Wine production has many years of tradition, winemakers are improving, introducing new varieties of grapes, but have long been recognized are still widely used. The article will focus on the interspecific hybrid Moldova. Consider, thanks to what the wine from this Moldovan variety has gained fame, and what are the features of its creation at home.

Properties of homemade wine from Moldova grapes

The variety Moldova belongs to the canteens, whose main purpose is to eat fresh. Nevertheless, Moldova has the best potential for home winemaking.

The aromatic drink obtained from this grape has the following characteristics:

• natural table wine, produced without the addition of alcohol and contains only alcohol obtained as a result of natural fermentation;
• the color of red wine is a ruby ​​hue;
• high sugar content within 18% (depending on the climate of the growing area);
• average acidity 7–10 g / l;
• strength 9–16%;
• calorie content of about 85 kcal;
• rich grape flavor with a slightly tart sweet and sour finish;
• flower aroma.

• Such a wine has a lot of advantages:
• naturalness due to the use of environmentally friendly raw materials without the addition of preservatives;
• maintaining salt metabolism in the body, neutralizing the effects of fatty foods;
• decrease in blood sugar;
• antibacterial, tonic, restorative effect.

Homemade wine, unlike vintage, is not recommended for a long time to store.

• More often it is drunk young, which can cause such negative consequences:
• possible allergic reactions;
• harm from abuse;
• exacerbation of chronic diseases, in particular the digestive tract and liver.

Cooking rules

To get a really tasty homemade wine, you need to know the basics of winemaking technology:

1. The process of converting juice into wine is called fermentation. For fermentation, yeast (cultured or natural) is used. With alcoholic fermentation, you need to carefully control the temperature. At temperatures above + 32 ° C, the aromatic properties of wine may deteriorate, and at + 35 ° C the yeast dies and fermentation stops. The optimum temperature is considered to be +20 ... + 26 ° С. The humidity level should be 65–70%. Direct sunlight negatively affects fermentation, so fermentation should take place in a shaded area.
2. The maximum alcohol is secreted by the yeast in the anaerobic environment (i.e. without oxygen). In this case, carbon dioxide should be removed from the tank in order to prevent an increase in pressure. For these purposes, a water seal will be required.
3. One of the most important characteristics of grapes is their sugar content. Yeast converts sugar into alcohol, so before starting fermentation it is necessary to measure the sugar content using a device called a refractometer. In this case, the winemaker will know the alcohol potential of the future drink and understand what problems you may have to face. Sugar is measured in a drop of juice, after the start of the fermentation stage, the refractometer readings will be inaccurate due to the higher refractive index of alcohol. To measure the residual sugar after fermentation, another device is used - a hydrometer. It helps determine the rate at which sugar turns into alcohol.
4. In addition to sugary substances, grapes contain acids (malic, citric, tartaric, gluconic, succinic). After the stage of alcoholic fermentation, malolactic fermentation (YMB) occurs. It is necessary to reduce the overall acidity of the wine, which is expressed by pH. It is important to prevent premature onset of NMB. If the hydrometer shows a specific gravity of sugar less than 1.0, this is not yet evidence that the wine is approaching dryness. Lactic acid bacteria can attack the remaining sugar, resulting in the formation of acetic acid or other unwanted by-products. People say about the process of re-fermentation that the wine has come to life. This is a common mistake made by inexperienced winemakers.
5. To assess non-fermented sugar, home winemakers use special drugs. In this case, drops of wine are added to a test tube with a chemical substance and the color is compared with a standard strip. In the case of red wine (including from Moldova), the test is carried out several times to exclude the possibility of error. Wine with a residual sugar of less than 0.5% is considered dry.

When and how to pick grapes?

The correct collection of berries is one of the most important stages in the production of wine.

Did you know? The folk method for determining the level of sugar in the wort is to dip raw chicken eggs or potatoes into the juice. After the indicator pops up, take measurements. If the floating part is about 2 cm - the wine is close to dry.

Key collection points:

1. Moldova is considered a medium late variety. Harvests begin to be harvested in mid-September and continue until the first decade of October.
2. The ripened clusters are plucked immediately, without overexposing on the vine.
3. Harvesting occurs in sunny weather, preferably in the afternoon, when the dew has dried. This is due to the presence on the grapes of a matte coating containing natural yeast. Damp, rainy weather on the day of collection negatively affects the sugar content of berries.
4. A pruning shear is used to collect, with which it is convenient to cut the clusters at the branch.
5. Bunches are placed in baskets, enameled or plastic buckets.

A simple wine recipe without adding water from Moldova grapes

The simplest recipe for wine from Moldova does not require the addition of water, sugar and artificial yeast. Consider a step-by-step wine recipe that can be made using only grapes and the necessary equipment.

Grape preparation

As already mentioned, you should not store berries for too long after harvest, especially in bags or deep containers. This can lead to their increased water content. It is better to start preparing wine on the day of collection. The grapes are sorted and separated from the branches. They remove stems, leaves, tails, and also unripe berries covered with rot and mold.

Important! Torn berries must not be washed . Otherwise, the natural layer of wild yeast will be damaged and the future fermentation process will be disrupted.

Container preparation

All containers, be they buckets, barrels or cylinders, must be clean. To do this, they are washed with hot water and baking soda, after which they are thoroughly rinsed in running cold water. For home winemaking, you can use ten-liter glass cylinders, they are convenient to process and to control the fermentation process due to transparency.

The disadvantage of glass containers is its fragility. This problem is partially solved by wrapping the vessels with a dense cloth, wool, and placing them in wicker baskets.

If wooden (oak) barrels are used, they are filled with water and kept for 2-3 weeks, changing water several times and then washing with soda and rinsing. At the end of the soaking, the drained water should be clean, transparent and free from foreign odors.

