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How to make Isabella grape tincture

Home-made alcoholic drinks made from grapes have an excellent taste, lack of preservatives and all kinds of chemical additives. In addition, such drinks have medicinal properties. Isabella grape hop drinks fully meet these criteria.

Features of the variety "Isabella"

This is a table technical variety, primarily intended for the manufacture of weak dessert wines, liquors and juices. However, “Isabella” is perfect for fresh consumption, for the preparation of various jams, compotes and preserves.

Speaking about this variety, it is impossible not to note its features:

Late ripening.
Climatic and soil unpretentiousness (frost and moisture resistance).
Resistance to diseases and pests (does not suffer from chlorosis and anthracnose, high resistance to mildew and phylloxera).
High yield.
Learn also about the properties of isabella grapes.
How to choose the right grape
In order to fully experience the real relish of grapes, to enjoy its bouquet, you need to be able to accurately select it. Below you will find recommendations on how to select high-quality grapes when buying and when picking it independently from the branches.
At the time of buying
For winemaking, technical varieties of this berry are used, so first we’ll dwell on how to distinguish between a technical variety and a table variety at points of sale.
For a technical grade are characteristic:
1. Smaller than table grapes, the size of berries.
2. Thin peel of grapes.
3. More seeds in the berry (this is determined by looking at the light).
4. Great acidity when tasting.
The next selection criterion for good grapes is an assessment of appearance.
What to look for:
1. The bulkiness and juiciness of a bunch, its readiness for immediate use. When viewed in the light - the absence of rotten berries and unclear reflections, indicating that the goods are stale.
2. Brownish spots on the berries, when they are firm, are evidence of a high sugar and sweetness. Also, small dark dots will talk about ripeness.
3. The tail or branch of a bunch . If green and shriveled - everything is in order, the quality of the product is normal, if it is brown - they have picked a bunch of grapes for a long time, valuable substances have not been fully grapes, their ripening took place already in a cut form.
4. Wrinkling, rotting berries - an indicator of poor product quality. Abundantly fallen grapes will also speak of this with a slight shaking of the brush.
A further norm for assessing the quality of grapes is an assessment of the flavoring characteristics. Even the most appetizing and seemingly full-bodied grapes may not correspond to individual taste preferences, so a taste test is necessary.
For a taste assessment, it is recommended to take clusters that lie farther away from the near edge of the tray or counters - they have already touched the neighbors more than once, and therefore their natural elasticity has been lost. Did you know? About 600 grapes are needed to make one bottle of wine. What else is desirable to pay attention to separately:
1. Typically, technical varieties are characterized by medium and late ripening, so it is better to go for a purchase in the midst of autumn.
2. If grapes are purchased at the bazaar, a good sign of the quality of the goods will be a wasp swirling above the container with the product.
With self-assembly
When removing directly from the branches, the rules for grape harvesting are somewhat wider.
Since the article is devoted to the home production of alcoholic beverages from the Isabella variety, we will consider the rules for collecting varieties for these purposes.
In addition to the above criteria for the quality of industrial grapes, it is necessary to add the following:
1. The optimal collection time depends on the region of growth. In the southern regions - this is the end of September, in the regions to the north - the first half of October, the harvest is not excluded until the beginning of November - then the berries will fully collect the sweet juice.
2. In addition to appearance, the maturity level of Isabella is determined by another criterion - grapes begin to spread a characteristic pleasant berry smell.
3. Only ripe and unspoiled grapes are harvested - raw materials with signs of disease will ruin the taste.
4. You should not pick grapes in the early morning after dew, as well as after rain - in these cases, moisture washes away the wine yeast.
Important! Isabella needs to be collected before the first frost. Otherwise, there are no special tips, the brushes are collected in boxes and further processed. And this will be discussed below.
Basic principles of tincture preparation
To prepare a high-quality home-made drink you should know and strictly adhere to the fundamental rules for the production of home-made tinctures:
1. The berries are used only mature and holistic, otherwise the tincture will lose its taste.
