Before winter, trees accumulate nutrients that will help them revive after the cold period. As soon as the weather begins to improve and the spring thaw sets in, the sap will begin to move. It will only last a few weeks. Then the question arises of how to preserve this gift of nature. The most pleasant and long-lasting option is birch wine. In ancient times, it was prepared with honey and kept in barrels. Now the recipe is most adapted to modern technologies. Birch sap wine has a very delicate but memorable taste, and the ability to add additional ingredients allows you to create a drink that is right for you.

Secrets of perfect wine from birch sap

Before making wine from birch sap, you need to study its components and preparation features. The most common recipe includes not only the main ingredient, but also additional ones:

• Lemon acid;
• Yeast.

The juice itself must be freshly collected. If the product is slightly sour, it may curdle during cooking and it will not be possible to make wine. Pure birch sap does not have a strong taste or sweetness. It is to strengthen them that sugar is added. It will make the drink brighter and stronger. Acid extends the shelf life of the drink, and honey smoothes out the bitterness that may appear during fermentation of the drink.

Important! Only liquid honey is suitable for wine. If the mass is sugared, then it must be melted over low heat using a water bath. Cool the honey before adding it to the wort.

Wine yeast is used to activate the fermentation process. Recently, this ingredient has been used much less frequently. But how to make wine without yeast? After all, there are no berries in birch sap that could ferment naturally. The answer is very simple - you need to add raisins. It is best to use dark berries with a natural white coating. There is wild yeast on their surface. They start the fermentation process of the wort.

The starter is prepared in advance. 4 days before you start making wine, you need to mix raisins and sugar in proportions 4:1. The mixture is poured with warm water so that the berries float freely in it (for 200 grams of raisins, about 400 milliliters of water). The starter is sealed in a plastic bottle with a cotton stopper and left for 3 to 4 days.

Note! Raisins should not be washed before cooking, since the yeast is located on the surface of the peel. You can only sort out the berries from possible particles of debris.

The second important point in making wine is the disinfection of birch sap. It is necessary to pay special attention to it, since various microorganisms can get into the raw materials during collection, which will lead to spoilage of the product or a change in its taste. The most common method of disinfection is boiling. To do this, the juice is brought to a boil over medium heat, then mixed with sugar, honey and citric acid. After the mixture becomes homogeneous, it is necessary to evaporate a fifth of the total volume of liquid and cool it to 25 degrees.

Wine from birch sap can be prepared without boiling. To do this, the raw materials are heated over a fire to 75 degrees, after which the remaining ingredients are added. As soon as all the components dissolve and the mixture becomes homogeneous, it is necessary, without increasing the temperature, to evaporate a fifth of the entire volume, just as in the previous method, and cool the wort.

During disinfection, foam will form with solid particles of dirt and foreign substances that got into the juice during collection. It must be removed as it appears until the liquid is completely cleared.

To obtain a quality product, it is necessary to observe not only the correct recipe, but also the cleanliness of all containers and kitchen utensils used. All containers used must be washed and treated with boiling water before preparation to prevent foreign microorganisms from entering the wine.

Classic recipe for wine made from birch sap

It is very easy to prepare wine from birch sap according to the classic recipe at home. This does not require extensive experience in winemaking or sophisticated equipment. Main ingredients:

• Birch sap – 25 liters;
• Granulated sugar – 5 kilograms;
• Citric acid – 10 grams;
• Honey – 150 – 200 grams;
• Wine yeast or raisin starter.

Before you put the wine on birch sap, you need to prepare the wort. For this you will need a large enamel pan. The juice is poured into it and brought to a boil over medium heat. After this, add granulated sugar and citric acid and mix until completely dissolved. The resulting liquid is evaporated to a fifth of the total volume. In our case, about 20 liters should remain from the original 25 liters. The resulting wort is cooled to room temperature.

The next stage is preparing the mash. The wort is mixed with yeast. In this case, you must comply with the requirements indicated on the product packaging. If you use sourdough, it must be prepared in advance. The mixture is placed in a container prepared for fermentation. It is tightly sealed with a water seal or covered with a medical glove with a hole in one of the fingers. This is necessary to remove the resulting gas. The container is removed in a warm place excluding direct sunlight for 1 month.

