The fermentation of grape juice began to attract the attention of our ancestors. They began to think about how to control this process. It is now known that all processes start to happen thanks to the yeastwhich are the basis of the preparation of the intoxicating drink. But in order that the juice simply does not turn sour or does not turn into vinegar, it is better to use sourdough for wine from grapes. How to do it at home, we'll talk in this review.
What is the starter for
Industry has the ability to comply with sterile conditions,temperature and other equally important parameters that guarantee a high-quality product at the outlet. At home, as a rule, there is no such opportunity. Therefore, the yeast may begin to die, and instead other microorganisms develop, which will lead to the appearance of mold, the souring of the drink and the impossibility of its further use. With an insufficient amount of yeast or their poor activity, a cloudy product can be obtained. with questionable taste.
To avoid the above problems, it is necessary to dilute the colony of wine yeast in advance (prepare sourdough) and then add it to the ready wort. In this case, fermentation will proceed according to all the rules and the wine will not eventually deteriorate.
In this way, the main purpose of the ferment for wine from grapes - this is the prevention of the spoilage of the wort due to the lack of yeast on the harvested berries. It can also significantly speed up the process of producing an alcoholic beverage without losing its taste.
How to make a sourdough of wine
From grapes
For cooking, you need to select a few ripe bunches of grapes. An important condition is that the material should be collected only in dry and sunny weather. It is under these conditions that the maximum amount of yeast accumulates on the berries. In rainy and windy weather they will be washed away, and in cold weather they will be destroyed.
The flavor qualities of the berries selected to make the starter are not important. This parameter will not significantly affect the taste of the final product. It does not make sense to increase the amount of sugar in the event that the berries are with characteristic sourness. You can also neglect the grape variety. The main thing is that the fruits are ripe and dry.
Wine yeast is prepared from such a calculation, so that about 200 grams of berries (that's about 1 cup) are needed per 10 liters of wort. You need to prepare it a week before you plan to start making the wine itself.
- Berries need to be separated from the twigs. Under no circumstances should you wash them. For 1 cup of fruit you need to take 50 grams of sugar. All this is ground in a clean dish.
- After chafing you need to prepare a clean jar and pour the pulp into it.
- Next in the pot add so much waterso that it is filled to a third and mix everything thoroughly.
- Jar tightly closed with cotton or folded in several layers of gauze. Air should pass unhindered, but insects and harmful bacteria should not penetrate.
In conclusion, the vessel should be removed in a warm place with an optimum temperature of 22-25 ° C. A couple of times a day, the bank needs to be stirred up a little. Later 5 days of pulp should separate from the liquid and float upward. A large number of bubbles form on it. This indicates a successful fermentation process.
During this period, the cake should be separated. Through gauze the liquid is poured into another clean dish, and the remaining pressed pulp is discarded. The leaven obtained in this way is cleaned again in a warm place. After a day, a foam should appear on the surface, which will indicate the normal course of the process. Still, you need to shake the container a couple of times a day.
After straining the leaven, it is kept for approximately 5 days, to complete all the processes. Next, you need to use it literally in a couple of days, otherwise it can ferment and even sour. For the specified time you need to start producing wine and have time to fill it with cooked sourdough.
As soon as the wort is ready, it is simply added to the independently prepared starter and then it acts according to the standard recipe.
From raisin
It so happens that the weather does not allow to collect grapes for the preparation of wine yeast. In this case, you can replace it with raisins, which are also not washed in any way. Berries need to sort and discard having obvious signs of damage. On 250 grams of raisins will need to take 80 grams of sugar. The resulting mixture is poured into boiled water cooled to room temperature in a volume of 500 milliliters (0.5 liters). All is thoroughly mixed until sugar is completely dissolved and transferred to a warm room for 5 days.After cooking, the starter can be stored in the refrigerator, but the shelf life should not exceed 1 week.
When adding a pre-prepared leaven, the winemaking process is significantly accelerated. Also, this ingredient makes life easier for novice winemakers. After all, the risk of getting a poor-quality product or spoil everything drops to almost zero.
Starter preparation - the procedure is simple and does not require special skills. It can even be carried out by a beginner with a certain stock of theoretical knowledge. But to neglect this component and to refuse from its use is quite risky and can lead to the fact that all the work of harvesting and processing it will be used for smarting.