The Technograph

Feeling adventurous?

Good.

Like the finer aspects of alcohol?

Even better.

Brewing small quantities of wine at home is a popular hobby and has come a long way from stomping grapes with your feet. With homebrews, you can save money and cater to your individual tastes; it is like chemistry lab but better.

We at Technograph delved into the subculture of wine-making so that we could share the information with our devoted readers. This is a basic recipe using common household materials. I can’t guarantee it will taste as good as a professional brew, but you might be used to drinking Keystone, so it will not matter much.

Brewing is completely legal as long as you do not brew over 100 gallons per year. This beverage is a favorite of poor engineering students.

The Supplies to Make Techno-wine

* Grapes (or 2 cans of grape concentrate)

* 2 cups of sugar

* 1 packet of champagne yeast

* 1 gallon jug of reverse osmosis water

* A pot, bowls, and measuring spoons

* Funnel

Preparation

* First, sanitize all the containers that will eventually hold the wine. You do not want bacteria

to ruin your precious Techno-wine! Sanitation is easy: wash in the warmest mode in the dish

washer or wash with detergent and bleach. You do not need to sanitize the jug.

* Time to crush the grapes to make your sweet juice. (Skip this step if you bought concentrate.)

Okay, this is simple; crush all the grapes into a cup, skin and all. Add in a few pinches of sugar

and put the cup in a warm area (about 90°F). Soon, froth should form on top of your juice.

You are ready to move on.

* Empty 3/4 of the water jug into the pot; you will not need the remaining 1/4 of the jug, so

transfer it to another container or dispose of it. Bring the pot of water to about 150°F and

keep it at that temperature for 20 minutes.

* Pour your juice (or concentrate) into the empty water jug. The funnel makes things easier.

* Add two cups of sugar into the hot water. Stir until sugar is dissolved.

* In a separate bowl, mix a teaspoon of sugar and 1/4 c of warm water. Add yeast and wait for

ten minutes.

* Pour the hot water into the jug of juice. Limit the time the mixture is exposed to open air to

avoid bacterial contamination.

* Once the jug cools, pour in the yeast mixture. Shake the jug to mix the ingredients.

* Now place a balloon over the top of your open jug. Tape it up to make sure no air can get into

the jug. Prick a small hole in the balloon with a needle so that the CO2 formed during fermen-

tation can escape. When fermentation ends, the balloon will collapse and oxygen cannot enter.

* Now is the hard part: the wait. It will take about two weeks before the Techno-wine will be

ready. Do not lose your mind from anticipation! Store the jug at room temperature, away from

sunlight. The liquid should turn from cloudy to clear—that is your sign to pour the wine into

serving bottles (leaving any sediment in the jug), and enjoy!

Techno-wine is excellent for a stress reliever after a late night at Grainger.

Tagged with: wine, alcohol, learn, do-it-yourself