Homemade Wine

Author: Michelle Petrano and Nathan Bohnert

Ingredients

• $4$ cups of grapes , washed
• $2$ cups of sugar
• Water
• $1$ gal. jug, thoroughly cleaned (no soap)
• Cork to fit jug that has been drilled to accommodate hose, then boiled for sterilization (can be found at most home improvement stores)
• $2$ feet plastic hose ($\frac{1}{2}$ inch diameter aquarium air filter tubing works well, and can be found at any Wal-Mart)
• Empty beer bottle (or similar container), halfway filled with water

Instructions

• Fill the jug with grapes, sugar, and enough water to go up to the base of the neck. There should be about $4$ to $6$ inches from the water line to the cork to allow for air space.
• At this point, you need to dissolve the sugar in the water. Nathan and I find it easiest to cap the jug with its original lid and slowly roll it on the floor.
• After the sugar has been completely dissolved, the jug needs to be corked. We shove it in as far as it will go, then hammer it in a little more.
• The tubing then needs to be placed in the cork and with one end just below the base of the cork, but not in the water, and the other placed inside the water-filled beer bottle.
• Now place it in a cool, dark place for $3$ months … Or until the bubbles slow down.
• When it’s ready, strain it through cheesecloth into a decanter. You can place whatever you don’t drink right away into an empty wine bottle and reseal.

Tip

Make sure everything is sterile. The first time we did this, we used an old hose we found in the garage… big mistake. We ended up with a mold-filled jug. Buy a new hose, it’s really cheap, and place it in some boiling water with the cork.

Also, it might be easier to just buy an aerating cap than to bother with the cork and tubing stuff, but it’s more expensive. Enjoy!