Home winemaking: tasty and useful. We prepare wine from blackthorn

Blackthorn - a bush with sour-sweet blue berries.It is almost impossible to overestimate the beneficial properties of these berries: due to the unique composition (vitamins A, B, P, tannins, pectins, essential oils) they are used in medicine and in cooking.

It is added to pastries, jellies, compotes, for the winterJam is harvested, and blackthorn wine is prepared. Harvesting is recommended after frost: it is then that they change their tart taste to sweet. The beneficial properties of thorns include anti-inflammatory and astringent, it has a powerful diuretic effect, and also reduces intestinal inflammation and fights acne. Mostly thorns grow in the wild, but the majority of summer residents plant their lands with this shrub in order to prepare fragrant spicy wine from blackthorn in winter. How to make this alcoholic drink at home, we consider below.

The use of thorns in home winemaking

Recipes homemade wines are passed from generation togeneration. If earlier this drink was prepared only from fresh grapes, now it can be any fresh or canned fruits and berries, and even jam. Good homemade wine is prepared more than one day. Having passed all stages of winemaking, it is served at the table 2-4 months after the raw material has been prepared. There are several options for preparing a beverage of thorns at home.

Cooking homemade thorny wine

The recipe of this drink is quite simple, based on the technology of preparation of other wines.

Stage 1. Raw material preparation

Thorn berries, which will be raw materials for wine,harvested after frost. During this period they become unusually juicy and sweet. They are not washed, but left to dry up for several days. Why berries can not be washed? On their skin are bacteria that promote fermentation. We prepare the berries prepared in this way into a container and grind to a smooth mass (puree). Then in the ratio of 1 to 1 add water. That is, the volume should be doubled. The prepared mixture is left in the open air or in a warm room, after covering the container with a loose cloth, such as gauze. A mosquito net is also suitable.

Stage 2. Filtering

To make blackthorn wine good qualityimportant correctly, and most importantly, in time to filter it. When the fermentation process begins (this is evidenced by the appearance of foam and bubbles on the surface), the separation of the mash from the juice will begin. Your task is to process the mixture, separate and squeeze the pulp and get a good juice, which must be poured into tight vessels, for example bottles, for further fermentation. You need to add sugar to the resulting juice of thorns: if you are a fan of dry and semi-dry wine, then you need to pour 250 grams. per liter, if sweet or sweet - then 300-350 gr. Fill the juice in the bottle, fill them not yes but the top, enough for of the total volume. During fermentation, abundant foam will appear on the surface: we leave this place for it. Bottle should be covered with water closures. They can be purchased or made independently. It is enough to make a hole in the lid and enter the tube. Some winemakers use rubber gloves that fasten to the neck of the thread. The shutter is installed so that the produced carbon dioxide leaves the tank and the outside air cannot get inside.

Stage 3. Fermentation process

At this stage, the fermentation process. With a properly selected temperature (not lower than 20^about C) it lasts on average about 30-45 days. The end of fermentation is indicated by the absence of gas evolution. Now in bottles instead of juice - young wine from a blackthorn.

Stage 4. Maturation

At this stage, the maturation of young wine.Thorny takes about 2 months. But even during this period there will remain some turbidity in it. This is due to the presence of microscopic particles that are not amenable to filtration. The appearance of the drink does not affect its taste. Properly prepared wine of thorns exceeds the expensive wines offered by supermarkets hundreds of times.