Cherry is a common plant in our country, growing throughout the country. It is extremely popular among home distillers and in winemaking. Tasty liqueurs, tinctures and liqueurs are made from cherries, drunken cherries, and homemade cherry wine has probably been tried by every adult. Where grapes do not grow, cherries are used as a raw material. The berries produce a thick dark red wine with an unusual aroma and unique taste.

Homemade cherry wine prepared at home is valuable because it contains only natural ingredients; generally, yeast is not used in recipes, so the benefits of cherry wine for the body have been described more than once in various works. Cherry wines can be made as dry and semi-sweet, as well as fortified dessert wines. The main thing in manufacturing is to follow the technology and adhere to the rules described below. For the drink, it is better to use dark cherries with sourness, but in principle any variety that you can get will do.

How to calculate the yield of the finished product. From 100% of the initial volume of cherry berries, approximately 60% of the wort is obtained. This must produces 80% of the wine. 20% is pulp and sediment from overflowing. The more wort, the better the wine fermentation process goes, and the risk of oxidation decreases. When calculating, it is correct to take the minimum proportion for 10 liters of wine.

Cherry wine recipe with pits

Wine made from cherries with pits has a pleasant almond flavor. Brightly saturated color gives the drink a rich look. This simple recipe is suitable for beginner winemakers. When making wine, it is important to remember that the skin of the cherry contains natural wild yeast, which is necessary for the fermentation of wine. Therefore, cherries cannot be washed! But if you get washed berries, then in this case you can use special wine yeast, which can be purchased in a network of specialty stores.

Compound:

  • Cherry –6 kg;
  • Water – 6 l;
  • Granulated sugar – 2 kg.

How to make cherry wine:

  1. Peel the cherries, remove rotten and moldy berries. Gently mash the berries with your hands without damaging the seeds, otherwise there will be bitterness in the wine.
  2. Place the cherry mass along with the seeds in an enamel pan. Pour in water, add 800 grams of sugar. Cover the pan with gauze or place a lid in a warm place to ferment for 3-4 days.
  3. Literally half a day later, the first signs of fermentation appear. A hissing foam cap forms on the surface, and a sour smell of fermentation is felt. To prevent the wort from turning sour at this stage, it must be stirred two to three times a day and the pulp cap must be simmered.
  4. After the required time has passed, pour the wort into the fermentation container through a sieve or gauze, thoroughly squeeze the pulp from the juice. Add a quarter of the cherry pits there and add 400 grams of granulated sugar. Stir everything well until the sugar is completely dissolved. Place a special water seal or medical glove on the container. Place the bottle for fermentation in a warm place with a temperature of 20-25C. Important! 1/4 of the fermentation tank should be free; during rapid fermentation, foam rises, which can fill the water seal and come out.
  5. After 5 days, remove the water seal and drain 300-400 ml of wort. Dissolve 400 grams of sugar in it and pour the syrup back into the bottle.
  6. After another 5 days, filter the wort from the seeds, add the rest of the sugar, dissolving it in the wort. Leave to ferment for 1-2 months, depending on the strength of the yeast and the ambient temperature.
  7. The end of the fermentation process can be determined by the water seal in which the gas stops gurgling. The wine partially clears and sediment appears at the bottom. There is alcohol in the taste. Carefully decant the young cherry wine and drain it from the sediment through a PVC or silicone hose. Add sugar if necessary. At this stage, the wine can be fixed to the desired strength with vodka or brandy. Usually, 3-15% of strong alcohol by volume of wine is poured in for this.
  8. Pour the wine into a clean container and install a water seal for the first 10-15 days. Place the container for quiet fermentation in a cool place with a temperature of 8-15C. Maturation of young wine lasts 6-12 months. During this time, sediment falls to the bottom; when the sediment reaches 2-3 cm, the wine must be poured, removing the sediment.
  9. Ripe wine is poured into clean bottles, sealed hermetically and can be stored in the basement for a very long time. The more the wine costs, the tastier it becomes, the bouquet is balanced and will delight you with its unique taste.

Video recipe for making cherry wine.

Recipe for homemade cherry wine – “Vishnyak”

Vishnyak is the popular name for dry cherry wine. The preparation process takes about two months. The taste of the drink is quite sweet, so this wine is more suitable for the female half.

Ingredients

  • Fresh cherries – 10 l;
  • Granulated sugar – 4 kg.

Preparation:

  1. Place unwashed cherries in a container (glass bottle) and sprinkle with sugar. Place the bottle on a windowsill in the sun to ferment for 30-40 days.
  2. After the above time has passed, strain the wort through a sieve or cheesecloth. Rub the remaining berries through a colander and add to the wort.
  3. Soak the wort for another 3-5 days in the sun. Then strain the wine through several layers of gauze. Leave to ferment for 7-10 days.
  4. Pour the finished cherry into a clean container, add sugar or water if necessary. The drink is ready to drink.

Fortified cherry wine recipe

This quick cherry wine recipe is different from the ones described above. After 1-2 weeks you can already enjoy excellent cherry wine and treat your guests.

Ingredients:

  • Freshly picked cherries – 10 kg;
  • Filtered water – 5 l;
  • Sugar – 2.5 kg;
  • Wine yeast – 2-5 g;
  • Fresh mint.

