Make survival wine

How to Make Survival Wine

Most people don’t consider it, but wine is actually pretty easy and fun to make yourself. You probably have most of the tools you need in your kitchen (though you may have to check out some items on e-bay for some cheap equipment that you don’t have already) and you don’t need to have a license or a cellar, though it would be illegal to sell without a license. You can make wine out of any type of fruit, or even honey, so don’t let this recipe constrict your creativity.

Why would you ever bother making your own wine when you can just go out and buy it? Well, for one thing it’s a fun and creative activity. Second, these days pretty much anything can get into that wine. Ancient Greeks made wine by using only grapes, but nowadays they pump all sorts of preservatives and sulfites to keep their wine fresh longer, but it could still just been sitting on a shelf for years – and no, old wine is not always good wine – and so they can add some flavor to watered-down wine.

What you’ll need:

• A clean, two gallon glass crock
• One gallon jug (small neck container)
• An airlock (or a balloon)
• Whatever fruit you want to use (usually unwashed grapes are best, but you can use pears, apples, blackberries, etc.) and make sure to get enough that it will almost fill the crock
• Honey
• Filtered water
• Long, thin plastic tube (to siphon from the crock to jug)
• At least 4 bottles with corks

First, fill the crock with the fruit. Start to squeeze the juice out, but don’t be too rough with the fruit. Have about an inch and a half between where the juice starts and the crock top is. If you don’t have enough fruit, add some water. This will result in a lighter wine.

Next, you need to add the honey. You’ll add between two and three cups, depending on what fruit you use. If you use fruit that has a very high sugar concentration, add a little less honey. If it turns out to be too sweet when it’s all finished, let it sit for longer and it should get a little less sweet. If it’s not sweet enough, you can mix some wine and honey in a decanter for a while.

Then cover the container with a t-shirt and wrap a string around it to make sure no bugs can get inside. Put it somewhere cool, about 70 degrees (usually on top of the fridge is an okay place). Make sure to stir vigorously before covering.  The next day, stir about every four hours or so.

The wine should start bubbling within two or three days. Once the bubbling starts to slow (usually about three days after the bubbling starts), strain the liquid and siphon it into the gallon jug. Put the air lock on it or, if you’re using a balloon, just fasten it to the top. However, for the first week you need to take the balloon off and replace often so you can release the carbon monoxide. After the first week you don’t need to do it as much. Make sure to keep it all covered! Bugs will ruin your wine.

Let the wine sit for at least a month or longer. After that, you can bottle it. You can either drink it right then, or let it sit more. Let it sit a little more if you want it to be sweeter.

This recipe is very simple and can be changed as you want. Every time with wine will come out different, so don’t discouraged if you don’t like the first (or the first few) batch!

Keep in mind that in times of disaster people will always be looking for alcohol. Hey, why not trade that delicious wine for whatever you need?