Development of making plum wine at home

Homemade plum wine cannot be called an elite alcoholic drink, but almost everyone likes its unique aromatic bouquet and extraordinary taste. Semi-dry or semi-sweet plum wine goes well with meat dishes, and sweet wine can be served with dessert. The sugar content can be easily adjusted during production.

The most difficult step of the technology is obtaining the juice. The problem is that plums contain a lot of pectin, a substance that makes the fruit pulp jelly-like. This is precisely why there is no pure plum juice on sale; only nectar can be purchased.

But plums have one significant advantage for winemaking - the highest sugar content, so creating plum wine at home is somewhat easier than, for example, from apples. Less sugar needs to be added, and fermentation goes better.

Ingredients:

plums - 10 kg;
water - 1 liter per kilogram of pulp;
sugar - 100-350 grams per liter of juice.

Plum wine recipe

1. Harvesting and preparation

Any type of black plum is suitable for making wine. The harvest is collected at the moment when almost all the fruits are already ripe and begin to fall. Plums should be exposed to direct sunlight for 2-3 days and should be dried.

Do not wash the fruits, but only wipe them with a dry cloth as necessary. During sun-drying, the skin of the plums becomes covered with fungi and microbes (feral yeast), which contribute to the production of wine. If you wash off this yeast one hundred percent, the wort will not ferment.

Spoiled, rotten and moldy plums must be discarded. Even an insignificant amount of bad pulp can spoil the entire batch of wine. Go through the raw materials carefully, removing everything that seems suspicious.

2. Juicing

Remove the seeds and grind the pulp until smooth. Any plum must turn into puree. Dilute the resulting mass with ordinary cool water in a 1:1 ratio.

It is better to leave plum puree filled with water for 2 days in a dark place at a temperature of 18-25°C. To prevent flies from getting into the wort, cover the container with gauze. Stir with a clean hand or a wooden stick once every 6-8 hours, immersing the top layer of skin and pulp (called “pulp”) into the liquid.

After 48 hours, the skin and pulp will begin to intensively separate from the juice, and bubbles and foam will appear on the surface, which means fermentation has begun. It is necessary to strain the wort through a small mesh or cheesecloth, getting rid of the pulp. Pour the purchased plum juice into a fermentation vessel.

3. Fermentation

It's time to add sugar. The amount depends on the initial sweetness of the plums and the desired type of wine. To prepare a dry or semi-dry drink, you need to add 100-250 grams of sugar per liter of juice; for semi-sweet and sweet wine, 300-350 g/l is required.

For normal fermentation, it is better to add sugar not all at once, but in parts. Add the first batch (approximately 50% of the total planned amount) immediately after pouring the juice into the fermentation container and mix well.

The vessel is filled with juice no more than 3/4 of the size. Fermentation will produce foam and carbon dioxide, which require space. Next, install a water seal of any design on the container. Even a rubber glove with a small hole in the finger (made with a needle) will do. During fermentation, transfer the container to a dark room with a temperature of 18-26 °C.

Water seal designs for wine, mash and beer

Add the rest of the sugar in 25% increments every 4-5 days. Development: remove the water seal, pour a little fermenting juice through a straw into another container (the juice required is half the amount of added sugar). Dissolve sugar in juice. Pour the purchased syrup into a container with wine, then install the water seal back.

Fermentation of plum wine lasts up to 60 days. The process is completed when the water seal does not release gas (the glove has deflated), and a layer of sediment has formed on the bottom. This means it is time to drain the young plum wine from its lees into another clean container for maturation.

Taste the drink and sweeten it with sugar if desired. You can also fix the wine with vodka or 40-45% alcohol. Typically, no more than 15% strong alcohol is added based on the size of the wine. Fortified wine stores better but has the firmest taste.

If fermentation continues longer than 55 days, in order to avoid the development of bitterness, it is necessary to drain the wine from the sediment, and then again put it under a water seal until fermentation stops. Next follow the recipe.