Important! You cannot fill the container more than ¾ of the total volume. The remaining space is reserved for foam that is actively formed during the fermentation process.

The readiness of the mash is determined by the cessation of gas formation and the appearance of a characteristic odor. After this, the resulting liquid is carefully removed from the sediment. A rubber tube is used for this.

The resulting drink will have a strength of no more than 10 - 12 degrees. To get a stronger wine, you can add alcohol, and to improve the taste, sweeten it a little more with sugar or honey. After this, the wine is placed in a cool room with an average temperature of about 10 degrees. It is infused in it for another 1 month.

The finished wine is additionally filtered and bottled into prepared clean bottles. The resulting alcoholic drink can be stored for up to one year in a cool place. A refrigerator or cellar is great for this.

Wine made from birch sap with citrus notes

Birch sap wine has more than one recipe. They may vary depending on the ingredients added. The drink will acquire new taste qualities. This is how you can prepare birch wine with notes of lemon. It turns out carbonated and very light in taste. For preparation you will need:

• Birch sap – 10 liters;
• Granulated sugar – 4.5 kilograms;
• White raisins – 150 grams;
• Lemons – 10 pieces.

All you need for cooking is the zest of lemons. Therefore, it must first be removed from the fruit. After this, 5 liters of juice are mixed in a saucepan with 2 kilograms of sugar and cooked for 1 hour over low heat. The resulting mixture is cooled after cooking and mixed with the remaining ingredients.

The prepared wort is placed in a dark, warm place and aged for 5–7 days. After this, the mixture is removed from the sediment and filtered through gauze tightly folded several times. The resulting wine is poured into prepared containers and stored in a cool room for aging. In a month the drink will be ready for consumption. During this time, its taste will stabilize and fully develop.

A simple recipe for wine from birch sap with honey and cinnamon

The recipe for birch sap wine with honey and cinnamon includes:

• Birch sap – 12 liters;
• Honey – 2 liters;
• Granulated sugar – 4 kilograms;
• Fortified white wine – 4 liters;
• Cinnamon sticks – 4 pieces.

Birch sap is heated in a saucepan over medium heat to 80 degrees. After this, sugar dissolves in it. The resulting mixture is mixed with honey only after cooling to 60 degrees. The prepared juice is cooled to room temperature and mixed with wine and cinnamon. The drink is placed in a cool place away from direct sunlight and infused for 7 to 10 days.

The finished wine is filtered through cheesecloth and bottled. To stabilize the taste before tasting, it must be additionally kept cool for 1 month.

Birch sap wine with fruit accent

In order to get a wine with a fruity accent, you need to take not only birch sap as a raw material, but also any fruit you like (for example, apples, pears, oranges). Ingredients for cooking:

• Birch sap – 5 liters;
• Granulated sugar – 2.5 kilograms;
• Fruits – 1.5 kilograms;
• Dark raisins – 100 grams.

Birch sap is heated over low heat with sugar until it is completely dissolved. At this time, the fruits are washed, separated from the seeds and cut into pieces. The resulting syrup is cooled and mixed in a fermentation container with fruits and raisins. The container is covered with gauze to prevent dust and dirt from entering and a dark, warm place is removed for 3-4 days. After the time has passed, a water seal is installed on the neck and the wort is left to ferment for 4 - 5 weeks.

The resulting wine is carefully removed from the sediment and bottled. Before use, additional cooling is required for 2 to 3 months. The finished wine can be stored for no more than 1 year.

Be sure to try at least one of the recipes for this light spring wine. It is very easy to prepare, especially if you additionally watch the video detailing the recipes. This drink will not leave you indifferent and will surprise your guests with its unusual composition.