Preparation:

  1. Rinse the berries under running water, remove the stems and spoiled cherries. Squeeze out the juice as much as possible using any available method without damaging the seeds. Transfer the pulp to a separate bowl.
  2. Pour the juice into a clean saucepan, add sugar and place on low heat. Stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour water into the hot syrup, add the pulp with seeds. Tear mint leaves into small pieces and add to the wort.
  3. As soon as the wort has cooled to a temperature of 22-25, add wine yeast. Place the container in a warm place to ferment. After 7-10 days the wort will ferment. The wine must be drained from the sediment and bottled. If desired, you can add vodka or cognac in a volume of 3-5%.

Cherry wine from frozen berries

In some cases, you can prepare cherries for use and then use frozen berries to make wine. The collected cherries need to be washed, sorted, slightly dried and placed in the freezer. Dried raisins are used as yeast starter.

Ingredients:

  • Frozen cherries - 5 kg,
  • Filtered water - 3 l,
  • Sugar - 1.5 kg,
  • Raisins - 100 gr.

How to make wine:

  1. Place the frozen berries in a wide dish and let the cherries completely melt at room temperature.
  2. Mash the berries, transfer to a saucepan, add sugar, water and add raisins. Mix everything, cover with a lid.
  3. Place the container in a warm place for 7-10 days. During this time, vigorous fermentation will take place. After completion, drain the wine from the sediment and pour into a clean container for quiet fermentation. Install a water seal on the neck.
  4. After 1-1.5 months, drain the young wine from the sediment, pour into bottles and leave to mature for 3-6 months in a cool room.

The nuances of making homemade cherry wine

  1. Cherry wine at home is made only from ripe berries. Green, spoiled, rotten berries are not suitable. Such fruits can radically spoil the taste of the drink.
  2. It is advisable to collect berries for making wine in dry, sunny weather. Cherries picked during rain are too watery.
  3. If you don’t like the tart taste of the wine, you can remove the cherries.
  4. Cherry wine can be combined with other fruits and berries. The most suitable combination is with raspberries, black currants, and plums.
  5. There is no need to wash the fruits before cooking; they contain the wild yeast necessary to start fermentation.

It has been proven more than once by various studies that wine has many beneficial properties - bactericidal, tonic, soothing. A small amount of red wine reduces the risk of heart disease, is an excellent prevention of colds, and is recommended as a sedative - of course, if consumed in small and reasonable quantities.

Nowadays you can choose wine in stores to suit every taste and budget, but are you sure that it will be of high quality and healthy? If the spirit of a winemaker has awakened in you or you simply love real homemade wines, then you should try making cherry wine at home.

Why cherry? The climatic conditions of our country do not allow us to grow large quantities of grapes, as in other countries. And cherries are found on almost every estate, in the undergrowth, even along roads, and after grapes they are the best option for making wine.

It produces an excellent, tasty, dark, slightly tart wine with a wonderful aroma and rich taste. In addition, homemade cherry wine is easy to ferment and also easy to clarify.

It should be noted that different types of cherries grow in different regions of Russia. Since the author lives in the Far East, his favorite wine is made from felt cherries - small and sweet and sour cherries.

Most residents of the country can afford wine from steppe cherries - they grow in central Russia, the Volga region, Western Siberia, the North Caucasus and the Urals. This type of cherry is distinguished by its sweet and sour taste, while it is the easiest to process - thanks to its taste, any recipe will suit. But most wine is made from common cherries (and its variety, sour cherries).

It is best to use real cherries - sweet and sour, dark in color, completely ripe. Wine made from overripe or very sweet cherries will not be aromatic or tasty. But you can’t use very unripe ones either - you will only get sourness.

If you decide to make your own wine from cherries at home, it is worth considering one nuance - it contains a lot of acid and little sugar, and to prevent the wine from turning out sour or weak, winemakers use one little trick - they must add water to the juice and increase the amount of sugar .

Basic algorithm for making cherry wine

  1. Store the collected fruits in the refrigerator for no more than three days.
  2. Soak the cherries in water, remove the pits (wine made from cherries with pits will have a slight hint of bitter almond - if you like this unusual taste, you can leave a few pits).
  3. Fill the cherry juice with water for one day. This is necessary due to the fact that cherries are quite dense and it is very difficult to squeeze the wort out of them without treating them with water.
  4. Squeeze out the wort. Consider the amount of water you squeezed out - you will need to add it back.
  5. If pure cherry wine does not suit you, you can add other berries. Cherries go well with currants (especially black), plums and raspberries.

Homemade cherry wine recipes

All recipes below are designed to yield approximately 20 liters of wine.

Fortified cherry wine

We will need:

  • 1 bucket of cherries (10 liters);
  • 2 kg. Sahara;
  • 2 liters of water;
  • 0.5 liters of alcohol;
  • wine yeast.

Follow the cooking algorithm. After squeezing the wort, add wine yeast and leave the composition for 10 days to ferment. Remove the sediment, add alcohol and sugar. Let stand for another 10 days, filter and bottle.

Light cherry table wine

The ingredients are as follows:

  • 1 bucket of cherries (10 liters);
  • 1.5-2 kg. Sahara;
  • 2 liters of water;
  • 3 gr. tartaric acid (or a bag of citric acid).

Follow the algorithm, mix all the ingredients, let it ferment for 10-15 days, filter and bottle.

Dry cherry wine (cherry)

For cherry we need:

  • 1 bucket of cherries (10 liters);
  • 4 kg. Sahara.

Cover the cherries with sugar, place in the sun to ferment for 1-1.5 months, tie the neck of the bottle with gauze. Strain the mixture. Rub the remaining berries through a colander or sieve or squeeze, add to the mixture and leave for another three days in the sun. Strain the wine well and leave to ferment for one to two weeks. If the wine is too dry and strong, add 1-1.5 liters of water.