4. Maturation

Plum wine, unlike apple wine, takes quite a long time to clarify – months. With all this, particles are difficult to filter, it is better to just wait. Short ripening time - 2-3 months.

Close containers with wine that are filled to the top (if sugar was added at the end for sweetening, then it is better to keep it under a water seal for the first 7-10 days), then transfer it to a dark room with a temperature of 6-16°C. This could be a basement or a refrigerator. At first, any 15-20 days, and later less often, as sediment appears on the day, filter the drink, pouring it through a straw into another container, without touching the sediment. It takes 2-3 years for more or less complete lightening. True, it is virtually impossible to achieve complete transparency due to the individuality of plums.

After 3-6 months, homemade plum wine can be bottled for storage and hermetically sealed. Shelf life in the cellar or refrigerator is up to 5 years. Strength – 9-12% (without fixing).

The individuality of the technology is shown in the video.

2 recipes for plum wine at home

Traditional plum wine recipe

Ingredients:

plum – 6 kg;
water – 4 l;
sugar – 500 g.

Making recipe:

It is not recommended to wash plums, because you can kill the population of feral yeast that is on the skin.
Cut each plum into two halves and remove the pit.
Twist the plum until smooth.
Pour into a jar or bottle, cover with gauze and let the drink brew in a warm, dark place for three to five days.
Strain the drink through cheesecloth.
Cook sweet syrup. To do this, mix water with sugar and bring to a boil until the sugar is one hundred percent dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Mix syrup with plum.
To get a harmonious, rich drink, use a special fermentation container with a water seal. A good option is a cheap fermentation container with a water seal made of food-grade plastic.
After two months, you need to strain the drink from the sediment and leave it for another three months in a cold room.

Another recipe for plum wine with yeast

Ingredients:

plum – 6 kg;
water – 4 l;
sugar – 500 g;
wine yeast - according to the instructions.

Crafting recipe

Preparing the plums: sorting them out and clearing them of debris. We rinse - wild yeast will not be useful to us, so we do not neglect this step.
Cut the plums into two parts, remove the pits.
Cook sweet syrup. Mix water with sugar and bring to a boil until the sugar is one hundred percent dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Mix syrup with plums.
Add wine yeast according to instructions.
Pour into a clean jar, cover with gauze and leave in a warm, dark place for 5 days.
Strain the drink through cheesecloth.
Leave to cool for 2 hours in the refrigerator. It is not recommended to store this drink for a long time, because it is ready to drink immediately.

Small life hacks

Use only mature, ripened plums for wine.
Before making, place the fruits in a sunny space for a number of days; they will acquire a sweet, rich taste. And the sweeter the plums, the correspondingly sweeter the wine.
If you use yellow plum, the wine will turn out similar to snow-white.

Noteworthy facts:

Conclusion

To get a high-quality drink, you will need a press for squeezing juice and berries. This particular device is an indispensable part in the production of homemade wine. A squeeze press from the Russian Haze company will help you get pure and natural juice from plum berries. It will save you time and effort in obtaining juice.

Plum wine at home: a regular recipe

Most gardeners resort to home winemaking, because every garden lover has the necessary products - the recipe for plum wine is quite simple. Not many people understand that wine can be made not only from grapes, but also from plums and apples. But plums have a huge advantage because they contain a huge amount of sugar, so the addition of sugar is minimal and fermentation occurs faster. Wine made from plums cannot be called elite, but it is quite fragrant and has an excellent taste. Thanks to its own taste, the wine turns out to be extraordinary and is liked by almost everyone. It goes well with various dishes, both meat and sweet desserts. The amount of sugar in wine can be adjusted during production. In this article you can find out the usual recipe for making plum wine at home.

Necessary equipment and ingredients.

