Cherry wine is almost as good as grape wine. Homemade wine made from cherries will be an excellent addition to the festive table. It is distinguished by an exquisite bouquet and delicate taste with a slight bitterness.
What varieties of cherries can be used in winemaking
Any variety of cherries can be used in home winemaking. However, it is preferable to focus on dark berries with a sweet and sour or sour taste. These include the following varieties: "Shpanka", "Novodvorskaya", "Lotovaya", "Vladimirovskaya", as well as "Shubinskaya". Cherry wine, made from sweet varieties, does not have a sufficiently pronounced taste.
Whole ripe berries should be selected for homemade wine, without external damage and rot. On the surface of cherries there are natural wine yeast, which is almost completely washed off with water. Therefore, many experienced winemakers do not wash cherries.
In addition, depending on the taste, the question is decided: to remove the seeds or not? It is thanks to the bones that the cherry wine acquires a characteristic bitterness, similar to the taste of almonds.
How to make cherry wine: a classic recipe
First of all, you need to prepare the wort. Unwashed cherries with seeds must be chopped in a deep container. You can simply squeeze them out with your hands, squeezing out the juice. The resulting mass, which is a mixture of pulp, seeds and juice, is called pulp.
It is diluted in equal proportions with water and granulated sugar is added. For 1 kilogram of pulp, you need about 700 grams of sugar. If the cherries have been washed, it is advisable to add a teaspoon of table yeast to the pulp for every 15 liters of pulp diluted with water.
The container must be tightly closed and removed to a cool, unlit place. After 1-2 days, the wort will begin to ferment. Stir the wort every 2-3 days. This must be done quickly so that the mass is not saturated with oxygen. A week after the start of fermentation, the container is left alone for 5 days. During this time, the pulp should rise to the surface and it will be easy to remove it with a sieve.
The juice is left for secondary fermentation in a closed container for another 5-8 days. The fermentation process can be considered complete if there is no foam on the surface of the juice. Using a hose, one end of which is lowered to the bottom of the container, the fermented juice is poured into another container. It contains cherry wine and will ferment for 10-15 days. It is advisable to place the container in a cool place. At the end of this period, the finished cherry wine is poured into a glass container.
Young wine will be completely ready for use in 50-60 days from the moment the pulp is prepared. In order for the wine to acquire a more pronounced taste and strength, it is necessary to keep it for another 4-5 months.
