My attempt at wine making was a complete bust. It tastes like must and is totally undrinkable. This is the face I made after taking one sip of it and being totally appalled at how disgusting it is. Guess I will not be giving homemade wine as christmas gifts!
We tried one year and the wine blew up - all over the cellar. At least yours didn't. We were told by a guy who was a wine expert that ours was actually poisonous!
What the hell? Well I have never tried to make it one bottle at a time. When I make mine I use a big crock. What ever kind of juice.Cook and mix in lots of sugar.. More sugar more booze. After it is cooked. Add few boxes of raisins. Then make some toast and lay it on top. The raisins will keep the toast afloat. Put yeast on top of toast . Cover and keep in a warm place. Should be done in about 3 weeks. Watch out after bottled might blow up. Oh ya throw away the stuff on the top toast and raisins and strain to get the big stuff out.
Me after a week I get a straw and stick it in the side of the crock and get a little sip to see how it is coming along. The wife says she is going to take a picture of me doing this. She says my butt is in the air and that is all she see of me.
@wildernesswillie I made about five bottles: http://365project.org/blueberry1222/365/2016-07-31 I followed a recipe, but I think that I might have been short on grapes and stingy with the sugar. Hubby wants to try again, but I'm not too excited. Maybe I'll try your method but you lost me at 'toast'
What you can do is start your guests on shop bought wine . when they have a few in them ask would they like to try some really expensive wine you brought back from Europe . The sit back and watch them praise it to high heaven...failing that send it over here, stick a Blossom Hill label on the bottle...fun shot by the way...
The raisin float, the toast sets on top with the yeast sprinkled on top of the toast. The yeast gets things to working (making booze) The toast keeps the yeast out of the wine. So it don't taste yeasty. This is getting made in a big crock. A 15 or 20 gal crock. 7 to 9 slices of toast to cover the top. Cover and keep in a warm place. The yeast doesn't work if it gets cold. When done those out the toast, still on top NOT mix in and raisin. The wine you want is at the bottom of the crock. You can also buy different types of wine yeast. Have tried them and think they make the wine kind of dry.. Or store bought nose in the air stuff, Just bread yeast works good and you get the sweet MD wine. They also sell some stuff to kill the yeast before you bottle it , So your bottles don't blow up. Funner to try to drink it up.
Started drinking and helped make home made wine when I was 7 years old. The first I remember was a beat wine,, Was told that if I didn't eat my beats I could not have any of the wine. The drinking age in Wisconsin was 18 when I was a young man . But before I turn 18 I always had some home made wine around. Don't know why the kids today don't do the same. Anyway every other year or so I make a few gallons of wine. The wife gets mad at me because of the mess and the smell. But it is all fun. One of my oldest sons (33) friends loves my home made wine. One bottle and he is ready for bed. Last time he had a bottle with me he got into a real party mood. My son and a few others said they were going to go out. They told me the one who drank the wine didn't make it out of the driveway before he went to sleep. They took him home and put him to bed. Before they went out. Myself I don't like the wine when it gets old.
@wildernesswillie It's a lost art form. There's gotta be a simple way to make wine. The recipe I followed was kinda complex and I obviously didn't follow it to the tee. I should try again, but par it down to the essentials. How did the Greeks do it??
Haha I'm sorry it was a bust! It does make for a fun photo and I do love that bottle... I thought the Greek just stomped on a bunch of grapes in a huge wooden bucket, got the juice out, and let it sit? :)
@overalvandaan If you can follow it! I need a simple wine recipe. Maybe I should google how the ancient greeks did it. Crush grapes, put in bottle, wait a few months.
Homemade wine was a big deal when we were in Saudi. We quickly learned who were the best and who to avoid at all costs. They mixed frozen blueberries in with their grape juice.
Me after a week I get a straw and stick it in the side of the crock and get a little sip to see how it is coming along. The wife says she is going to take a picture of me doing this. She says my butt is in the air and that is all she see of me.