.
With vodka without water
Some winemakers create a drink without sugar and added water. To create a drink according to this recipe, you will need:
- a kilogram of currant fruits;
- a pound of sugar;
- 1-2 liters of vodka;
- mint for flavoring.
First, the berries are mixed with granulated sugar and mint sprigs. Then everything is poured with vodka and covered with a lid. The mixture is infused for a month, after which it is filtered and poured into bottles.
On raspberry sourdough
The production of currant wine can be carried out using raspberry sourdough. This requires the following ingredients:
- three kilograms of berries;
- two kilos of granulated sugar;
- 250 grams of raspberries;
- five liters of water.
First, a raspberry sourdough is prepared, for the preparation of which the berries must be covered with sugar and water. Then the mixture is covered with gauze and insisted for three days. After that, you need to grind the currants, mix it with syrup and put in a dark room. After fermentation, the mixture is poured into a separate container and allowed to ferment for another month and a half.
From frozen berries
Homemade wine can be made from frozen currants. This requires the following components:
- three kilograms of berries;
- 2-4 liters of water;
- one and a half kilos of sugar.
The frozen berries are poured into a saucepan and heated for quick defrosting. Then the defrosted berries are crushed in a meat grinder or blender. The cooked puree is mixed with water, sugar and left to infuse. The wort should be infused for a week, after which it will begin to ferment. The fermented liquid is filtered and passed through a colander.
From cake
Some winemakers prefer to make wine drinks from pomace. To prepare the composition according to this recipe will help:
- seven liters of freshly squeezed pulp;
- 5-7 liters of water;
- kilogram of sugar.
All the cake from the berries is transferred in advance to a glass container and filled with sugar syrup. The container filled with the mixture is closed with a water seal and transferred to a warm room with a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius. After 2-3 weeks, the mixture is filtered and put on re-fermentation, which lasts two and a half months.
The fermented wine is bottled and transferred to the cellar.
Fortified wine
To prepare a strong wine drink, you will need the following components:
- six kilograms of currants;
- a kilogram of granulated sugar;
- 300 milliliters of vodka;
- one and a half liters of water.
All berries are chopped and insisted in a saucepan for about an hour. Then juice is squeezed out of them, which is mixed with water and sugar. The mixture is poured into cans and covered with a hydraulic seal. After the cessation of fermentation, the liquid is poured into other containers, mixed with vodka and fermented for another 30-40 days.
From juice
To prepare a wine drink you will need:
- 600-700 milliliters of currant juice;
- liter of water;
- 500 grams of sugar.
Berry juice is mixed with heated water and sugar. Then the mixture is left to ferment for a month and a half in a room with a temperature of 25-30 degrees Celsius. When the composition is fermented, it is poured into clean jars without sediment and transferred to a cool place for 60-70 days. After re-fermentation, the prepared wine is poured into glass bottles and tightly closed with corks.
Rules and shelf life of the drink
The prepared wine drink must be properly stored so that it does not spoil quickly. Experienced winemakers recommend moving containers with wine to a dark cellar, where the temperature will not exceed fifteen degrees Celsius. Such temperature indicators are considered optimal for a drink made from red currant berries. Under these conditions, wine can be stored for several decades.
Conclusion
Red currants are used not only for preserving jams, but also for making wine. Before preparing a drink, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic recipes that will help you create it correctly.
