Wine from chokeberry ash - decoration of a festive table.

A tall bush with clusters of black or dark purple berries in autumn is visible in almost every garden. A kind of aronia (chokeberry ) from North America, Russian cold is not terrible for her. Even in the most unfavorable years, aronia gives a good harvest. The hobby of our gardeners with this berry was at the end of the 60's - 70's of the last century. Now you can see a bunch of berries on the bushes in late autumn - the owners do not pick berries and leave the crop for birds.

Gardeners who appreciate the medicinal, vitamin and flavor qualities of the "black cherry" carefully wrap the bushes with a light transparent cloth - for safety, from bird raids, or rather, raids.

You can make a lot of delicious "billets" from black chokeberry - dry it, freeze it for fruit teas and compotes, cook jam or marmalade, mash with sugar (for dessert) or garlic (as seasoning for meat). At home, the wine is made from chokeberry, tinctures, liqueurs, liqueurs.

Domestic alcoholic drinks from chokeberry are not only tasty, but also very beautiful, they are obtained in a thick ruby color.

Chokeberry, wine from which is the most common drink, has the property of lowering the pressure. This property is widely used in medical practice, but it also worries when consuming wine. In this regard, often make blended wine, mixing different berries or juices of various fruits.

Wine from black chokeberry with red currant is one of the best options for such a blend.

From five kilograms of aronia and three kilograms of red currant, we prepare wort - a ferment for wine. We also need five kilograms of sugar and ten liters of water. Cooking currants, pick berries from twigs, crush with one kilogram of sugar, add wine yeast, pour water and ferment for five days in a tightly closed container.

After the lapse of the wort, strain and add to it the crushed blackberry fruit, close with a napkin and leave to wander. Wine made from chokeberry grows especially tasty if you add two liters of grape juice to it.

The process of fermentation depends on the temperature of the storage site, the degree of maturity of the berries. When the bubbles - signs of fermentation - cease to appear, drain the wine, drain and pour into bottles. Six months later, the wine from the black chokeberry will be ready, but if you hold it for at least a year, it will acquire an exquisite delicate taste.

Experienced winemakers recommend preparing black wine in such proportions:

For a 20 liter bottle: 40% pure aronia juice, 10-20% juice of other fruits or berries, squeeze the mash (berry extract) and add the liquid to the juice.

Sugar add slowly, its amount depends on what kind of wine is conceived: dry, dessert, fortified. Dry wine is rarely prepared from chokeberry, many do not like its tart taste. The astringency of berries becomes a virtue in tinctures and liquors, that is, when a strong alcoholic beverage, vodka or cognac, is included in the wine.

Liqueur of black chokeberry is usually cooked on vodka.

One and a half liters of this liqueur comes from a hundred grams of barley berries, one hundred pieces of cherry leaf, 800 grams of sugar, two teaspoons of citric acid and two glasses of vodka.

Leaves and berries crushed (pokoloch), pour a liter of water, boil for ten minutes. Then add sugar, citric acid and boil for about 20 minutes on low heat. The resulting syrup cool, drain, add vodka to it and mix thoroughly.

Home winemaking is an exciting activity. Wines, tinctures, liqueurs are obtained from each winemaker. Tasting homemade drinks can become a family tradition. And the wine from the black chokeberry, served to the table in a beautiful crystal decanter, will decorate any feast.