Classic recipe

The easiest way to make cherry wine at home (a recipe from USSR times, used in the Far East, works well for felted, as well as small and sour cherries):

  • 1 bucket of cherries (10 liters)
  • 1 bucket of water
  • 3 kg. Sahara.

We follow the algorithm, place all the components in a large bottle, and put on a surgical glove. As soon as it stops swelling and begins to fall - after 3-4 weeks - the wine is ready. If your cherry wine requires long-term storage, add 0.5 liters of alcohol or high-quality vodka.

Does cherry wine benefit a person or does it have a harmful effect on his body? Disputes about this have been going on for a long time and in many countries. Why? Let's try to figure this out.

What are the benefits of cherry wine?

When talking about the benefits of any drink, one should proceed primarily from certain doses. Even in ancient times, Paracelsus noted that everything can be poisonous; only its quantity makes poison invisible. If the product is made from high-quality berries that have ripened without the influence of chemicals, then all the beneficial substances that are characteristic of cherries pass into it:

  • carbohydrates
  • vitamins
  • natural sugar
  • nitrogenous substances
  • pectins
  • organic acids
  • tannins.

With strict dosage and moderation in consumption, cherry wine can have a beneficial effect on human health, since the components of the raw materials from which it is made are rich in useful substances. Drinking a small glass with lunch will help improve your mood, fight depression and correct stomach function. It is believed that it has anti-aging properties and drives “bad” cholesterol out of the blood. Often weakened people drink red wine to restore their strength. A small amount can relieve physical and mental stress.

Harm of cherry wine

We must not forget that cherries themselves can contain dangerous components. In this regard, statements about the dangers of cherry wine have every basis.
Firstly, cherry pits contain hydrocyanic acid, which is poison. Therefore, when making cherries at home, you must first remove the seeds, and only then make the drink. If you leave them, you can simply become very poisoned. Cherry wine is not advisable for people who suffer from hyperacid gastritis or peptic ulcers. Strictly prohibited for diabetics. Some dentists claim that cherry wine destroys tooth enamel.

The secret of eternal sobriety is open, you just need to add...

So, homemade cherry wine, the benefits and harms of which are controversial, can become both a friend and a sworn enemy. It must be made without using seeds and only from ripe but sour berries. With the addition of a small amount of raisins or grapes. After fermentation, it matures for 14 weeks, and only then can the product be called wine.

We must not forget that constantly drinking before dinner, a person can become a slave to the glass. To prevent this from happening, you need to drink very, very moderately, no more than 1 glass per day. If there is a desire to use wine in treatment, then you should not prescribe this healing remedy to yourself. Such a desire leads to dire consequences. Be sure to talk to your doctor about this and do not ignore these recommendations.

Cherries contain a large number of useful substances: vitamins, organic acids, pectins, minerals, incl. rare organic acids, incl. folic acid, enzymes, natural sugar, tannins, carbohydrates, nitrogenous substances. Such a rich composition of useful components in the raw materials for cherry wine allows it, with strictly dosed and individually selected consumption, to have a beneficial effect on the human body.

At the same time, one must always remember the words of Paracelsus, that poison can only be harmless in a certain dose. For example, a glass of quality cherry wine with lunch can help a person relieve depression or some stomach disorders.

But you need to remember about the dangerous components of cherries.: high concentration of acids, especially toxic
hydrocyanic acid in cherry pits. Therefore, in no case should you make wine from cherries with pits, and people with high acidity, diseases associated with this (for example, hyperacid gastritis), stomach ulcers, and diabetes should not drink cherry wine at all. In addition, cherry wine damages tooth enamel.

Cherry wine is inferior in quality to grape wines, so all the harmful effects of grape wine are aggravated when drinking cherry wine. However, a lot of research is devoted to advertising the beneficial properties of cherry wine, while its harmful effects are stubbornly kept silent. At the same time, not a single researcher explains for what purpose it is necessary to process a healthy product (cherries or cherry juice) into wine, which acquires, along with useful ones, a number of harmful and hazardous qualities to health.

The whole truth about the dangers and benefits of Wine

How to make wine from cherries at home. Recipes for sweet, dry, fortified cherry wine.

Awareness that alcoholic beverages are harmful to health does not keep people from drinking them with any regularity or in any quantity. At the festive table, at a long-awaited meeting, on an “outing” into nature, almost everyone from time to time misses a glass, a small glass, or a glass.

Unfortunately, both alcohol itself and the way it is produced and stored are harmful. And if you are already drinking, then it is better to make homemade wine made from natural raw materials, without adding chemicals, for example, from cherries.

The benefits and harms of homemade cherry wine

There is an opinion that cherry wine is second-rate, it is in many ways inferior to grape wine. But there are not vineyards everywhere, and cherries grow every year on almost every summer cottage. And if everyone has already eaten healthy berries and made jams and compotes with them, you can make good and in some ways even healthy wine at home.

Cherry wine is beneficial in moderation.

If prepared correctly, wine will contain all the beneficial substances that cherries contain:

  • carbohydrates in the form of sugars
  • vitamins and minerals
  • organic acids
  • tannins
  • pectins

If there are no contraindications and the consumption of alcoholic beverages is not exceeded, cherry wine prepared at home can benefit the human body:

  • increase blood pressure
  • improve appetite
  • get warm
  • overcome depression
  • improve sleep
  • improve your mood and performance

It is best to drink cherry wine before dinner.

