How to Make Wine

Wine making essentially involves the mixing of fruit juice and sugar and then adding yeast to convert the sugar to alcohol.

Here is a simple recipe and process for making cranberry wine. When my brother and I were making wine we found that cranberry wine was the best in terms of ease, taste and clarity. Grape wine was just as easy but it tended to retain a yeasty taste and tended to be somewhat cloudy. In both cases we used juices from the grocery store rather than the crushing of berries for juice.

Here is what you will need:

1 one-gallon glass jug

2 - 12 ounce cans of frozen cranberry juice concentrate or 2 - 64 ounce bottles of cranberry juice

1½ cups of sugar – adjust to taste but bottled juice is usually sweetened

¼ teaspoon of wine yeast (you can use dry baker's yeast, but it is better to go to a wine making supply store and purchase regular wine yeast)

¾ cup of warm (not hot) water

A rubber stopper with a glass tube through it or a air lock device for the gallon jug (I prefer the rubber stopper with the tube as it seems to work better) both of which can be obtained from a wine supply shop

12 – 18 inches of plastic tubing that will fit snugly over the glass tube (only need this if you are using the rubbers stopper method)

Container of water

1 funnel

Clean and sterilize glass jug by washing with warm, soapy water and rinsing thoroughly. Then run it through the dishwasher where the heat will sterilize it.

It is very important to make sure that the jug and all utensils used in the making of the wine have been sterilized by running through the dishwasher. This will kill any bacteria which will spoil the wine if it comes in contact with the wine.

If using frozen cranberry juice concentrate, thaw and mix in clean container that has recently been washed in dishwasher. You can use either tap water to mix the juice or distilled water (if you use distilled water you will avoid picking up any taste that the tap water might contain). Add sugar and stir until thoroughly dissolved.

If you use regular, rather than concentrate, cranberry juice, pour juice into clean container and mix sugar until thoroughly dissolved.

Dissolve a tablespoon of sugar and the yeast in the ¾ cup of warm water, stir until thoroughly dissolved, cover and set aside for a couple of hours to get fermentation started.

Pour juice, with sugar dissolved in it, into jug using funnel to avoid spilling. Add warm water and yeast mixture. Insert rubber stopper into top of jug. Attach plastic tubing securely over end of glass tube. Place jug on a shelf in a warm (about 70 degrees F) shelf in basement. Place container of water next to jug and place end of plastic tube in water. Make sure water level remains sufficient to keep end of tube under water. The tube will allow carbon dioxide gas, a by product of the fermentation process, to escape while the water will prevent air contaminated with bacteria from entering the jug with the wine.

After about a month you will notice that air bubbles are no longer entering the container of water from the wine jug and the juice becoming clear. There will be sediment on the bottom of the jug. At this point, get a two or three foot length of ½ to ¾ inch clear plastic tubing, remove the stopper and siphon juice into a second sterilized jug. Be careful not to disturb or transfer the sentiment. The sentiment can be poured down the drain while the jug with the wine should be securely capped with a screw-on cap or cork stopper. Store in a cool place for 6 to 12 months while it ages and then serve. If necessary add additional sugar to sweeten the wine. Serve chilled.

This process usually results in a nice clear and somewhat tart wine with the taste of cranberry.