How to Make Wine
96Makes a Nice Tart Wine
Wine making essentially involves the mixing of fruit juice and sugar and then adding yeast to convert the sugar to alcohol.Â
While wine is generally made from grapes, other juices can be used as the base. The reason grapes are the usual fruit of choice is because of their high sugar content. Alcohol is the by product of the action of yeast on sugar. Grapes contain enough natural sugars to allow full fermentation. When using the juices of other fruits sugar generally has to be added as the fruit generally does not contain sufficient natural sugar for full fermentation.
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.
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The Recipe
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 sediment. The sediment 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.
Links to my other Hubs on Wine and Brewing
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Maybe you put too much sugar in it in the first place. Don't put ANY sugar.
Ahh yes, the fine art of making wine. It really is a rewarding feeling to take that first sip of wine you created
Interesting. -Matthew Cepican A&R Vesuvius Records
Hi i was wondering im making 5 gallons of wine ive dun this before but forgot i used concentrated juice i want to know can i use just 100% juice in a jug. I also wanted to know can i still add sugar and if i did how much i really dont know and do i still add water or just all juice and also how much yeast should i use if u could help me i would appreciate this thank u
Robert - Thank you for visiting my HubPages and for your comment. If you want to make wine from a frozen juice concentrate click on this link http://hubpages.com/hub/A_Prohibition_Era_Wine_Rec to go to my HubPage entitled "A Prohibition Era Wine Recipe". This will give you step-by-step directions including how much water, sugar and yeast to add. Good luck. Chuck
Could one just boil the needed utensils? The only dishwasher we have is ME, and I'm anything but sterile, with four kids.
If I can do this, let me know please! I'm a professional wino from way back. :D
TexasLady - I don't see why you can't simply boil them. The idea is to prevent bacteria from getting into the mixture and spoiling the wine. Good luck with your winemaking.
Chuck
hi hi i like you
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65 y old my name is william j isabell
do you u druts i do not
lottery shareing i have a tv yes a pc to i like meor 98 upgade to millenium
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you are kool
I've always been afraid to try making wine because my father used to make it and it was terrible. You've inspired me to give it a try again sometime.
oh that great.... but can be also a calamansi can a wine?
I like the idea of cran-wine.
Here are some more resources for grape based wine.
This is really cool to learn that you can make wine from cranberry juice. I'm now wondering if you can do the same thing with pineapple juice. Hawaii has a pineapple wine that they are famous for. Do you think you can substitute the cranberry for pineapple juice to make wine out of that instead?
It'll also be pretty cool if you can blend the two wines (pineapple + cranberry) to make something like a BayBreeze wine cocktail. Its a great tasting & popular cocktail.
Regardless, cool hub! Thanks!
You can ferment anything with sugar in it. So ya, go for it! Pina-Wine-ada
Agreed - you can use any juice, not just cranberry juice. Since pineapple juice is usually sweeter you may want to reduce the amount of sugar you add but you will need some sugar and may want to experiment some to get the right level of sweetness. As to blending, that sounds interesting and can either be done at the beginning and let them ferment together or blend them after fermentation. Again, you may have to experiment until you get the desired taste.
use less sugar if turns out todry 1/2 to1 cup of sugar to 2 cups water boil for 1 min let cool add 2 wine let set for 5 to 7 days then try it i cut back on the sugar when mixing togather then when its time to taste if its not sweet enough thats what i do works well
Cool information on winemaking ... I think I will give it a try!
Denise
In the next to last paragraph, you wrote "the 'sentiment' can be poured down the drain". I believe you meant to write "sediment"?
Was this a Freudian Slip?
Oops! My mistake and I made the same mistake in two sentences in that paragraph. But both have now been corrected.
Phil, thanks for catching this.
Chuck
Very nice Hub... great information. I did not realize that wine making was so easy.
This Hub just became my favorite Hub. I am not a heavy drinker, actually I drink on rare occations. And does occations are when they bring me a good bottle of wine (for free) so as you can see, I dont drink that much. I do have a request for you. How can I avoid getting the bad headache without sacrificing the enjoyment of drinking my wine?
RACM, thanks for visiting my Hub and for your comment. As to advice on avoiding headaches, my suggestion is moderation. Bottoms up!
Making wines at home is legal in USA ?Read my blog about indian wines
SEO Expert Kerala - yes, making wine at home for personal consumption is legal in most areas of the U.S. The repeal of Prohibition in the 1930s did allow states and areas within states the option of passing their own laws regulating the production, distribution, sale and consumption of alcohol so there may be some counties or other areas within a few states where this is illegal but, for the most part it is legal for people to make their own beer and wine. Distilled spirits (whisky, brandy, vodka, etc) are another matter and I believe that it is illegal to make these products without a license.
Hello great page!.what is the difference between yeast nutrient and wine yeast can you use one or the other?..need help thanks
Janet - thank you for visiting my Hub. When I have made the cranberry wine, using cranberry juice, described in this article or grape wine using frozen grape juice I have always used wine yeast purchased from a wine making shop. I was told by others when i started making wine that I shouldn't use bread yeast but was never told why. I tried doing some research just now to answer your question but couldn't find any clear answer.
Both wine yeast and bread yeast are living organisms and it is possible that some varieties are better for making wine than others and have been bred for that pupose and both convert sugar to alcohol and give off carbon dixoide in the process. There may be some effect on the taste of the wine but I think that you can successfully make wine using bread yeast.
One more point, when making wine using fresh grapes you don't need to add yeast as yeast is found naturally on the grape skins.
Hi your wine recipe seem cool. I too have made chocho sparkling white  wine I have also a great article on wine making ,some questions asked here by your readers can be answered in that article http://www.specular-jamaica.com/wine-making.html
Juliet Christie - thanks for visiting and for sharing the link to your article with some excellent information (I checked it out and I recommend it).
I used to have an old wine making book, published in the UK, that had recipes for making wine out of almost every fruit and vegetable imaginable-- including turnips and 'coltsfoot'. I once made a batch of peach wine, which --though cloudy-- tasted wonderful. It was even a bit fizzy or sparkly, perhaps due to my inexact following of the directions.
With the price of wine being so cheap these days, I've taken my eye off the ball and stop making it. This has motivated me to continue.
Hi, I have tryed to make wine the way it is described in this site, but instead I used apples, and the product had an Acetaldehyde smell. What can I do? and what is the problem? Thanks Roberto. :)
Roberto Galea - I don't know what caused the smell as I have never tried to use apples to make wine. I suggest you try to find a recipe for hard cider and try that.
Chuck
I sure gonna try this one out.
Oh this is so interesting. I'm making my own apple wine right now :)
It sounds interesting, but I think I'll just stick with buying my wine at Trader Joe's. Not too expensive, but still better than what I would end up making. For those of you who can make it yourself and do a good job, more power to you!
These are great instructions! I'd love to try this sometime. :)
AskSusanPeters says:
3 years ago
I made a batch of wine (7 gallons). The darn stuff has quit working and is too sweet. Can I just add a bit more yeast and wait for the sugar to go away? Sweet, like some kid needing a sugar fix from 8 cups of sugar in Kool Aid.