But, be that as it may, homemade cherry wine can be harmful. Firstly, because it contains alcohol, and everyone is aware of its effect on the human body. Also:

  1. Cherry pits contain poisonous hydrocyanic acid. If they are not removed from the berries when preparing wine, the liver may not cope and poisoning will occur.
  2. Cherry wine contains a lot of sugar and is contraindicated for diabetics
  3. Homemade alcohol should not be drunk by people with hypertension
  4. Fruit acids contained in cherry wine can aggravate gastritis and stomach ulcers
  5. These acids also attack tooth enamel.

IMPORTANT: Homemade cherry wine must be properly prepared, otherwise it will turn into poison

What berries are best to make homemade cherry wine from?

The most delicious and healthy wine will come from cherries collected during the season:

  • with sourness
  • dark color
  • ripe
  • not spoiled

A maximum of 2-3 days should pass from the moment of picking the berries to the start of making wine, otherwise the cherries may turn sour or rot.

The wine is made from ripe, juicy, but not spoiled cherries.

IMPORTANT: Wine is also prepared from frozen berries and even sour compote

Here are a few more important points that need to be taken into account to ensure that the wine turns out delicious, whether it is made from cherries or any other berries:

  1. Dishes and equipment for preparing the drink must be glass or wood
  2. Water for wine should be taken boiled, distilled or spring, if there is absolute confidence in its quality
  3. Wine bottles must be washed thoroughly, preferably with soda
  4. The process of making homemade cherry wine is somewhat sacred. People have sayings that they believe help ensure the best tasting drink possible.

Homemade cherry wine with pits: recipe

Winemakers still advise removing pits from cherries before making wine from them. But some people like to leave them, as the seeds give the drink a bitterness similar to the taste of almonds.

  1. For 1 kg of cherries you need approximately 700 g of sugar and 1 liter of water
  2. The cherries are washed and soaked for 12-24 hours so that they can be easily crushed; this crushing is called pulp. Mash the berries with your hands or a wooden masher
  3. Drain the water and carefully crush the berries so that each of them bursts.
  4. Pour crushed cherries with water in a ratio of 1 to 1 and add sugar to them.
  5. The mass is thoroughly kneaded, placed in containers with a lid and sent to a dark and cool place.
  6. So the future wine is kept for about 10 days, stirring every 2-3 days
  7. Afterwards you can remove the berries and seeds; they should float by this time. Therefore, the wine is simply poured through a colander or sieve.
  8. Now the wine should ferment in a glass container. During fermentation, it actively releases carbon dioxide. To prevent cans or bottles with it from exploding, you need a water seal. You can buy it or make it yourself
  9. After 10-14 days, a white precipitate will be visible at the bottom of the bottles; it needs to be filtered. The wine is simply poured into another container through a thin hose
  10. The drink ferments for another 2 weeks, after which it can be poured into a permanent container and sealed
  11. Young homemade cherry wine is aged for about 14 weeks, and it will be suitable for drinking within 9 months, that is, just in time for the new berry harvest.

Cherries for wine.

Adding sugar to cherry wine.

Bottles of wine under water seals.

Homemade water seals for homemade wine from cherries.

Cherry wine at home: a simple recipe

There is an even simpler recipe for making delicious wine from cherries:

  1. You need to take 3 kg of berries, 5 cups of sugar, half a teaspoon of dry yeast and 4 liters of water
  2. The berries are dredged and placed in a spacious bowl.
  3. Bring the water to a boil, pour boiling water over the cherries
  4. Leave them to soak for 5 days, then strain
  5. Add sugar and yeast to future wine
  6. Keep the wine in glass under a water seal for 3 weeks, then stir and filter
  7. Bottled and corked wine is kept for about six months, after which it can be drunk

IMPORTANT: To make the drink taste more original, you can add some raspberries or black currants to the cherries.

VIDEO: Recipe for Cherry Wine with Seeds

Cherry wine with yeast

Obviously, yeast is needed for wine to ferment well, that is, carbon dioxide is released. Regular bakery ones are not suitable; they will give the drink nothing but an unpleasant odor.

Wine yeast.

IMPORTANT: You need special wine yeast, they are available in supermarkets

Wine yeast awakens in a special nutrient medium - ammonium phosphate. They grow at a temperature of 20-24 degrees, neither lower nor higher.

IMPORTANT: You can grow yeast for homemade cherry wine from raisins. To do this, dry grapes are poured with warm water for 3-4 days.

Wine does not ferment indefinitely. The growth of yeast in it slows down as the temperature increases, and when the alcohol content is more than 15-18%, it stops altogether.

Cherry wine at home: recipe without yeast

Without yeast, you can easily make homemade, “feminine” cherry wine.

  1. Juice is squeezed out of fresh, unspoiled berries. To make this easier, they are soaked in 2 liters of water per 10 kg of berries.
  2. Add 0.5-1 kg of sugar and 3 g of citric acid to the juice
  3. The drink is poured into a glass container and carbon dioxide is removed
  4. So the bottles should stay warm for a month and a half
  5. The wine is freed from sediment and aged again for a month.
  6. Next, it is poured into a permanent container and kept sealed in a cool place for 3 months.

You can make light wine from cherries without adding yeast.

How to make fortified cherry wine: recipe

The recipe for making fortified cherry wine differs from the classic one only in that alcohol is additionally added to the drink, which makes it stronger.

