How to understand that the wine is ready on the glove. Rules for supporting the fermentation process

Wine in moderation is tasty and healthy drink. The review contains a few secrets, with the help of which the choice of a good wine will become an easy task and a real pleasure. A glass of red or white wine with dinner is a great way to lift your spirits and improve your health.

This drink has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular and nervous systems, helps to work gastrointestinal tract. It is important to remember that the wine still remains alcoholic drink And you should use it in moderation, because otherwise you can harm yourself and your health. On the shelves of stores today flaunts a large number of bright bottles.

If you do not have the qualifications of a professional sommelier, it is quite difficult to understand all the variety of wines presented. However, there are special subtleties and tricks, following which even a non-professional can choose good wine. We offer you 7 proven ways to check wine that will help you choose a truly high-quality and aromatic drink with a deep taste.

1. Testing with water

One of the most simple ways wine checks are checks using plain water. In order to put it into practice, it is necessary to fill a deep vessel with water, and collect the wine in a small test tube or other container with a narrow neck. The next steps are very simple and do not take much time. The neck of a test tube filled with wine is clamped with a finger, and the container itself is lowered into the water. The finger is then removed. Real wine without impurities should not be mixed with water in mind different density. If the drink stains the water, then you have acquired nothing more than a fake.

2. Checking with glycerin

Checking the authenticity of wine with glycerin is as easy as the water option. It is necessary to take wine and glycerin in a ratio of five to one. Then you should add this substance to the wine and wait until it forms a sediment at the bottom of the glass. Now we carefully study the color of glycerin. If the wine is of high quality, then no changes occur. If you have a fake in front of you, glycerin acquires a yellow, red or purple hue.

3. Check with soda

You can check the authenticity of the wine with the help of ordinary baking soda, which is found in almost every home. To do this, pour a small amount of soda into a bowl, and pour a teaspoon of red wine on top. In a quality drink, the color should change: darken, become gray or bluish. If the shade remains the same, then you have a fake.

4. Cork

A lot of information about the wine you hold in your hands can be obtained by carefully examining the cork. Its smell is especially important: it should not be musty. In addition, the cork should not be dry or leaking. A damaged cork indicates that the conditions for proper storage of wine have been violated.

5. The amount of sediment

You can put this method into practice right in the store when choosing a bottle of wine. Good wines tend to have a little sediment, which is also called " cream of tartar". The presence of such a sediment is highly desirable, but at the same time it should not fill the entire bottom of the bottle. It is easy to check. You need to direct the bottle to the light and sharply turn it upside down and back. Quality wine has little sediment, and it settles quickly, in poor quality - a lot. This life hack is equally applicable to both white and red wines. However, the latter can be difficult: red wine bottles are usually darker.

6. Foam

In this technique, shake the bottle in the same way as in the previous test for the amount of sediment. Then a small amount of wine is poured into glasses. Pay attention to the foam. In a quality drink, it will gather in the center and quickly subside. If the drink is fake, then the foam will settle around the edges for a long time.

7. Traces on the walls of the glass

One of the easiest ways to check the quality of wine that can be classified as "express" is to carefully examine the glass. Feel like a real sommelier: fill the glass with wine and rotate it in a manner. A real drink will leave traces on the walls of the glass, the so-called "wine lanes". It is believed that the longer they keep, the better the wine. It is worth paying attention to the width of these lines, because the thinner they are, the more years the drink is.

Many people buy wine for festive feast or dinner. It's great for uplifting and communication. Today there are many wine shops, and in an ordinary supermarket, the assortment of wine is impressive. Everyone at least once thought about whether he bought a quality drink. How to check the wine, we will find out right now.

What determines the quality and taste of wine?

The quality of wine is influenced by a large number of factors. It often happens that from the same grape variety that grew in the same area, completely different wines are obtained. This may be due to the fact that the composition of the soil may have changed or the sunlight fell at different angles, giving one part of the vineyard more light and the other less. Also, important factors such as:

• geographical location of the vineyard;
• collection method (manual or mechanical);
• harvest year;
• technological process of cultivation;
• human factor.

Together, they all have a huge impact on the taste and quality of the wine produced. However, the grape variety remains the most important factor.

How to determine the authenticity of wine?

