How to make your own kumquat wine. First, let me briefly explain the principle of winemaking before writing about the materials and steps. Winemaking is simply the process of converting fructose and sugar into alcohol through yeast and releasing carbon dioxide at the same time (in the case of sparkling wine, carbon dioxide is retained through a special device). Therefore, making wine is different from simply brewing wine. It definitely requires Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The reason why some folk wines are made with one layer of grapes and one layer of sugar can be made without adding yeast. One is because grapes contain natural wild yeast, and the other is that this is actually called wine in a loose sense and does not undergo a complete fermentation process.
The alcohol content produced by wine making is related to the sweetness and sugar content. The more sugar, the more it will be converted into alcohol, so it is best to have a sugar meter when making wine. The so-called dry wine means that the sugar is completely converted into alcohol, while the semi-dry or sweet wine retains a certain amount of sugar by ending fermentation early. So whether the wine is sweet has nothing to do with whether sugar is added at first. If there is no sugar at all, unless your fruit is sweet enough, it will be difficult to convert it into enough alcohol to maintain normal fermentation.
The materials needed to make orange wine are: (here I made a 2.4L glass bottle)
3 pounds of sweet and sour oranges, 1.2L of purified water, 1.4 pounds of sugar, 1 gram of fruit wine yeast, 1 gram of pectinase, and 1 gram of yeast nutrients
It is not recommended for beginners to reduce sugar, otherwise the wine will taste too strong and have no fruity taste. The added sugar is calculated based on the measurement with a sugar meter. There are related tables on the Internet for reference.
Here we need to explain fruit wine yeast, pectinase and yeast nutrients.
Cider yeast is a specialized brewing yeast, Angel also has it, it is not a yeast for baking dough.
Pectinase is an enzyme that decomposes pectin. It has the function of stabilizing wine quality, clarifying and improving flavor. It is used before adding yeast and is not recommended to be omitted
Yeast nutrients are also called fermentation aids, which provide normal nutrients to yeast. Many fruits do not have natural fermentation functions like grapes, so yeast nutrients are indispensable to maintain the normal work of yeast.
In addition, be sure to use a bottle that can be breathed in one way and cannot be completely sealed, otherwise the gas produced by fermentation will cause the bottle to burst
The process of making orange wine: (all containers and utensils must be oil-free and water-free)
1. Peel the oranges and dissolve the sugar in pure water
2. Crush the oranges, put them into the glass bottle, and pour in the sugar water
3. Use two small spoons of purified water to dissolve pectinase and yeast nutrients respectively
4. Pour the pectinase water into the bottle
5. Pour the yeast nutrient water into the variety
6. Activating yeast (put the yeast in a cup, pour in warm water of 38-40 degrees, do not exceed this temperature, stir it and leave it for 15 minutes, then stir it a little)
7. Pour the activated yeast solution into the glass bottle (remember that yeast cannot be cooled or heated suddenly, so the temperature difference between the yeast solution and the orange sugar solution cannot be greater than ten degrees)
8. Then use clean chopsticks to thoroughly stir the liquid and pulp in the bottle, then close the lid and place it in a dark and cool place. Fermentation will begin within 24 hours.
9. Next is the main fermentation process. The main fermentation time is generally 5-10 days. You can try the wine according to your personal taste. I like fruity flavors for a short time, and I like wine for a long time. The picture is of fermentation for 3 days. The bottle on the right is orange wine.
10. When the wine tastes to your liking, the main fermentation is over and you can filter it..
11. Bottle the filtered wine. Also, because there will be residual fermentation, the bottle should not be full.
12. During the fermentation process, sediment will continue to precipitate. Because sediment will affect the quality of the wine, it is usually filtered for about 2-3 days until no sediment is precipitated at all. (What is filtered out of wine is wine lees, which is a good beauty material)
13. When there are no bubbles or sediment at all, the fermentation is considered complete and the wine can be bottled and drunk. This will be a relatively fresh style. If you like a more mellow taste, bottle it and let it sit for a while before drinking. This can be decided based on your own attempts. What needs to be reminded is that the bottle will be full during this period, so try to isolate it from the air to avoid oxidation and deterioration.
Finally, let me explain the issue of sweetness. If you like sweet wine, as the name suggests, keep a little more sugar. The sugar is converted into alcohol by yeast during the fermentation process. So there are two ways to retain sugar,
One is to end the fermentation early, which can be done by refrigerated storage to inhibit yeast activity.
The second is to try the wine after the fermentation is completed. If you feel it is too astringent or the wine taste is too strong, add a little sugar.
Remember not to omit sugar at the beginning, because sugar is essential during the fermentation process and is consumed in large quantities. If you have a sugar meter and alcohol meter, you can determine by measuring.
I wish everyone can brew their favorite orange wine.