  1. Take about 5 ml of alcohol per 1 kg of berries
  2. Alcohol is added to the pulp at the same time as water and sugar.

VIDEO: CHERRY WINE. Step-by-Step Recipe for Cooking at Home

How to make sweet cherry wine? Cherry juice wine

  1. The juice is obtained in the traditional way from fresh ripe cherries
  2. To get 10 liters of wort, take 7 liters of cherry juice, 1.5 liters of water, 2.5 kg of sugar
  3. 1.5 kg of sugar is added to the prepared drink to allow fermentation to occur
  4. 1 kg of sugar is added to the drink after it has been fermented, alcoholized and filtered

How to make dry cherry wine?

Dry homemade wine made from cherries is called cherry. It is concentrated, tart, with a pronounced taste. Usually, cherry is made from berries with seeds.

  1. For a 10-liter bucket of cherries take 4 kg of sugar
  2. Unwashed berries are placed in glass jars and covered with sugar.
  3. The jars are not covered with a lid, but their necks are simply tied with gauze.
  4. The jars should sit in direct sunlight for about a month
  5. The resulting juice is drained
  6. The berries are squeezed out, and what is squeezed out is added to the juice
  7. Place the juice in a glass under gauze again in the sun, keep it there for 3 days
  8. Strain the wine and leave it to mature for two weeks, now in a dark place.

Preparing cherry.

IMPORTANT: If the vischnyak turns out to be too strong, it is permissible to dilute it with a small amount of water

How to make wine from fermented cherry compote?

If the cherry compote prepared for the winter has spoiled, you can “save the product” by turning it into wine. You will need sugar and sourdough.

  1. Sourdough can be made from wine yeast, but skilled home winemakers have got the hang of it differently: they simply add 7 to 10 raisins to the fermented compote
  2. It is better to pour the compote with sugar and raisins into three-liter jars, and wear rubber medical gloves around their necks.
  3. The glove is an indicator of the completion of the fermentation process, during which it will be inflated. When carbon dioxide stops being released, it will fall off.
  4. Typically, compote wine ferments for about a month.
  5. Afterwards it is poured into sterile bottles and tightly closed, left to ripen for another 1 - 4 months.

Cherry compote wine ferments under a rubber glove.

How to make wine from cherry jam?

Does it happen that cherry jam doesn’t work? It doesn’t matter, they’ve gotten used to making wine from it.

IMPORTANT: Cherry jam, if you plan to make wine from it, should not be spoiled. If there is mold in the jar, it should be thrown away.

  1. 1 kg of jam diluted with 1 liter of water
  2. Add 100 g sugar
  3. The jars with the prepared drink are tightly closed, left warm, but hidden from the sun's rays.
  4. After 4-5 days, the pulp is separated by filtering
  5. Add another 100 g of sugar to 1 liter of strained wine.
  6. Also, in a dark and warm place, leave the wine to ferment under a water seal for 2-3 months.
  7. When fermentation stops, the wine is carefully poured into a permanent container so that the sediment remains
  8. Wine made from homemade cherry jam matures for 2 months

VIDEO: Wine from Cherry Jam

Among the variety of homemade alcoholic drinks, you can even get lost when it comes time to choose the right recipe. Sugar-free cherry wine is perfect for beginners and experienced winemakers, because this drink is simply a magical elixir that will help you cope with many ailments or simply lift your spirits.

It’s quite simple to prepare, because cherries are an affordable berry and if you don’t have a summer house, you can buy them at the nearest market during the season.

How to choose cherries for making wine at home

The final taste of the drink depends on the quality of the main ingredient, in this case the berries, and in order for it to be successful, you need to choose the cherries carefully. We will tell you how to correctly and simply choose berries that will turn into a delicious drink.

Cherry ripeness

  • Cherries are very juicy and sweet, but only if they are ripe. You can choose ripe cherries by color: bright red and scarlet berries are the standard for choosing cherries for making wine.
  • Never buy unripe berries; the drink from them will be sour and tart.
  • It is also important not to buy dark overripe cherries, because it is very difficult to see defects on them.

Berry quality

  • The berries should be firm to the touch, but not hard. The cherry should be easy to press, but its pulp should fall into place. These are the berries that are the juiciest and will make the most delicious wine.
  • Berries should not be dirty, broken or with dark spots. Even one of the defects can spoil the taste of the wine, and all your efforts will go to waste.

To make sure that the berries are of high quality, you need to pick them yourself or buy them in transparent containers. Whether it is plastic or glass, the main thing is to clearly evaluate the quality of the main component.

  • Also, the cherry must be dry; even small drips indicate that the berry was picked a long time ago or perhaps was stored in inappropriate conditions. Even if they try to convince you that any berry is good for wine, know that this is not true and always buy the highest quality cherries. Ideally, it is best to pick the berries yourself or buy them from friends; in this case, you will be one hundred percent sure of the quality of the raw materials for the drink.

Homemade wines without sugar are very popular, because in such a drink the true taste of the berries is preserved. In addition, such wine reaches a large audience of tasters, because dry wine can be consumed not only for a holiday, but also for preventive purposes against many diseases.

If you have the opportunity to make wine with your own hands, be sure to take advantage of it, because you won’t find such an original drink in the store. Cherries are perfect for drinking, which can be prepared absolutely without sugar.

Ingredients

  • Ripe cherries - 5 kg + -
  • Clean water - 2 liters + -
  • Lemon - 2 pcs. + -

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How to make dry cherry wine yourself

Sort the ripe berries and remove all spoiled and dry fruits.