Enamel dishes should be free from flaws. Allowed to use dishes made of high quality plastic.

To prevent the appearance of mold, containers are fumigated with sulfur using a special cigarette lighter.

Important! Do not use metal (copper, iron, aluminum) dishes. This is due to the high acidity of the grapes. Juice reacts with the metal. oxidizing it and negatively affecting the future drink.

Equipment Preparation

Wine manufacturing technology involves the use of special equipment.

It includes:

• crush for berries;
• instruments for measuring sugar levels (refractometer, hydrometer);
• a water lock or fermentation sheet pile (a tube with a diameter of 8–10 mm and a length of 30–40 cm) that removes carbon dioxide and prevents air from entering. It closes the opening of the vessel. You can buy a water lock in a store or make it yourself from improvised materials (a syringe and a plastic bottle, cork from absorbent cotton, cork cork and rubber tube);
• overflow siphon with filter (to protect against dead yeast and residues of fermentation products);
• thermometer.

Grape pressure

The traditions of pressing grapes with their feet are gradually becoming a thing of the past. The industry uses high-tech presses and juicers.

In the process of producing domestic wines, devices are also used, such as:

• crushers;
• grater boards;
• the press.

With small volumes of berries you can cope, literally, with your own hands. This method is considered optimal, because when using grinders, and especially electric meat grinders, mixers and blenders, there is a risk of damaging the bones containing tannin and giving the wine unnecessary bitterness.

Moldova is characterized by a dense peel, which can be difficult to grind, therefore it is justified to use a gravel board made of oak (for better preservation of the product from diseases and giving the drink oak notes) and having a large lattice.

Sometimes you can find recommendations about removing the peel from berries of this variety until the stage of pressure and primary fermentation.

The basins and buckets used in the pressure process must be clean and dried. Do not forget about hand hygiene, especially if you crush berries manually. People who are prone to allergic reactions should wear thin, sterile gloves.

The resulting mass (juice with pulp, that is, pulp and skin) is covered with gauze or cloth and left for 5 days (with daily stirring).

Then the pulp is squeezed, filtered through cheesecloth and the resulting juice is poured into a vessel intended for fermentation (filling it with no more than 80%, otherwise the rising foam clogs the water seal, preventing the release of carbon dioxide).

You will also be interested to know how to make wine from white grapes.

The use of pulp

The remaining pulp is often used for:

• weak secondary wine (it is also called picket or half wine);
• distillation (vodka preparation - chachi or grappa);
• extended maceration (infusion of primary wine on the pulp for 2-3 weeks).

The pulp is stored for no more than a day in vats or barrels, protecting it from contact with air (so that mold does not appear). To prepare a picket, the pulp is poured with sugar syrup or cold water. The waste fermentation usually lasts longer than in the case of pure juice.

In addition, seeds are included in the cake, so as soon as the liquid becomes clear, the pulp is removed.

As for expanded maceration, it helps to reduce the level of tannin in wine before bottling, so you can start drinking such a drink earlier than prepared on juice pressed after 5 days.

However, this method is suitable for experienced winemakers, otherwise instead of a saturated drink, you can get a rancid liquid with an excess of polyphenols from seeds.

Fermentation

Fermentation has two phases:

1. Violent fermentation . It lasts 1-2 weeks. At this time, 90% of sugar is fermented. Stormy fermentation is called thanks to the "special effects": hissing from the resulting gas, boiling and raising the wort. It is necessary several times a day to stir the wine material with a wooden stick, shaking the yeast that has settled on the bottom.
2. Fermentation, or quiet fermentation . It lasts about a month until all sugar is broken down. With quiet fermentation, in contrast to the rapid fermentation, it is necessary to fill the vessels with juice almost to the top, minimizing the air gap between the must and the air. At the stage of maturation, the already mentioned YAM occurs, which helps to reduce the acidity of the wine, making it softer and more aromatic. For guaranteed NMB, oak chips (0.1-0.3 g / l) are added to the container with must.

After the yeast settles, the resulting young wine is “aired” (it is poured using a special siphon or decanted through a cloth filter). In this case, the drink is poured into a vessel of a smaller volume to reduce contact with air.

How to use?

From a medical point of view, the average norm of wine for a person without specific contraindications is up to 300 ml per day (although a safe dose is a conditional concept).

If you consider the wine from the position of enophile (lover and connoisseur of this drink), you can use aromatic wine from Moldova 2-3 months after settling in a cool place, following these recommendations:

• do not mix with other alcoholic drinks and medicines;
• combine with meat dishes, sharp cheeses, cinnamon / vanilla pastries;
• avoid combination with canned goods, tomato sauces, mayonnaise salads;
• The optimum temperature before use is room temperature.

Did you know? The tradition of making toasts came to us from ancient Rome. Before drinking wine, the Romans threw a slice of toasted bread into the bowl with the drink to soften the sour taste. To improve the taste of wine, you had to wait a bit, and at this time one of the participants made a speech, filling a pause.

Wine Storage Features

In order for a wine to please you with a bouquet of taste and aroma, you need to know the rules for its storage:

1. Shelf life is one year, although after 2 years it does not deteriorate.
2. The best place to store is a cool (+10 ... + 12 ° С) cellar with an air humidity of 60–80%.
3. Ideal containers - glass bottles or oak barrels (for large volumes).
4. If plastic dishes are used, the product can be stored in it for no longer than 3 months.
5. Place bottles horizontally on shelves.
6. Open unfinished containers are stored in the refrigerator for no more than 3 days.

Variety Moldova is considered a "veteran" for home winemaking. The wine recipe from this grape is simple and does not require a large number of additional ingredients. Subject to the production technology discussed in the article, you can get a tasty, aromatic, and most importantly natural drink, using only berries and a minimum of necessary equipment.