Many lovers of a fine drink know by what criteria and in what ways the authenticity and quality of wine are determined. To check the wine, you must:

• Pour a small amount into a small container and dip into water. If the wine begins to flow out and mix with water, then it has the same density as it. Such wine is counterfeited and, most likely, powdered.
• Pour 50 grams of wine into a glass and add 10 grams of glycerin, then mix well. If the glycerin remains clear and does not rise from the bottom, then the wine is of high quality. Poor-quality grape drinks stain the glycerine in its natural color.
• Add a small amount of soda to a glass of wine. If the drink does not change its color, then it is not natural. Good wine will change it due to the content of water-soluble pigments in grapes - anthocyanins, which react with acids and alkalis.
• Take an ordinary piece of chalk, drip wine on it and wait a bit. After it dries, you need to look at the color of the chalk. If the stain did not change it, it means that chemical dyes are present in such a drink. If it has brightened, then the wine does not contain artificial additives.

The authenticity of the wine has been verified, and there is no doubt left. But another question arises. How to check the quality of a drink at home?

How to check the quality of wine at home?

There is a time-tested method for this - organoleptic. To test a drink , it should be evaluated appearance, aroma and taste, while observing all the rules. In order to check the quality of wine at home, you need:

• Open the bottle and examine the cork. It should not be dry, hard, or spoiled, and should not smell like mold.
• Leave the open bottle to stand for a while so that the smell of alcohol disappears. Next, you need to pour half a glass of wine and inhale the aroma. It's called a bouquet. The bouquet appears only after long-term storage guilt. If it is not felt, but instead there is a smell of alcohol, then the wine was not sufficiently aged, and the bouquet did not have time to form.
• It is good to foam a bottle of wine and pour half a glass. If the foam lasts a long time and gathers closer to the center, this means that the drink is natural and of excellent quality.
• Pour a small amount of wine into a glass and swirl it slowly so that it leaves its marks on its walls. If the wine begins to immediately drain from the walls of the glass, leaving no traces, it means that such a drink contains a large amount of chemicals - dyes or flavors. The width of the lanes when checked in this way indicates the age of the wine. The thinner the lanes, the older the drink. Using this method to check the quality of wine, you need to know that in order for the wine to leave traces, you can add glycerin, and then any drink will seem to be of high quality. After all, thanks to glycerin, the wine will leave tracks on the walls of the glass.
• Try a drink. After all, the most reliable way to check the wine is a tasting. But it doesn't suit everyone. To understand the aftertaste, you need to have some knowledge about winemaking. At good drink the taste is quite pleasant and the same aftertaste. Bad wine has no aftertaste.

In such ways, the quality of store-bought grape wine is checked.

How to check homemade wine for quality?

Homemade wine is often found on sale at summer resorts. Who wouldn't want to try this grape drink while on vacation by the sea? To check the wine made at home, you need:

• Fill an empty bottle two-thirds full with drink and shake well. The foam that appears on the surface should quickly settle. In this case, the wine is of good quality. If it stays on the surface for a long time, then the wine is spoiled.
• Put a small amount of juniper berries in a glass filled with wine. If they do not sink, but remain on the surface, then the wine is of good quality. If they sink to the bottom, then there is water in the drink.

To protect yourself on vacation, do not buy Home wine from unfamiliar sellers. In resort areas, many make wine at home, but they may not put up for sale. quality product. Usually the owners of boarding houses or hotels know where to buy good and high-quality homemade wine. It's better to ask them.

Red wine

How to check the quality of red wine? This question interests many, because this product is chosen most often.

A glass filled with wine must be shaken and immediately stopped. The walls of the wine glass will be covered with a film. The quality of red wine depends on how long it remains on the walls of the dishes. The longer the film remains on them, the better the wine.

The color of the drink matters a lot. This is an important indicator of a good red wine. It can have the following colors: purple, burgundy, pink. But it shouldn't be brown. If the wine has such a color, then it is not only of poor quality, but also unfit for consumption.

Another important indicator of a quality grape drink is taste. Good wine cannot be tasted the first time. After the first sip, you can feel the aroma of the drink and the smell by which you can understand what quality it is. Good wine is distinguished by the fact that as the drink is drunk, its taste becomes more intense. Bad wine doesn't taste good.

It is important to choose high-quality wine so as not to harm your health and enjoy a fine drink.

In order not to turn out that the purchased wine turned out to be of poor quality, it is worth:

• buy it only in well-known supermarkets;
• choose a well-known brand;
• do not buy wine in earthenware;
• pay attention to the traffic jam;
• carefully examine the label;
• pay attention to the price, because a good wine cannot be too cheap.

These simple tips will always come in handy when choosing and will help to purchase quality products.

Homemade wine is made according to different recipes, from different ingredients and often with the addition of others, such as cognac, liquor, white and red wines for blending. It is on the composition and recipe that the ripening period of the drink largely depends.