  1. Carefully remove the seeds from each berry, preferably over a bowl so that all the juice goes into the drink. Place the seedless berries in a large container (preferably a glass bottle).
  2. Pour water into a small saucepan, place the utensil on the fire and boil for 2 minutes. Cool the water a little and pour it over the cherries.
  3. Lightly mix the berries with water with your hands and cover the container with gauze folded into several balls. Place the future wine in a warm place for 2 days.
  4. Then strain the berries and squeeze them well with your hands. Filter the resulting aromatic liquid through a sieve several times and pour into a clean vessel.
  5. Squeeze the juice out of two large lemons, strain it from the pulp and pour it into the cherry liquid. Using a wooden spatula, stir the mixture.
  6. Put a glove on the container or install a water seal. Place the wine in a dark place to ferment. The wine will ferment for 3-4 weeks; it is advisable that the temperature of the place where the drink is kept does not change.

When the fermentation process is complete, remove the wine from the sediment and pour into a clean container. You can use cans, this will make it much easier to filter the drink. Skim the wine off the lees every two weeks until it runs clear. Then pour it into clean bottles and seal tightly.

Place the bottles in a cellar or wine refrigerator for 1.5 months, after this period the wine can be tasted. This tart and light wine will suit your taste and will put you in a good mood even on the cloudiest day.

Ingredients

  • Raspberries - 1 kg.
  • Cherry - 1.5 kg.
  • Raspberry leaves - 100 pcs.
  • Cherry pits - 12 pcs.
  • Citric acid - 1 tsp.
  • Linden honey - 3 tbsp.
  • Moonshine - 300 g.
  • Water - 3 liters.

How to make homemade wine from cherries and raspberries quickly and easily

  1. First of all, prepare the berries: sort the raspberries from debris and spoiled fruits. Carefully remove the pits from the cherries using your hands. At the first stage, place the berries in different bowls.
  2. Boil 1.5 liters of water in a small saucepan, remove the utensils from the heat and throw in the raspberries. Cover the container with a lid and do not open until completely cooled.
  3. Place the raspberry leaves and cherries in another, larger saucepan. Pour in the remaining water and boil the ingredients for 5 minutes. Then remove the pan from the heat, cover with a lid and set aside.
  4. Place both containers of berries in a cool place overnight.
  5. The next day, carefully strain both syrups through cheesecloth and mix them in one container. Add liquid linden honey, citric acid and stir thoroughly using a wooden spoon.
  6. Add moonshine or vodka and dry cherry pits to the wort. Cover the container with a lid and place in a cool place for a week.
  7. Then strain the wine again and bottle it. Send the packaged drink to the cellar for 2 weeks, and then start tasting.

Sugar-free cherry wine will be another drink that will take a special place on your shelves. You can store the drink for 1.5 years, but it is unlikely to stay with you that long.

There are many different recipes for making aromatic alcoholic drinks from cherries. Berry wine does not require the addition of any rare or expensive ingredients, which is why it is appreciated by lovers of homemade preparations. If you have cherry trees in your garden, then producing this drink will cost you almost nothing. Feel free to experiment by adding plums, black or red currants, cherries, gooseberries and raspberries. This will not spoil the taste, but will give the bouquet an unusual, unique sound.

How to choose the right berries

Cherry wine is best made using simple rather than hybrid varieties of the berry. To prepare an alcoholic drink, take ripe, young cherries. It is better not to take overripe fruits covered with dark spots under the influence of pests or tree diseases. Such spoiled berries can distort the taste of the final product and all the effort spent on preparing the liqueur will be wasted.

Collect fruits only in dry weather, as close as possible to the date of preparation of the liqueur. If the fruits were collected in advance, store them in the refrigerator. However, the berries cannot be kept in a refrigerator or any other place for more than three days - they will become unsuitable for winemaking. To get an original result, you can take several varieties of cherries, but in certain proportions. There should be slightly more sour berries than sweet ones, otherwise your drink will be tasteless.

What utensils will you need?

To create cherry wine you will need at least one large vessel such as a barrel or bucket (it is needed during fermentation) and several three-liter jars (for storage). It is worth choosing large containers for fermentation, since the liquid will foam strongly during the process and rise to the edges of the vessel. Select containers such that the wort makes up no more than 70% of the total volume. The vessel must have a lid to block the access of oxygen, and a wide neck, because you will have to stir the wort from time to time.

All utensils for winemaking can be made of glass, stainless steel, food-grade plastic or enameled. The ideal solution would be an oak barrel, but such a vessel greatly complicates the process of preparing the drink, so it is not recommended for beginners to use it. The walls of the containers should not be transparent, because wine does not like sunlight. It is better to wrap glass vessels with some dense material: felt cloth or newspapers. This measure will also help protect the wort from temperature changes.

Best Recipes

To make homemade cherry wine rich, you should correctly calculate how many berries you will need to prepare it. Please note that the final product will be about 55-60% of the original volume (water, sugar, cherries). If the wort has stood for several days and there is no fermentation, add a handful of raisins to the liquid. At the final stage of fermentation, it will be strained out along with the rest of the sediment.

Classic recipe

Like apples and gooseberries, cherries are the best fruit after grapes for making wine. Homemade cherry alcohol is very spicy, bright and tasty. The juice of the berries is highly acidic and has a relatively low sugar content. Cherry has a rich, bright aroma and a tart, pleasant taste, which is explained by the tannins contained in the berry. The wine is resistant to souring and clarifies perfectly on its own without any winemaking techniques.

Ingredients:

  • 3 kilos of sugar.
  • 10 liters of cherries.
  • 10 liters of water.