To make plum wine at home, you and I will need the following ingredients:

Ripe or even slightly overripe plum in the amount of 10 kg.
Water volume 1 liter per 1 kg of fruit (10 l.).
Sugar - 100-350 grams per 1 liter of juice.
Large capacity for juice fermentation.
Multilayer gauze
An elastic band to secure the gauze.
A whole ancient or brand new rubber glove.

Plum wine at home: a regular recipe

The most delicious homemade plum wine comes from non-cultivated species. Thus, the wilder the tree, the more wonderful the result. The Murom Terme variety is more suitable because it is considered a wild plant. "Blue Ochakovskaya", cherry plum and wild sloe are also considered wild plants and are very suitable for the winemaking process.

Procedure for making plum wine at home

In order to correctly prepare a unique drink, you need to adhere to certain rules. Thanks to the right method of action, the result will not disappoint you. And you will get a very tasty wine.

Harvest preparation

We begin to collect plums exactly when they have just begun to fall. Then the collected collection must be kept in the sun for 2 to 3 days. It is best to place the collected fruits on a tray to prevent rotting. Under no circumstances should fruits be left in the shade, as this will speed up the decay process. During this period of time, yeast and bacteria form on its skin, promoting the fermentation process. This is precisely why the fruits should not be washed under any circumstances, otherwise the wine simply will not turn out.

Getting juice

The most difficult moment when preparing plum wine at home, regardless of the usual recipe, is obtaining juice from the fruit. Plums contain a substance called pectin - it makes the plum pulp similar to jelly. Even the store-bought version of plum wine comes with pulp. You need to remove each seed from the plum and crush each plum into a puree, thereby obtaining a homogeneous mass from all the plums.

If you throw the pits into plums, you will get the most bitter taste. Then you need to add water, mix thoroughly, cover the container with gauze and secure the gauze with an elastic band. Gauze is needed to prevent debris and various insects from getting into the container. Place the vessel with the contents in a warm space and, if desired, cover with a towel. As foam and gas bubbles appear, this will indicate the beginning of fermentation.

You must wait until this process is completed, approximately a month and a half. Once the gas has finished releasing, the acquired juice can be poured into another container, but fill no more than ¾ of the size, because during fermentation carbon dioxide and foam will begin to be released, which need plenty of space.

Fermentation process and sugar regulation

The usual recipe for plum wine involves installing a shutter of the resulting design. You can use an old rubber glove, the main thing is that it is intact and without holes. In the area of the huge finger of the glove, use a narrow needle to create a small hole. By the presence of a hole, you can track when carbon dioxide stops being released. An indispensable condition for avoiding the bitter taste of wine is the process of draining the wine from the sediment if fermentation continues for more than fifty-five days. Then you should reinstall the shutter in the form of a rubber glove.

Advocacy: the final step

The last and longest step of production is the settling and maturation of plum wine. It is practically not filtered due to the huge pectin content in plum fruits. This is precisely why the wine will clarify for a very long time and slowly. Plum wine practically does not discolor and remains cloudy for a long time. In order to get a more pleasant taste and color, you need to wait a long time. The shortest period for maximum lightening is two or three years.

After 6 months, the resulting drink should be bottled and tightly closed. Add sugar if desired if there is not enough. It should be stored in the refrigerator or in the cellar. The shelf life of such wine can be considered no more than 5 years. Without fortification, plum wine at home is 9-15 percent strong. If you need the strongest wine, then it must be fixed with forty percent alcohol or vodka. On average, no more than fifteen percent of strong alcohol is added to the total amount of plum wine. I would like to note that fortified plum wine is harsher in taste, but the advantage of such wine is its longer shelf life.

Fascinating fact

On store shelves you can find supposedly natural wines made from plums, which are completely transparent and brought from China and the Land of the Rising Sun. Such wines cannot be considered natural, because they are made from recycled materials, which has nothing to do with a natural product. After all, as we understand, it is unrealistic to obtain clear wine from plums.