The most famous homeland of homemade wine is France, for many centuries the French have been making wine using their unique technologies.

Recipe features

There are various time frames for how long a wine must stand to ferment. For example, if you want to get a young wine, not very sparkling, then 10-15 days will be enough, provided that you see that almost all the gas bubbles have come out of the bottle.

homemade wine ingredients

The period of infusion of wine depends directly on its filling. For example, wine from rowan berries is aged for a whole year - for six months, and the most "" options for wine material: currants and cherries. You can taste wines from these berries in 2 months.

Signs of wine readiness

One of the signs of wine readiness is its color. The wine should lighten, and all the cloudy sediment should remain at the bottom. The drink at least twice during the entire fermentation period will need to be carefully poured into another container so that the sediment remains in the old one. Experienced winemakers recommend draining wine regularly - once a month or two. The more often you pour a drink into a new bottle, leaving sediment in the old container, the better your wine will turn out, it will have an amazing light shade.

It is also important not to forget that during the period when the wine is infused, it must be placed in a dark room, preferably in a cool place.

Do not forget that the longer the wine is infused, the more strong and tart taste it will have.

Many people use a rubber glove instead of a cork on the bottle, it is believed that if the glove no longer inflates, the wine is ready and all the bubbles have already come out. You can also make a hole in the cork and stick an ordinary drinking tube there, through which all gases will escape during the fermentation period.

If you follow these fairly simple rules, you will definitely be able to understand whether your wine is ready.

Wine is prepared by fermenting grape or fruit and berry raw materials, juice squeezed from fresh fruits and berries. Before answering the question of whether it is possible to drink unfermented homemade wine, you need to understand what chemical reactions occur in wine must during fermentation.

There are certain rules that are mandatory for any recipes for wine drinks. But since this product has many variations, there is no single technology for making wine. The characteristics inherent in a particular category of wines depend on the source material, the duration and type of fermentation.

Fermentation of wine must is provided by special yeast fungi. In the process of life, these microorganisms process sugar into carbon dioxide and alcohol compounds. To obtain wine with a sufficient alcohol content, yeast fungi need to provide certain conditions: heat, a sufficient amount of sugary, nitrogenous, mineral substances, and the absence of oxygen. Yeast activity and, consequently, the quality of yeast directly depend on these indicators. finished product at the exit.

How long should homemade wine ferment?

It is impossible to give an exact answer how long the fermentation of wine must will last. On average, this process takes from 1 to 3 or more months. Much depends on the concentration of sugar in the wort, the type of yeast and the intensity of their reproduction, temperature conditions.

For example, the must for dry homemade wine from white grapes will ferment for 20-25 days if the room temperature does not exceed 10°C. If the temperature is raised by 5°C, it will be possible to proceed to the next stage of making wine after 10 days. If the temperature in the room is stable around 20 ° C, the fermentation of the wort will be completed in 5 days.

However, deliberately raising the temperature to speed up fermentation is not allowed. Too active yeast activity will lead to the fact that the wine at the output will turn out to be tasteless, with a weak bouquet. Plus, the strength of the drink will not be high enough. You don't want to drink this wine.

The optimum temperature regime for wort fermentation is 14-22°C. In addition to providing favorable conditions for the vital activity and reproduction of yeast microorganisms, if such a temperature is observed, tartar is better removed from the wort, due to which the taste of the drink improves.

Whether the fermentation process will be normal also depends on how much sugar is contained in the wort. With insufficient sugar content of raw materials, fermentation proceeds slowly, and in some cases it stops altogether. If there is too much sugar, you can not wait for the desired reaction to begin at all, since the yeast dies in an excessively sweet environment.

Knowing how much wine must ferment on average, and what signs this process accompanies, you can control and adjust fermentation. To do this, use a water seal or a regular medical glove.

The released carbon dioxide, leaving through the water seal, forms bubbles. If gas separation is insufficient, i.e., fermentation is weak, you can “feed” the wort, sweeten it, or add a fresh portion of yeast. The completion of the process can be determined by the absence of gas bubbles in the hydraulic seal.

The same thing happens in the case of using a rubber glove. The gas released during the fermentation of the wort inflates the glove. If it inflates too much or, conversely, quite a bit, you can make adjustments in time, providing conditions for normal fermentation of the wort. A completely deflated glove indicates the end of fermentation.

Is it possible to drink homemade wine during fermentation?