At the time of the spring awakening of nature, an active process of sap flow begins in birch trunks. This is the time to collect life-giving birch sap, with unique healing properties and a soft, sweet taste. From this juice, Slavic peoples produced a low-alcohol, sometimes slightly carbonated drink. Birch wine has an unusual flavor composition, can quench thirst, and helps restore vitality. Homemade wine from birch sap will surprise you with a pleasant aftertaste.

Life-giving juice

An important stage in the production of birch wine is the correct preparation of the raw materials. Birch tree sap is life-giving moisture that moves along the trunk due to root pressure. Through cuts made on tree trunks, amazing tree life-giving moisture is collected. Its collection period is very short. It is important to determine the optimal amount of liquid that can be obtained without harm to the birch itself. A gutter is inserted into the cut, through which life-giving moisture flows into the prepared container. Birch tree sap has a unique sweetish taste.

Proper preparation of raw materials is considered an important stage in the production of birch wine

The use of this wood liquid allows you to:

• restore strength after increased stress loads;
• escape from overwork, a depressive period;
• get rid of long-term illnesses;
• prevent a decrease in immune strength;
• prevent the development of vitamin deficiencies.

This natural elixir acts as:

• anthelmintic;
• diuretic;
• preventive development of tumors;
• detoxifying agent.

It is useful to drink it for migraines, vascular spasms, systemic diseases (rheumatism, gout), ulcerative colitis, bronchitis. The form of vitamins and active substances in wood liquid facilitates their easy and rapid absorption.

Wine Features

Birch sap wine has all the properties inherent in beneficial wood moisture. The liquid flowing from this tree does not have bright color or olfactory characteristics, so experienced wine masters advise adding natural components that act as flavorings and dyes. The big advantage of birch moisture in the production of alcoholic beverages is that there is no need to add water. Birch sap does not require additional processing. The quality of the finished product depends on the imagination of the master. The starting material allows you to experiment with additional flavoring additives, based on the expected final result. Alcoholic drinks made from birch sap, prepared by different winemakers, are not similar to each other, they are all unique, unique. The final product can surprise you with its taste and color combinations.

The quality of the finished product depends on the imagination of the master

Features of preparing juice for wine

The liquid exuded by birch trees does not require special preparation for the production of high-quality wine material. The main, perhaps the only condition for the quality of birch slurry is its freshness. Acidified juice is sensitive to temperature increases. When exposed to heat, slightly sour, it curdles instantly. Its freshness lasts less than a day, it is important to use the material as soon as possible. The next point worth considering is the lack of pronounced taste. The lack of acids in its composition forces winemakers to add acidifiers (squeezed ripe lemon fruit or an artificial substitute). In order for fermentation to occur with the help of wine yeast, before starting the winemaking process, it is worth making a wine starter. Raisins are suitable for this purpose.

There is no need to wash it, just fill it with 400 ml of water and put it in a warm place. After a few days, foam will appear, indicating active fermentation. It is easier to use ready-made yeast to make wine.

Ingredients for making homemade wine from birch sap

The production of birch wine material does not require any special physical or material costs. All you need to have on hand:

• 5 liters of wood birch liquid;
• 1 kilo of sweetener (for an amateur);
• ready-made yeast for wine, raisin starter;
• acid regulator (optional).

Given the sweetish taste, it is necessary to add a sweetener - this will give the finished product a quick turnaround. Acidity should be adjusted carefully based on personal preference. The preparation of raisin starter involves the use of an unwashed product, with the presence of traces of a whitish coating - natural wine yeast.

A sweetener will give the finished product a quick turnaround

How to make wine from birch sap? Recipes step by step

Let's try to figure out in more detail how to make alcohol from birch sap:

1. The first priority is to prepare a yeast starter or purchase a ready-made one.
2. Mix birch wood liquid with sweetener, acidify to taste. Heat, boil, simmer over low heat with constant stirring. It is necessary for a fifth of the total mass to evaporate.
3. Cool to room temperature.
4. Thoroughly mix the main part with the starter or yeast, pour it into a glass bottle, and create a water seal.
5. After a month, when gas formation ends, carefully pour the wine into another container so that the sediment does not overflow. Leave in cool and dark conditions for another month.
6. After 30-31 days, carefully drain the sediment.
7. Pack into bottles intended for later storage.