Preparation:

  1. Prepare the berries according to the general technology: remove the seeds, mash the cherries, pour in purified water, and squeeze.
  2. Pour the resulting liquid into a large container, wearing a latex glove on top.
  3. After 2-3 days, the fermentation process will begin, which will last about a month. Leave the container with wine in a dark, warm place.
  4. When the air leaves the glove and the liquid stops bubbling, try cherry wine. If it is moderately sweet and sour, everything is ready.
  5. If you need to preserve homemade wine for a long time, for example, leaving it for the winter, add 500 ml of vodka or 40% alcohol to it. The strength of the drink will increase, but it will be protected from souring.

From juice

Due to the fact that cherries are widely available and inexpensive, they are often used to make homemade alcohol. The recipe for cherry table wine is very simple, but the drink prepared with it will delight your family with its excellent taste. In order to make homemade wine, you do not need any rare ingredients; everything can be purchased at the nearest supermarket or market.

Ingredients:

  • 4 liters of clean water.
  • 3 kilos of cherries.
  • One and a half kilos of sugar.
  • 2 lemons.

Cooking method:

  1. Peel the cherries, removing the stems and pits. Try to minimize juice loss.
  2. Bring water to a boil, pour over prepared berries. Cover the neck of the bottle with gauze and keep the wort in a warm, dark room for several days.
  3. When the table wine begins to ferment: foam, sizzle, rise - strain the grounds using a sieve or gauze to filter out the remaining berries.
  4. Squeeze lemon juice from two medium-sized fruits and add to wine along with sugar. Make sure that these components are completely dissolved in the drink; you can stir the liquid with a long, clean tool.
  5. Transfer the wort into the fermentation vessel, securing a rubber glove with a small hole on your finger on top. Leave the cherry tincture in a warm (required temperature of about 20 degrees) and dark room for 2-3 weeks. Moreover, the grounds should be stirred daily so that acetic acidic zones do not appear in it.
  6. When the glove deflates, sediment appears in the bottle and the liquid becomes light in color, strain the homemade wine again through a thick sieve or cheesecloth and pour into beautiful bottles, tightly corked.
  7. Store the cherry low-alcohol drink for no longer than a year in a cool place where sunlight does not penetrate, such as a cellar.

Fortified with frozen cherries and vodka

Homemade alcoholic drinks, as a rule, are thick, have a bright aroma and rich taste. Cherry wine with vodka, despite its strength, is very soft and fragrant. Thanks to the spicy, sweet cherry aroma, your guests will not guess that this wonderful drink was made from a frozen preparation based on real vodka.

Ingredients:

  • 100 ml of quality vodka.
  • 8 liters of clean water.
  • 3 kilos of frozen cherries.
  • Half a kilo of sugar.

Step-by-step preparation:

  1. It is not necessary to defrost the fruits before cooking; you can pour them into a jar and sprinkle with sugar.
  2. Leave the cherries in a warm place for a few hours, allowing them to release their juice and absorb the sweetness of the sugar.
  3. Pour water into the container with the fruit, stir the wort thoroughly, and seal with a lid with a water seal.
  4. When the homemade drink has fermented for 2.5-3 weeks at room temperature, strain it and pour it into storage vessels. If desired, add a little vodka to each bottle - this will make the cherry wine more stable and long-lasting.
  5. Place the bottles in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Homemade spicy drink is ready to drink.

Dry wine from fermented compote

If for some reason you do not have the opportunity to purchase fresh cherries, you can even use compote to make homemade wine. It doesn’t take long to prepare wine from fermented cherry compote, its fermentation process is fast, and the taste is in no way inferior to a drink based on fresh berries. The ease of preparation makes it possible for even novice winemakers to make homemade wine.

Ingredients:

  • 6 liters of cherry compote.
  • 0.4 kg sugar.
  • 50 grams of grapes.

Cooking method:

  1. Leave the berry compote for a couple of days in a warm place until the top is covered with a thin film of mold. If the compote is already fermented, skip this step.
  2. Mix the drink with sugar and raisins, place a glove or a lid with a water seal on the neck.
  3. Place the wort in a warm place to ferment.
  4. Filter homemade cherry wine and pour into glass containers. The finished alcoholic drink should be kept cool for at least 16 weeks.

Preparation from chokeberry

Chokeberry is grown not only as a fruit plant, but also as an ornamental or medicinal plant. It contains a large amount of beta-carotene, iron, boron, fluorine, copper, and vitamins C, K, P, B6, B1, B2, E, essential for the body. The medicinal properties of the plant allow the use of even rowan leaves. The wine created on the basis of this miraculous berry is considered one of the most delicious.

Ingredients:

  • Cherry leaves (60-80 pcs.).
  • A glass of rowan fruit.
  • A glass of sugar.
  • Liter of water.
  • 500 ml vodka.
  • Half a teaspoon of citric acid.

Preparation:

  1. Cook cherry leaves and rowan berries over low heat in prepared water.
  2. When the ingredients have boiled for 8-10 minutes, cool and strain the liquid.
  3. Add citric acid and sugar to the future wine (you can replace it with honey).
  4. Cook over low heat for another 15 minutes, cool the drink.
  5. Add vodka, distribute the drink between bottles, tightly closing the lids.
  6. Let the homemade wine brew for 14 days in a place out of direct sunlight.

Cherry and red currant liqueur without yeast

Before preparing homemade wine, all utensils used must be washed with baking soda to destroy all germs and particles of acetic acid. Moreover, you need to wash the vessels even those that are used a second time after the first stage of fermentation, that is, when pouring into the same container, it should again be carefully treated with soda and water.