In almost all recipes for homemade wines, an obligatory step is the exposure of the fermented drink for a certain time in closed bottles. Why? Unaged wine is a healthy and, at the same time, harmful product.

The benefit lies in the vasodilating effect, the ability to stimulate excretion from the body
cholesterol. Young red wine normalizes metabolism, stabilizes functions digestive system, increases appetite. If you drink it in moderate doses, you can cope with insomnia, stress, saturate the body beneficial substances, minerals, vitamins. But all this applies to wine drinks that have passed the fermentation stage completely.

Young, not yet fermented wine can be tasted to determine its strength, add components that improve the taste of the drink. But drinking such alcohol is not recommended. There are too many harmful or even dangerous impurities in the unripened wort that can be harmful to health. In addition, the taste of unripe wine is frankly disappointing.

There are other reasons why you should not drink unfermented wine. Firstly, the "semi-finished" drink contains substances that destroy liver cells. Drinking young wine, even in small doses, is not recommended for people with poor health, with hepatitis C and other dangerous viral diseases and liver diseases in history.

Secondly, some components contained in unfermented wine destroy mast cell membranes. The histamine released as a result enters the blood, plasma and spreads through the internal organs. Exceeding the norms of histamine in the body causes inflammation of the gastrointestinal mucosa, which causes allergic diseases (urticaria, dermatitis). In addition, elevated histamine levels negatively affect the functioning of the cardiovascular system, increasing the risk of developing hypertension, migraine, and other diseases.

In a word, no matter how long the fermentation of wine must lasts, you need to wait for it to finish, even if you really want to drink alcohol. It will be possible to drink bottled wine only when the drink is fully ripe.

Causes of slow fermentation of wine must

Even if you don’t deviate one iota from the rules for making homemade wine, no one will guarantee normal fermentation. The reasons for this can be listed many. The most common is inappropriate temperature conditions.

If the temperature in the room where the fermentation tank with the wine must is too low, part of the yeast "falls into hibernation", the must ferments for a long time and very weakly. It is also bad when the temperature is too high. Yeast "burns out", i.e., they die and fermentation stops completely.

The second most common cause of slow fermentation is high or low initial gravity (sugar content) of the must. The optimal capacity of sugar in it before fermentation should be 10-20%. Deviation from this norm in the direction of decrease or increase leads to a slowdown or cessation of fermentation.

How much the wort will ferment also depends on its consistency. Fermentation of too thick berry mass, poorly amenable to mechanical filtration, can not be expected at all.

Finally, the speed and intensity of fermentation depends on the type of yeast. So, baker's yeast provides rapid, active fermentation, but worsen the taste of wine. Wild yeast cultures, which are most often used in homemade wine recipes, are unstable. In some cases they "work" very well, in others they "fall asleep" for no apparent reason.

How to speed up the fermentation of wine?

If the cause of slow fermentation is correctly identified, it is possible to make the wort ferment faster. To activate the process at the very beginning, you can “warm up” the solution by pouring a little sweetened and warmed up to 40 ° C berry juice into it.

You can speed up the slow process by diluting too sweet wort with water or increase the low sugar content of the solution by adding sugar. In this case, the proportions of water (sour juice) should not exceed 15% of the total volume of the must. Sugar should be added at the rate of 50-100 g per liter of liquid.

Fermentation that has stopped at an inappropriate room temperature can be continued by moving the container with the wort to a warmer or, conversely, cooler place. If the yeast has died (temperature exceeding 30 ° C), you need to add wine starter or a portion of special yeast to the solution. When poor fermentation is due to insufficient wild yeast, the wort must be supplemented with wine yeast.

In winemaking there is no single technology used by all that will allow you to get a quality product. There is a large number a variety of recipes, lots of nuances. Everyone who is fond of the independent process of making alcohol makes it using his own tricks. However, the main thing is the fermentation process, since it is he who determines the important characteristics of the wine.

Process features.

The main role belongs to yeast fungi. As a result of their activity, they process sucrose into carbon dioxide and alcohol. The quality of the finished drink will depend on at what temperature and for what period of time homemade wine roams. To prepare the base, grapes or other fruits or berries are taken, all raw materials are carefully sorted, rubbed or crushed, then placed in a suitable container, which is covered with gauze and placed in a dark place. So the mass stands for a limited number of hours before the first signs of fermentation appear. Then a glove is put on the container to monitor the formation of gas.

It is difficult to determine exactly how much good homemade wine should ferment. As a rule, the process lasts from 30 to 90 days. The time depends on the amount of sugar, the quality of the yeast and the temperature.