Having learned how to make wine from birch sap, many want to go further in their experiments and learn how to make champagne from birch sap. The first five points are similar to those described above. During the production of birch wine materials, you can add the pulp of orange, pear, cranberry, this will diversify the taste and give original color solutions. After draining the sediment, pour into a plastic container, without adding 5-7 cm in height to the lid. Add 10-15 grams to the bottom. sweetener per liter of wine material. Leave in the dark.

After a week, the plastic bottles will be inflated, and the drink will be saturated with carbon dioxide. Sparkling wine made from birch sap is ready for the table; it is important to store the finished product in the cold.

Preparation of mulled wine at home using wine material from birch sap is carried out according to a traditional recipe; you can give free rein to your imagination in choosing spicy additions. The recipe for birch sap wine with raisins is very easy to prepare.

A very easy to prepare recipe for birch sap wine with raisins

Recipe for lemon wine from birch sap

Main cast:

• birch tree sap 1 bucket (10-12 l);
• 5 kg sweetener;
• 10 tbsp. l. citrus zest;
• a glass of raisins.

Mix half the wood base with half the sweetener and heat. Pour in the remaining juice, stirring gently. Grind the zest with the remaining sweetener and add to the total mixture. Add the raisins last. Put away for 5-6 days in a warm place, out of reach of sunlight. After the expiration date, filter. Pour into small containers for permanent storage. The optimal temperature for further storage is from 10 to 15 degrees Celsius.

Cinnamon Honey Wine Recipe:

• two three-liter bottles of birch sap;
• 3 kg sweetener (buckwheat honey);
• several cinnamon sticks;
• 2 bottles of fortified Muscat wine.

Heat without bringing to a boil. Mix muscat wine with sweetener and carefully pour into the main liquid. Throw in the cinnamon sticks. Close tightly using a water seal. Leave to infuse in a cool place.

It will be ready to bottle in two weeks. Set aside for 1.5 months for ripening. This wine will delight you with the tart aroma of buckwheat and the pleasant aftertaste of cinnamon.

Fruit wine recipe

An unsurpassed, light low-alcohol drink will be obtained if you add your favorite fruits when producing wine based on birch wine material. It will be complemented by fruit desserts with herbs.

Source materials:

• 1 bucket of birch tree sap;
• 5 kg sweetener;
• favorite fruits or berries (pears, raspberries, oranges, strawberries);
• a glass of dark raisins.

Peel the berries from stems and seeds, cut into portions if necessary. Mix the birch base with sweetener. Gradually add fruits or berries to the syrup, adding raisins last. Using a water seal, seal for a month to a month and a half. The end of gas formation indicates the completion of active fermentation. The fruit wine composition should ripen in portioned containers for another three to four months. After drinking a few sips, you can feel the aroma of a fruity extravaganza.

Conclusion

Tree sap is an unusual raw material for holiday drinks. Once you try homemade wine made from birch sap, you will no longer be able to deny yourself this pleasure. Beginners in winemaking are interested in whether it is possible to drink unfermented wine. During the ripening period you will have to try the wort several times; you will probably not be delighted with its taste. Wort that is not completely fermented can cause an exacerbation of many ailments of the digestive system. In this matter, caution is more important than the desire to take the sample ahead of time.

kerescan - Apr 16th, 2015

When the collection of birch sap ends and it turns out that so much sap has been prepared that the sap has already been rolled up and frozen, the kvass has been fermented... This is where the question arises: how to preserve the birch sap? In this case, our article will definitely be useful to you. We suggest making wine from birch sap.

How to make homemade wine from birch sap

This is not just homemade wine and not just an alcoholic drink. After all, by consuming it in moderate doses, you can not only enjoy the aroma of birch sap, but also saturate your body.