The benefits of plum

Plums in their own composition have a rich supply of vitamins that have a positive effect on digestion, improve heart function, improve the composition of the blood (the internal environment of the human and animal body) and prevent the formation and blockage of blood vessels with blood clots. Plum removes cholesterol (an organic compound, a natural fatty, lipophilic alcohol found in the cell membranes of all living organisms except nuclear-free ones) and excess fluid from the body.

Making plum wine at home has great potential for unleashing the creativity of the winemaker. To enhance the astringency of the taste of wine, you can add sloe. This variety of plum is difficult to consume in its ordinary form because of its unusual taste. But the wine from this fruit comes out beautiful. Also, ready-made plum wine can be combined in various proportions with wines made from rowan or apples. And if you add cinnamon or cloves, the homemade drink will transform into a unique wine that even the truest connoisseurs and tasters will truly appreciate.

How to make plum wine at home: 3 simple recipes

Remember when we made cherry wine a couple of months ago? If you were then fired up by the thought just like me, and immediately set the cherries to ferment, then the wine has already settled, clarified and is ready for tasting.

Now it’s plum season and it’s time to prepare the next fruity dessert drink. It is curious that plums are not often used as a base for wine. And it’s completely in vain. It has a very pleasant sweet taste and an indescribable smell.

But what can I say here, if you’ve tried it, you understand; if not, then you won’t be able to explain this taste verbally. It is very special and unlike anything else.

Content:

Here I tried to select the most ordinary wine recipes, so that even someone who has never done anything like this and has a very distant understanding of what and why it is necessary to create it can create it. So don’t be surprised if I talk about some obvious, recognizable things. This is to make the process very clear.

And the very first banality: under no circumstances should a wine plum be washed. The whitish coating on the fruit is “feral yeast.” It is these bacteria that start the fermentation process and ensure the best outcome.

A washed, untainted plum is naturally beautiful, but it will not make wine.

Plum wine at home - the most common recipe

Here is the most common recipe for making amazing wine in just three weeks. Yes, it will be cloudy, with a certain amount of sediment on the bottom of the jar, but it will be a finished product that can already be tasted.

We will cook like new in a 3-liter jar; huge production volumes will await you at the end of the article.

This is what our drink will look like in 2 weeks.

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Ingredients:

Pitted plums – 2 kg
Sugar - 800 g
Water – 600 ml
Ground cinnamon - 4 g (optional)

Manufacturing:

1. We sort out the plums. We need ripe, slightly soft fruits without dents or other defects. By the way, it doesn’t matter at all what variety you use: Hungarian, Ugor, yellowish, snow-white - it doesn’t affect the result. In fact, they differ only in sweetness, and this parameter can simply be adjusted by the amount of sugar. To begin with, we take as much as indicated in the recipe, and then I will tell you when you can add it.

Cut the sorted fruits in half and remove the pit.

2. Pour the plum into a jar and add half of the prepared sugar (400 g). We close the jar with a plastic lid, shake it a couple of times so that everything inside is mixed and leave the jar in a warm place for 5 days so that the plum releases juice and the yeast begins to work.

A warm place could be a spot next to a gas or electronic stove, which is often used. Or a window sill on the sunny side.

After 5 days, about 200 ml of juice appears on the bottom of the jar.

2. Now it's time to take a personal approach. In theory, you need to heat 600 ml of water, dissolve the remaining 400 g of sugar in it and pour the resulting syrup into a jar. But there is one aspect: the jar cannot be filled to the neck. There must be room left for fermentation, so it is filled up to the shoulders at most.

A real plum can release different amounts of juice. Maybe 200, maybe 100 or 300 - depends on the variety and degree of ripeness.

Therefore, first, heat 400 ml of water in a bowl, dissolve sugar in it, then wait until the syrup cools to room temperature and pour it into a jar. If there is not enough syrup to reach the shoulders of the jar, add plain water at room temperature.

