1 glass gallon jar with small mouth. 4 cups sugar.
Add 4 cups boiling water and stir with a long handled spoon.
Mix 1 1/2 teaspoons of dry yeast with 1 Tablespoon of warm water to make a smooth paste.
Add 3 quarts of grape juice and the yeast to the sugar mixture. Stir well.
Put a large ballon over the mouth of the jar. Secure tightly with string or rubber band.
The balloon will inflate. The wine will be ready when the balloon deflates. This should take about 24 days. Strain the wine several times before bottling.
Enjoy!!!
That Easy??? Wow! My Mom use to make wine, but I don't remember how she did it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathy!
hughugs
Waooo, very easy steps
ReplyDeletecan I mix the sugar and boiling water first and then add to bottle?
ReplyDeleteYes thats how i do it and my wine turns out great
DeleteWhat size Balloon do you use on the bottle. My mother never wrote that down on her recipe
DeleteSo dont let the gas out of the bottle? Dont touch it or strain it untill the ballon deflates?
ReplyDeleteThat is correct, unless you'd prefer grape vinegar.
DeleteSee also more and compare for best prices deals for Wine Making Accessories here!
ReplyDelete:) Don't strain it. Allow the wine to settle 24hrs. Tip carefully into bottles. Compost the dregs. Just another opinion..
ReplyDeleteNow you have grape juice with alcohol that tastes like rubber.
ReplyDeletedoes it really taste like rubber? I want to try mead without buying an airlock
DeleteAn airlock is not expensive and its well worth it!
DeleteBuy an airlock! You'll be glad you did!
DeleteYou'll never know the balloon was there
DeleteFor 2 bucks invest in an air lock
DeleteUse a latex condom non lubricated with one pin hol mine came out tasting fine and not like a Trojan lol
DeleteAirlocks are like... 2-3 dollars. The bungs that you use to plug up the jug costs about the same. Sometimes though, they leave a rubber smell on the jug.
ReplyDeletewhat kind of wine yeast are you using?
ReplyDeleteYeast is a fungus. It's just in isolated concentrated form as "brewers yeast". Same makes bread. Same grows in your body. They call it "hooch" when made from alternate sources of the fungus. Like from bread used as yeast source. Problem is yeast must be 'living' to work.
DeleteI made the recipe as stated 30 days ago. My balloon is not deflating. Continue waiting or bottle now? The only variation was the type of grapes. I used a 50/50 pink catawba/Niagara blend.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely don't bottle until the balloon deflates. This is a very abbreviated approach to the wine making process. It will work, if you don't mind the taste of yeasty wine. You'll get a much better end product if you siphon, or even carefully pour most of the wine off into another jug, leaving as much of the sediment behind as possible. Top up with some boiled water and give it another month with a balloon on top. It will still be raw, but will definitely taste 'better'.
ReplyDeleteThis was great. I love that you give exact measurements of what your using. I just started this. My last one was apple but I know it didn't quite turn out right. This time I'm using cherries.
ReplyDeleteSize of f Balloon
DeleteI used this last year 2017 opened a bottle this year 2018 and drank but it is so sweet cant drink it is like wine syrup help
ReplyDeletewhat is the abv alcohol content % maybe 12% alc?
ReplyDeleteWhat if I have ungelled grape jelly? Would it work if I didn’t add more sugar just boiling water? Also because there’s pectin, will it mess up the ferment?
ReplyDeleteCan I add real fruit to this recipe? If so will that change anything?
ReplyDeleteDo you think you could do muscadines like this? Just juice my juicer and save the juice. I don’t know why it wouldn’t but I’ve never tried this method for anything
ReplyDeleteMuscadines will be an excellent selection. Do not crack the seeds when juicing. That would cause extreme bitterness.
Deletei used to add -2 table spoons lemon juice-per 5 gallons--1 gallon grape juice will make 5 gallons wine
ReplyDeleteThat is terrible, I'm a winemaker been making wine since I was 8.
ReplyDeleteIt was my family tradition back in the old country. Winemaking is a science. There's a lot more than sugar and juice. PH, acidity,
What type of yeast do you recommend?
ReplyDeleteCan I use fresh grapes from my vine and not use the yeast?
ReplyDeleteI would love to have grape juice formula, like 123456789 steps .
ReplyDeleteThanks
Google : grandma's homemade grape moonshine wine recipe, this is what I used when I first started.
ReplyDeleteMake sure it’s real grape juice, and not just grape drink.
ReplyDeleteI did 3 gal 2 just went down seeing mold on the top is this normal?
ReplyDeleteIt is imperative to clean balloon. Turn inside out, there is a powder inside balloons to keep from sticking to itself.
ReplyDelete