Ingredients:

  • A kilo of red currants.
  • 6 kilos of cherries.
  • 500 g granulated sugar.

Preparation:

  1. Sort through and wash the cherries, removing the pits. Grind using a juicer or blender.
  2. Peel the currants and mash with a pestle.
  3. Pour the cherry and currant juices into one container, add sugar and cherry pits.
  4. Mix thoroughly, seal the bottle with a glove with a small hole through which air exchange will occur.
  5. Place the vessel for fermentation (3-4 months). Strain the drink and bottle it. Let your homemade cherry wine brew for another couple of months, after which you can drink it.

What to do if the wort does not ferment

Common reasons for the lack of reaction in homemade wine are:

  • Insufficient fermentation time. The process begins only a few days after installing the water seal on the bottle; the natural yeast contained in the drink needs time to activate. Watch the cherry wine for another 4-5 days.
  • Incorrect temperature. Yeast begins to work at 10-30 degrees. If the room where the wine is located is colder, they “sleep”, but in a hot room they die. Make sure that your homemade tincture is not exposed to sudden temperature changes; place the container in a more “comfortable” environment for wine. If necessary, add wine starter or non-alcoholic yeast to the wort.
  • Poor sealing. The air leaves the bottle and fermentation does not occur. There is a risk that the wine will sour, so try to open the container less often. It is allowed to do this no more than twice a day to add sugar or remove foam. To achieve maximum tightness, coat the junction of the glove with the bottle with dough.

  • The wine is too thick. Cherry drink is difficult to filter, and its thick consistency is difficult to ferment. Dilute homemade wine with purified water (no more than 15% of the total volume).
  • Too much or too little sweetness. Sugar is food for yeast, so its content should be about 15-20%. Taste the wort; if it is too sweet, add water; sour grounds indicate a lack of sugar - add it at the rate of 50 grams per liter of water.
  • Mold. Perhaps you didn’t wash the container properly, or the cherries were spoiled and fungus got into the homemade wine. Remove the film of mold, pour the wine using a straw into a new clean container and wait for re-fermentation.
  • Poor quality yeast. Add special wine yeast, new crushed berries (5 grapes are enough for 10 liters of water), homemade sourdough and give the homemade drink time to ferment.

Benefits and harms

A huge amount of useful substances, including organic acids (folic acid), minerals, vitamins and pectins - all this is contained in cherry berries. The fruits contain enzymes, natural sugar, nitrogenous and tannins that are essential for the human body. Such a rich composition of popular raw materials for making homemade wine, with the right dosage, has a beneficial effect on human health.

However, in addition to beneficial properties, cherries have dangerous components, for example, a strong concentration of acids. Of particular danger to us is hydrocyanic acid, which is found in the fruit pit. Therefore, when adding this ingredient to homemade wine, the proportions should be strictly observed. People with high acidity and gastrointestinal diseases (gastritis, ulcers) should not drink cherry alcoholic drinks at all. In large quantities, the acids found in berries harm tooth enamel.


The intoxicating berry – cherry – has long been the basis of recipes for liqueurs, liqueurs, and wines. Homemade cherry wine is simple to prepare and does not require significant financial costs. This drink is especially popular among summer residents in rural areas, where cherries grow in almost every yard. The availability of cherries and the ease of preparation make it possible to enjoy the taste of wine everywhere.

Read also the article: - a simple recipe.

What berries should you use?

The taste of the drink is affected by the variety and ripeness of the berries. How to make cherry wine at home tasty and aromatic, with a rich color? For a good result, several nuances should be taken into account.


Sweet varieties will add a corresponding flavor to the final product. Sour varieties will make the wine more masculine. In addition, preparing a drink from such berries will require more sugar. For high-quality wine, it is necessary to select ripe, unspoiled cherries. There is no point in hoping that the berries will ferment anyway. Rotten cherries will hopelessly ruin the taste of the wine.

If you peel the berries from the seeds, the drink will be soft and tender. If left, the taste of cherry wine with pits will become richer and a little tart.

Some connoisseurs leave the stalks on to speed up the fermentation process. This is not important, and without stems the wine ferments well and has a pleasant taste.

What you will need

Making a drink from berries is not difficult. The recipe for homemade cherry wine is simple and even a novice cook can handle it.

To prepare the drink you will need the following supplies:


  • fermentation containers;
  • gauze;
  • a lid with a water seal or a medical glove;
  • drainage tubes;
  • dishes for settling;
  • wooden spoon for stirring.

To make cherry wine at home you will need the following ingredients: 3 kg of berries, 4 liters of water, 1.5 kg of sugar. We prepare the ingredients and dishes.

Before starting work, all utensils are thoroughly washed and dried.

You can make wine from cherry juice, but you can keep the process simple and make a drink from the berries

Making a drink

Step-by-step recipe for wine made at home:


The longer homemade cherry wine is infused, the brighter its taste.

Storage

It is good to place the dishes with young wine in the basement, where the temperature is constant. From time to time check the presence of sediment in the containers. If sediment is found at the bottom, the wine is poured into another container, preventing sediment from getting into the liquid. Good stuff is infused for at least 12 months.

After this period, the finished product is bottled and stored sealed.

A homemade drink will cost much less than a store-bought one. The great advantage of making it yourself is that the person chooses its strength and uses natural ingredients in the process. What kind of wine to make - soft, from seedless berries, or to make homemade wine from cherries with pits - is up to everyone to choose depending on their preferences.

Video recipe for making cherry wine