How to make your own wine using common household items

Dreaming of making your own wine? Well, here’s a simple recipe that you can try at home.

WARNING: This article is intended for mature readers only. Before attempting this, read up on the subject in question and make sure what you are doing is SAFE and LEGAL. Though I drank this concoction, NOTHING written about here should be considered 100% safe.

Step 1: Gather the ingredients

  • 3 cans of 100% frozen grape juice
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
  • plastic container
  • 1 Balloon
  • Water
  • 1 pin
  • yeast
Once you have all of the ingredients, place them together on a table and stare at them. You will be turning these common items into wine very shortly.
Step 2: Mix Some Concentrate
  • Pour the grape concentrate into the container
  • Mix in 2 cans of water for each can of concentrate
  • Cap the container and shake it up
Step 3: Add the Sugar
Dump that 1/2 cup of sugar into the jug with the juice. SHAKE VIGOROUSLY WITH THE CAP ON. Don’t let the sugar settle at the bottom, or else there may be flavor problems later.

Step 4: Prepare and add the Yeast

Preparing and adding the yeast is more complex than just ripping open a packet and dumping the powder into the juice. If you want the yeast to work properly, you need to HYDRATE it first. Follow the directions on the package in order to do this properly. If you’re too lazy to follow them precisely, just pour some warm water into a cup and then dump the powder into it. DO NOT STIR the yeast right away – For best results, give it time to hydrate on its own before messing with it. For more advice on this topic click here.

Step 5: Add the Balloon

Get a pin and put 3-10 holes in the top of the balloon. These holes will allow the gases the fermentation process creates to escape, but are so small that they will mostly close when the pressure of fermentation decreases. Once the holes are made, pull the balloon around the top of the OPEN gallon container. You don’t need the lid for a while, but make sure to keep it around so that you can securely “seal” the finished wine in a few weeks.

When placing the balloon around the opening, do your best to push it “down” into the container. It shouldn’t stick up.. YET. If you want to make sure the balloon doesn’t pop off during fermentation, place a rubber band around the bottom of it or tape it to the jug. Tying it with string also works.Congratulate yourself! Once the balloon is on, you’ve completed your part of the deal! Make sure the jug is in a warm place where it will not be disturbed and LEAVE IT ALONE.

Now It Is Time To Play.. THE WAITING GAME!

Probably the hardest part of this whole process is allowing the yeast to do their work of convert the sugar to alcohol. How will you know if the little guys are doing their job? Within 12 hours, VISIBLE and AUDIBLE signs of fermentation should appear. These include seeing small bubbles rising inside the container and hearing a hissing sound. Even more obvious should be the balloon.

Once primary fermentation has stopped, the alcohol content should be sufficient for you to get a good buzz from the wine. If you want to improve the taste, though, you’ll need to let it sit for a month or two before drinking it.

By the end of this process, you should have the equivalent of two VERY drinkable bottles of wine. For extra tips read the full article here.