Homemade Wine #1

I hit the 4 week mark for my homemade wine experiment.  The recipe called for 6 weeks but the reviews indicated that the wine was fine to drink at 4 weeks.  The wine tasted a little bit strong but the strength of the alcohol did not seem as strong as most store bought wines.  Maybe waiting the 6 weeks would make a difference.  Though the taste was a little strong at first, it is not gross like box wine and probably is a step down from most table wines.  Definitely good enough to drink on a regular basis. :)

Anyway, I solved the sifting problem pouring it through a paper coffee filter and letting it drain into the bottle.  Toward the end of the jug, it drained more slowly and finally I just had to throw the rest out since it was too thick with yeast and sentiment.  The recipe did not give instructions on how to filter out the yeast but the reviews cited this as an issue people would have to figure out.

1 gallon jug makes approximately the equivalent of 3 bottles of wine.  Price $2.50 when taking sugar and bottled water into consideration.  Very economical if you like to have a glass of wine at night or with dinner.


Homemade Recipe Link

My only deviation from this recipe is that I released the air from the balloon when it started to get big.  I only had to do this once and I was careful not to let any air in.  Since my results were good, I'll do the same thing next time.  I'm sure a balloon can be substituted with professional brewing equipment for anyone who's serious about the wine making thing.  As for me, I'll be trying the same recipe with different flavors and possibly longer fermentation before I consider getting any brewing equipment.  It's nice to keep it simple at first.

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