Fermentation of any type of wine at home is conventionally divided into 3 stages:

1. elementary;
2. stormy;
3. quiet.

At the first stage, yeast fungi adapt to the new environment and begin to multiply actively.

At the second stage, the reproduction of bacteria ends, they occupy the entire volume of the wort, resulting in the release of alcohol. This period lasts from 10 to 100 days, depending on whether the drink should be strong in ready-made. The longer the rapid fermentation goes on, the more alcohol will be in the liquid. The first few days, the mass foams heavily and hisses, there is an active production of carbon dioxide.

After the must calms down, the number of bubbles decreases. The foam formed at the beginning settles at the bottom of the tank, the process begins in the lower layers. The duration of this phase of the bottom fermentation of homemade wine lasts until the fungi turn all the sugar into alcohol. At this stage, few bubbles are released, a precipitate forms above it, the liquid brightens.

It is important to remember that the fermentation process must be actively maintained. To do this, you must follow some rules:

• Shake up the sediment. With a dense sediment, it becomes more difficult for yeast fungi to work. To help them, the liquid must be shaken. To do this, you can shake the vessel or stir the sediment with a clean wooden stick.
• Ventilate the must. If the fungus reproduces too slowly, it is recommended to give the wort access to oxygen, this will stimulate the work and reproduction of bacteria. You can pour the liquid into another vessel or simply leave it open for 3-4 hours. This should be done only in the bottom fermentation phase, when 6–7 ° alcohol is formed in the product.
• Add sugar. This may be needed for the fortress. Sugar is added fractionally. After each addition of a portion of sugar, the wort should be stirred with a clean wooden stick.
• Maintain the correct temperature. It is very important to ensure that the drink is kept at the same temperature. If it is too hot, the yeast will process the sugar too actively, which will worsen the quality and strength of the product. If it gets cold, the must will stop fermenting and spoil.

At the last stage, when the wort stops fermenting, almost all the sugar is processed into alcohol, the number of active yeast fungi decreases. At this stage, the taste of the drink is formed. It lasts from 50 to 350 days. The resulting product is poured into a clean container and stored in a dark, cool place (basement or cellar) at 10–15°C.

How long should house wine stand? White is kept for at least 1.5 months, red - from 2 to 3 months. Then it is poured into bottles, tightly closed with corks and stored at a temperature of 5-9 ° C in a supine position.

What to do when the wine has stopped fermenting

When the wort will ferment, it is important to follow all the rules. In order to monitor the maturation of the drink, a rubber glove is put on the container. When the yeast is actively multiplying and converting sugar into carbon dioxide, the glove inflates. This signals that the active phase of maturation is underway. However, even if all the recommendations for making a drink are followed, there is a possibility that the raw materials will not start or stop fermenting. What to do?

Why doesn't a rubber glove rise on fermenting house wine? There are a number of reasons why this happens and recommendations on how to avoid it.

• Not enough time has passed. After a water seal is installed, for example, a lid with a tube, the process does not start immediately, the activation of the yeast takes a couple of days. Maybe it's just not time yet.
• There is no sealing. There will be no bubbles in the liquid when the wort container is loosely closed. In this case, the glove will not rise. To remedy the situation, remove the foam from above and add a little sugar.
• Wrong conditions. The optimal mode is 15–25°C. At low temperatures, the yeast stops multiplying, and at high temperatures, it dies.
• Poor quality yeast. You can never be sure that the yeast is good, often they can stop working for no apparent reason. In this case, homemade sourdough, ready-made wine yeast or a few unwashed grapes are added to the must.

How long a quality homemade wine will ferment depends on how you follow the fermentation process and follow all the recommendations.

Features of the temperature regime for the fermentation of wine at home

The best maturation of the drink is slow. 15–25° - the most good conditions for this process. Drops should not be allowed.

At what temperature does house wine ferment well? The optimal mode for white wines will be 14-18°C, red and rose - 18-22°C. The fermentation time of high-quality homemade wine also depends on this:

• 10–14° - 20 days;
• 15–18° - 10 days;
• 20° - 5–7 days.

In conclusion, experts advise paying attention to some of the nuances that will help make the “drink of the gods” a real source of pride.

• Carefully select raw materials, rotten berries and fruits should not be allowed to enter.
• The fruits must be sweet, ripe, so that the yeast actively processes sucrose into alcohol.
• Dishes must be dry and clean.
• During storage, it is recommended to pour the drink into another container every six months, decanting the sediment.
• You can not store the product near starters, vegetables, animals and birds, it very quickly absorbs odors and deteriorates.