2. Grapes can be washed, but crush is not necessary.
3. You can fix the tincture of grapes on vodka, alcohol, cognac or peeled moonshine (but double distillation). It is also possible to use chachi or grape moonshine.
Recipes of tinctures from Isabella grapes at home
Having considered the recommendations for choosing high-quality grapes, having familiarized yourself with the basic principles of preparing homemade tinctures, it is worth considering directly the recipes for the production of tinctures.
Classic vodka recipe
To prepare grape tincture on vodka you will need:
- a glass jar with a capacity of three liters and a capron cap to it;
- colander;
- waste container;
- running water;
- correctly diluted alcohol in a ratio of 1 to 3 or vodka (alcohol is preferable - it is neutral and does not have certain taste qualities inherent in vodka);
- sugar.
Important! Grape tinctures are contraindicated for suffering diabetes, obesity, exacerbation of ailments of the gastrointestinal tract, allergies, as well as for women during pregnancy and lactation. So, the algorithm of actions is as follows:
1. Harvested ripe grapes.
2. Carefully sort the harvested crop, separating the berries from the bunch and removing the spoiled ones.
3. Conditioned grapes are better to immediately put in a colander.
4. Using a colander, rinse the selected berries well under cold running water.
5. After washing, immediately fall asleep in a jar. To facilitate this process, you can use a self-made wide-necked funnel made of waxed thick paper.
6. Fill the jar with grape berries to the part tapering from above, i.e. it will be approximately a little more than 2/3.
7. Then pour 2.5 tablespoons of sugar into a container with berries. Although the grapes themselves are sweet, sugar is needed as an alcohol softener.
8. After that, pour alcohol or vodka diluted in the above proportion into the jar. Pour so that alcohol covers the berries by about 2 cm.
9. Close the capron lid tightly and shake the jar with the contents about 20-30 times. This is necessary to densely settle the grapes in a bowl and to improve the subsequent dissolution of sugar, which will completely dissolve after a day.
10. After shaking, leave the closed jar for a week. This period is enough to make a drink.
11. After seven days through cheesecloth, pour the resulting tincture into a suitable container.
The grapes remaining in the bank after expressing the tincture can be used 1-2 more times. To do this, repeat the steps in paragraphs 7–11. But experts still recommend only one repeated infusion - after the third drink will turn out to be too strong.
Video: Pouring Isabella grapes
On grape seed
Experts say that this is a healing tincture that helps strengthen immunity, lower cholesterol, cleanse blood vessels from sclerotic plaques and improve sleep.
To prepare the drug you will need:
- grape seeds (in this case, Isabella) - a half-liter jar;
- vodka or alcohol diluted to 45% - half a liter;
- empty liter jar.
We advise you to learn recipes for making homemade wine from isabella grapes. Cooking:
1. Rinse the grape seeds thoroughly from the remnants of the pulp and leave to dry completely.
2. Pour dried seeds into a liter jar.
3. Pour vodka or diluted alcohol and close.
4. Send the bank with the contents for 6-8 months to a dark place.
5. After the specified time, strain through cheesecloth and pour into suitable containers.
To obtain the therapeutic effect of tincture on grape seed, it should be taken according to the scheme:
1. Option A: 1 drop every other day with meals for a month and then a break for 2-3 months.
2. Option B: for a teaspoon for 5 days in a row with food, then a break for a month.
Important! In any case, the therapeutic reception of tinctures on the bones should not exceed one month.
Tincture “Drunk Grapes”
The basis of this drink is grapes and vodka, white without seeds. A characteristic feature of the tincture is an original and inimitable taste.
Components:
- vodka (alcohol 45%, moonshine) - 1 l;
- grapes (white varieties only berries) - 1 kg;
- sugar (sand) - 0.4 kg;
- water - 0.5 l;
- vanillin - 30 g;
- lemon - 2 pcs.;
- cloves - 6 pcs.;
- cinnamon - 4 g.
Procedure:
1. Go through the grapes, rinse it and let it dry.
2. Prepare a syrup, for which dissolve sugar and vanillin in water, bring to a boil and boil for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the foam. Cool the prepared syrup.
3. Wash the lemons and grate the zest using a fine grater.
4. Place cloves, lemon zest, cinnamon stick in a jar and add alcohol. Cork and leave to insist for 3–3.5 hours at room temperature. At the end - strain.
5. Fill the dishes selected for the preparation of the drink with grapes, pour over the prepared flavored alcohol and syrup. Cork and send to a dark place for insisting for two to three months.
6. After the specified period, the finished product, using a cotton-gauze filter, is filtered, poured into prepared containers.
The strength of the resulting drink is 20–25%.