And so, we will again need a barrel with a capacity of about 7 liters. You need to pour 5 liters of birch sap into it, add 1 liter of port wine, 1.6 kg of sugar, crumbled pulp of 2 lemons without seeds. Close the barrel and send it to the glacier or to the basement for 2 months. Then open the keg, pour the contents of the keg into bottles and seal them tightly. Send the bottles of the drink to the cellar and place them horizontally. After this, in three weeks the birch wine will be ready.

Photo. Birch wine

Guests will be delighted by the aroma of lemon and the healing properties of homemade wine.

I hope that these three recipes on how to make wine from will forever reside in your notebook of recipes.

Spring is the time of flowering, but it begins with the period of birch sap. A fresh and tasty drink quenches thirst, but soon begins to deteriorate, so you need to solve the problem of where to use it in order to preserve its properties. The birch accumulates resources within itself throughout the year, and in the spring transfers them to the crown to nourish the blossoming buds. A person uses liquid to improve health and maintain tone.

Popularity and usefulness of birch sap

Birch sap is popular because it does not require labor, only timely replacement of the container. Over a period of 3 weeks, depending on the tree and productivity, you can get 300-600 liters of liquid. It can be used fresh or prepared in several categories of drinks, adding fruits and other additives, and stored for the winter.

Birch sap has beneficial properties, because it contains enzymes, several types of sugars, antibacterial components, microelements (potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, copper). Thanks to this, the liquid has a number of effects:

strengthens the heart muscle;

increases immunity;

has anti-inflammatory properties;

nourishes the brain.

Thanks to its neutral, slightly sweet taste, it quenches thirst well. Regular consumption of birch sap allows you to restore vigor and remove signs of fatigue. The liquid stimulates kidney activity and has a diuretic effect.

Methods for making wine from birch sap - with and without boiling

Wine made from such raw materials was originally known as a Belarusian drink with honey. Several centuries ago, every village stored barrels of alcoholic beverages in its basements. The climate of the country does not allow maintaining a vineyard suitable for further processing, so berries and fruits act as the basis for alcoholic beverages.

For winemaking, several types of recipes are used, depending on the result that a person wants to get. To do this, you need to boil birch sap, add yeast, or use a method without this component. Each method has its own requirements. Among the methods there is also wine made from birch sap at home without boiling.

How to make wine from juice with yeast?

The classic way to make wine from birch sap is using yeast. The old recipe suggests that the raw materials are mixed with sourdough, and then kept for a certain time. Initially, honey was used in the process, now sugar. Auxiliary components are used to add flavor notes.

Features of raw materials

Birch wine must be made from fresh raw materials without impurities. Therefore, it is first filtered through a funnel with a filter. If the juice has already acidified by the time wine products are made, then when cooking begins, flakes will appear.

To add flavor, an acidifier is added to the raw material. This is citric acid or a natural analogue, juice of 1 fruit per 25 liters of base or on other conditions stipulated in the recipe.

Selection of cookware

To prepare homemade wine, you cannot use a metal container, except for stainless steel cans, since the material interacts with the liquid. Because of this, the technology will be disrupted, and the drink may not turn out. An additional factor is the appearance of a specific taste in the finished drink.

The ideal fermentation vessel is a glass bottle or wooden barrel. If you plan to make a yeast version of the drink at home, then it will be easier to observe the process through a transparent medium.

Ingredients

If you use ready-made wine yeast, then they are diluted in liquid according to the instructions. The taste of this drink is reminiscent of mash, especially if you use more sugar. The volume of the starter will be larger, and the sugar in the base will interact more actively, which is why a sharp accent appears.

Technology step by step

To prepare wine using birch raw materials, you can use a simple method: take 25 liters of raw material, add 5 kg of sugar and an acidifier, bring to a boil and boil to a volume of 20 liters.

Then the solution is cooled, yeast is added, stirred, and the whole mixture is poured into a fermentation container. To remove excess bubbles, install a water seal or its household analogues.

Every year, collecting liquid from a birch tree is an opportunity to take advantage of the natural power of plants. Using juice allows you to saturate the body with vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. To keep it in its original form, you can roll it up for the winter using a preservative or prepare drinks based on kvass or wine.