Wine refers to an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grape juice unless otherwise qualified. However, as it's generally not practical to cultivate wine-quality grapes at home, homemade wine is usually made from other types of fruit and is more properly called "country wine" or "fruit wine." You can make some surprisingly good wines with fruit juice and baker's yeast.
Instructions
1. Buy a bottle of fruit juice. Make sure it does not contain any other ingredients, especially preservatives such as benzoate of soda. The juice should not even contain pulp. Apple juice is an ideal choice, as is grape juice.
2. Unscrew the juice bottle's cap and with the ice pick punch a hole in the center of it. Add a pinch of baker's yeast to the juice and screw the cap back on. Put the bottle where dust will not fall through the hole. Let the bottle sit undisturbed at room temperature.
3. Examine the bottle in about a week, when the fermentation process is nearly complete. There should be white sediment at the bottom of the bottle, the result of yeast having died from the alcohol in the juice. This typically occurs when the alcohol content reaches about 12.5 percent.
4. Replace the cap with one without a hole. Place the bottle in the refrigerator and crack the cap open periodically to release the excess pressure. Once the yeast has stopped producing carbon dioxide, decant the wine into a clean, empty bottle. Allow the wine to age at least one month before drinking. However, it will continue to improve with age for the next year.
Tags: baker yeast, fruit juice, grape juice,