Save tincture without access to light in a cool room for a little over a year.
Did you know? Grapes are the only plant for the study of which a separate science has been created - ampelography.
Liquor recipe
To prepare this delicate drink you will need:
- water - 3 l;
- alcohol (70%) - 0.5 l;
- berries of black grapes - 1.5 kg;
- sugar - 0.4 kg.
The preparation is as follows:
1. Rinse the grapes, dry thoroughly, place in a jar and add alcohol, but so that it covers the berries by 2-3 cm.
2. The glass container with contents should be tightly corked and placed for two weeks in a dark place at a temperature of +20 ... + 30 ° С.
3. After two weeks in a saucepan, combine sugar and water, bring to a boil and then cook over low heat, removing the foam, for another 3 to 5 minutes. Then allow the prepared syrup to cool to room temperature.
4. Pass the prepared infusion of berries with alcohol through cheesecloth and combine with the prepared sugar syrup.
5. Pour the resulting liquor into suitable containers, seal and send for storage.
6. Before use, it is recommended that you keep it in the refrigerator for two to three days.
Optimal conditions and shelf life
Having grown and harvested the crop, it is no less important to preserve it correctly, to enjoy its excellent taste and healing qualities as long as possible. Consider two options: storage of grapes purchased at the market or in the store, and the preservation of the grown crop. Good to know: when you can pick isabella grapes.
Purchased product.
For the longest possible preservation of purchased grapes without loss of its valuable qualities, it is necessary to adhere to the following recommendations:
1. After the acquisition, the product should immediately be placed in the refrigerator. At home outside the refrigerator, the grapes will last no more than two days, and at a temperature of the cooling device of about 0 ° C, the grapes will remain fresh for two to three weeks.
2. Before placing in the refrigerator, you do not need to wash the grapes - this will lead to spoilage after seven days, even under the conditions of a cooling device.
3. In the cooling device, place the brushes, having previously divided them into small parts, in an airtight package and so that they are in minimum contact with each other.
4. Storage in the form of freezing. With this method, the loss of taste and valuable properties is minimal. The product is thoroughly washed and dried. Then individual grapes or clusters are loosely placed on a flat bowl. This is followed by pre-cooling in the refrigerator, and after freezing in the “super-freezing” mode. Transfer the finished grapes into a plastic container and send them to the freezer for up to six months.
Grown grapes.
For such a product, the storage conditions are slightly different:
1. For a plentiful harvest - saving in boxes or small barrels, dry and clean, with a capacity of not more than 10 kg, previously fumigated with sulfur vapor. Bunches in the container are sprinkled with cork, sawdust of deciduous trees (for example, poplar or linden), but also straw ash.
2. Unfolding brushes on the shelves. Litter - clean and dry sawdust or straw with a thickness of approximately 4 cm. The shelves themselves in a depth of not more than 0.7–0.8 m and located one above the other at a distance with a gap of 0.25 m.
3. Hanging brushes on the crossbars. To exclude their contact with one another, they are connected in pairs by twine, which is thrown over a pole.
  Useful Tips
  In conclusion, some useful recommendations regarding the grape harvest and the use of products from it:
  1. Harvest "Isabella" is best done in the last third of October - during the period of the best ripening of grapes.
  2. When collecting, sorting berries with removing unsuitable ones is useful.
  3. Harvesting raw materials for processing is recommended after 7–9 days after harvesting - this will allow the grapes to pick up sweets.
  4. If wine production is planned, then you should take care of the containers in advance - not all are suitable for these purposes. When using old dishes, sterilization with boiling water is necessary. It is impossible to wash grapes intended for wine production - the natural yeast needed for the fermentation process will disappear.
  5. To vary the taste of homemade grape tinctures to grapes, a small amount of cherries or currants can be mixed.
  6. If during storage grapes are slightly quenched, then the brushes should be lowered for 10 seconds in water or almost boiling syrup, and then cool the berries for 5-10 minutes in ice water. This simple procedure will make up for the loss of grape liquid before serving, make it fresh, juicy and more sweet.
  The technology for making homemade alcoholic beverages from Isabella grapes is simple. Strict adherence to all recommendations will allow you to get a wonderful and healthy drink. But it is very important in its use to adhere to a measure, otherwise, instead of benefit, you can get the effect completely opposite.