It is forbidden to pour hot syrup - the yeast will die.

3. Place the jar under the water seal. This is a device that allows carbon dioxide, which appears during fermentation, to freely leave the jar, but does not allow air inside. You can purchase such a water seal from household goods or make it yourself by firmly attaching a silicone tube to a polyethylene lid, one end of which will be in a jar of plums, and the other will be lowered into a jar of ordinary water.

Well, or you can do it even simpler: put a silicone glove on a jar of honey, create one hole at a time on your fingertips using a needle, and watch how the glove inflates over time due to the huge amount of carbon dioxide, and after 10 days it begins to slowly deflate when fermentation ends.

But whatever method you choose, after installing the water seal or putting on gloves, you need to shake the jar well to release the remaining air in it.

4. Place the jar in a black space without direct sunlight and leave for 15 days. During this period, active fermentation will initially be visible with the formation of a dense snow-white foam cap and a constant release of bubbles, which will gradually fade away. The foam head will darken, and the formation of bubbles will actually stop.

This means the wine is ready and it’s time to open it.

5. The next step is coarse filtering. An iron sieve with a small mesh is perfect for this.

A 3 liter jar will yield about 1.5 liters of wine.

6. And now the crucial moment is taking the sample. We taste the wine and if you like it, then we carry out the most painstaking filtration using several layers of gauze, then we pour the wine into a suitable glass or plastic bottle (if long-term storage is not expected) and put it in the refrigerator. The cold will stop any residual fermentation.

After cooling, the wine is one hundred percent ready to drink.

But if the drink seems sour to you, it means the plum variety was not quite sweet. Need more sugar. We make syrup using the technology described earlier, only we take even less water, maximum 100 ml, and dissolve 200 g of sugar in it. Pour the syrup into the wine, pour the wine itself back into the jar and again put it under a water seal for another 10 days, so that the yeast remaining in the wine eats up the sugar and still ferments a little.

After repeated fermentation, we take a sample again. Now it literally has to be delicious. Filter the wine through cheesecloth and put it in the refrigerator.

By the way, the remaining cake can not be thrown away, but can be used to make the next portion. We put it back in the jar, add syrup from 600 ml of water and 800 g of sugar and put it away for further fermentation for 15 days under a water seal according to the previously tested scheme. This can be done several times.

Plum wine with pits: recipe with vodka

Strictly speaking, this is not wine, but a plum tincture. In order not to suffer with cleaning the fruit, fermentation and constant control of the process, you can do it even simpler: pour vodka over the fruit and let it brew for a couple of months. All. No additional actions are required.

A very successful method for the lazy, allowing you to get a tasty plum liqueur without any effort.

//youtu.be/hPYdMVJSM5o

To make it you will need plums, sugar and vodka (or homemade moonshine)

Pour washed plums into a clean 3-liter jar. Yes, yeast is not needed for tincture, so it is better to rinse the plum. Fill the jar up to the shoulders. Then add 1 two hundred gram glass of sugar and pour in 1 liter of vodka.

We close the jar with a plastic lid, shake it slightly, put it in a black space and forget about it for a couple of months.

After 2 months, the tincture will be ready and can be filtered through cheesecloth and poured into beautiful bottles.

But don’t throw away the plums. They are ideally suited as the interior for confectionery products: pastries or cakes.

And after this little digression, let's get back to wine.

Video on how to create plum wine at home

We have already discussed how to prepare wine in small quantities, and if you feel confident in your own abilities, let’s see how to reach industrial volumes so that there will be enough supplies until the next harvest.

I suggest you watch the whole process in a 2-part video. They are not long, but at the same time very informative. And if some points from my descriptions were incomprehensible to you, this video will put everything in its place.

Now, I am sure, all your questions have disappeared and you have felt within yourself the strength and confidence of a real winemaker.

I wish you success in your new field, but that’s all I have for today, thank you for your attention.