White Hillbilly Wine

After the original hillbilly wine, I decided that the natural order of things would require that I make a white version of my hooch (I really don't care for that word). I came up with a similar one-gallon recipe, and gave it a whirl. I'll admit, I'm more inclined to make the red again. Having said that, I made 10 bottles of this stuff originally, and have sampled two as they're aging. The first one, about a month after bottling, was a little bit harsh, and the second bottle was much more palatable. I think it's safe to say that given time to age, this wine will soften, and develop a slightly more complex flavor. I wouldn't put up the recipe if I didn't think so (not that I have any problem with sharing my disasters!).


White Hillbilly Wine
24 oz. white grape juice, frozen, concentrated
2.5 cups sugar
water to one gallon
wine yeast


Add concentrate to sanitized one-gallon vessel. Add in the sugar and yeast. Bring to one gallon with water (make sure there's some headroom, this recipe is a lot like the red Hooch and tends to foam up a little on the first day). Shake it up, put on an airlock and let the fun begin!

12 to 16 days later fermentation should stop. You can now rack the wine into a new vessel. Fit with airlock. After one month you can bottle! (one month is conservative)

Tips: Let your concentrate reach room temperature, or even warm it up in the microwave a little before beginning. The yeast won't begin to ferment at cold temperatures. Beware though: if the mixture is over 110 degrees (43 degrees Celsius) the yeast will die. Keep them happy!

Related Recipes: Easy Apple Cider, Hillbilly Wine, Easy Mead.

Hillbilly Wine (Hooch)

24 oz frozen, concentrated grape juice
2.5 cups sugar
water
wine yeast







Add concentrate to sanitized one-gallon vessel. Add sugar. Bring to one gallon with water (make sure there's some headroom, this recipe tends to foam up a little on the first day). Add wine yeast, shake, fit with airlock and let there be wine!

12 to 16 days later fermentation should cease. You can now rack the wine into a new vessel. Fit with airlock. After one month you can bottle! (one month is conservative)

Notes: You don't want to add your yeast to a very cold mixture of grape juice, so either let the concentrate reach room temperature before you begin, or add warm water to make one gallon. A good temperature to add the yeast in at is NO HIGHER THAN 110 degrees (43 degrees Celsius). Also, you don't need a fancy airlock, especially if you're just beginning, a balloon fitted over the top of the vessel is just fine, you may want to put a pinprick or two in the balloon so that a little of the carbon dioxide can escape as fermentation occurs (yes, don't forget, your yeasts are eukaryotes just like people, and as they go about their day making wine, they "breathe" out CO2 just like people!) Airlocks are very cheap, though, ranging from $1.50 to $5.00 at your home brew store locally or online.

Note number two: be careful which concentrated grape juice you buy. The store brand, and even some name brands, likely have either high-fructose corn syrup and/or preservatives. Preservatives can and will hurt your yeast, or even prevent fermentation, and high-fructose corn syrup is not from grapes, and it's not sucrose, our regular table sugar. Preservatives to watch out for are anything with sulfur, but if you see citric acid, that's just fine. Basically, look for the most natural, simple labels, something with 100% grape juice.

Well, this is as simple as it gets. This was my first wine, not bad, but don't expect a prize-winner either! This is a really fun and simple way to get started on wine-making, and even if you screw it all up, you're only out a few dollars, so there's no excuse not to try!

Related Recipes: Easy Apple Cider, White Hillbilly Wine, Easy Mead.