Balloon Wine

Kathy228's Note:

This isn't fine wine, but its homemade, fun and easy. The results will be varied depending on the kind of fruit, sugar content, yeast's fermentation, temperature. This recipe uses juice concentrate, but you can make your own juice from grapes or plums. Don't use citrus.

• Total Time: 1008 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1008 hrs

Ingredients:

Yield: 1 bottles

• 1 (2 ½ ounce) package active dry yeast
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 (12 ounce) can frozen juice concentrate , without sweeteners
• 3 ½ quarts cold water

Directions:

1. You will also need: 1 gallon glass jug (I guess you can use plastic, but I never did); 1 extra large latex balloon and a sturdy rubber band; 1-2 empty wine bottles or bottles of choice.
2. Combine the yeast, sugar and juice in a gallon jug.
3. Fill the jug the rest of the way with cold water.
4. Rinse out the balloon, and fit it over the opening of the jug.
5. Secure the balloon with a rubber band.
6. Place jug in a cool dark place.
7. Within a day you will notice the balloon starting to expand.
8. As the sugar turns to alcohol, the released gas will fill up the balloon.
9. When the balloon is deflated, the wine is ready to drink.
10. It takes about 6-weeks total.
11. Carefully pour wine into empty bottles without disturbing the sediment.
12. Discard the sediment.
13. Cork and tape the bottles closed.
14. The wine can be drunk now or aged, bottles on their side, for a year if you like.
15. But the younger it is, the yeastier it'll taste.

Reviews

[Chef Dragon Neraye]

I've made this in the past. I made the mistake of using the artificially sweetened juice concentrate plus the four cups of sugar. Let's just say that I had 17% alcohol by volume. Normal wine is around 12% I think. Anyway, I wanted to say NEVER use plastic bottles. They can explode. Did that making mead once, and my parents thought someone was shooting a gun in the house. Live and learn.

[MM Margoulette]

Ive made this wine countless times and it turns out differnt every time. Always extremely good though. To the one that popped their balloon, umm duh. Just buy an airlock. Simple and fun to make your own wine. Give it a shot!

[915335]

My husband and I tried this recipe. It calls for way too much yeast, which we found out the hard way. The very first night it exploded (popped) the ballon. made for a really big mess. next time we try this resipe we would NOT use the 2-1/2 oz of yeast it calls for. I would say no more than 1/4 to 1/2 oz would due.