Money Saving Tip of the Day: Make Homemade Wine

One of the few things that we buy more of when we're trying to pinch pennies is alcohol. Seriously. Check out the last 3 recessions. Alcohol sales went up in every single one of them. So, on a site where people come to obviously learn how to save a few bucks (and on a site where the writer is Scottish and thus has a propensity to consume a bit of alcohol), I thought I'd teach you a very cheap and easy way to make homemade wine. It's not anything fancy, but it'll definitely take you to happy town. And yes, it is absolutely legal to make your own wine.

What You'll Need

1. Two gallon jugs, such as a milk jug or water jug. Cost: $0
2. One balloon (Any Size). Cost: $.05
3. A thumbtack, push pin, sewing needle, or something sharp. Cost: $0
4. One rubber band. Cost: $.05
5. One funnel. Cost: Should have one. If not, make a homemade funnel out of wax paper or tin foil
6. Two cans of concentrated juice, your choice. Cost: $3
7. 2.5 cups of sugar. Cost: $1 (If you want to be super cheap you can just grab a ton of packets from any restaurant that serves coffee or tea)
8. One packet of wine yeast. Cost: $1 **Note: Don't use bread yeast. It will make your wine taste nasty. Also, there are many different types of wine yeast. Get your yeast based on what alcohol content you want. I usually get a yeast that yields 20% alcohol. Hey, don't judge me... You can get wine yeast Here.
9. One tea infuser with the smallest possible holes in it (to catch any impurities in the wine). Cost: $4 You can get tea infusers Here.
10. One container for activating the yeast in, such as a Tupperware container. Cost: $0

The Process

1. Clean every container (jugs, funnel, Tupperware container) that the yeast, juice, sugar, or water will touch
2. Put about a cup of room temp water in your Tupperware container. Open the yeast packet and pour it into the water. Wait about 10 minutes until the yeast is activated. It will start to bubble up to the top of the water when it is close to being ready.
3. While you are activating the yeast, fill the jug up about halfway with water, preferably purified. Next, pour the 2.5 cups of sugar into the jug by using the funnel. After you've done this, pour the two juice cans into the jugs by using the funnel again. Put the cap back on the jug and shake it to mix the contents
4. Once the yeast is activated, pour it into the jug using the funnel yet again. Do not shake the jug this time.
5. Put your balloon around the top of the jug opening and poke a tiny hole in it using your pin or needle.
6. Put the rubber band around the balloon to securely fasten it to the jug.
7. Place the jug in a dark, room temperature space where it won't be disturbed.
8. Have patience, Sensei.The fermentation process will take anywhere from 2 weeks (6% alcohol content) to 1.5 months (20% alcohol content). You will know the process is working if the balloon is standing up. During this time period, the yeast will eat the sugar and, unglamoursly, poop out alcohol. As this happens, gas will be let off and will air up the balloon, which will slowly release it via the tiny hole you poked in the balloon. The yeast will eventually die of alcohol poisoning (yikes!). At this point, the gas will stop being released and the balloon. That's when you know your wine is done fermenting.
9. Again, make sure your 2nd jug, your funnel, and your tea infuser are clean. Place the funnel in the opening of the empty jug, and then put the tea infuser on top of the opening of the funnel. Take the balloon off the top of the wine jug and pour it into the empty jug through the tea infuser. 
10. Rinse out the tea infuser and the original wine jug and repeat step 9 twice so that you get all of the impurities out of the wine.
11. Enjoy! Note: if you opt for the higher alcohol content in the wine, you may want to mix it with something else before enjoying. I usually mix mine with mango, and it tastes fantastic. Plus, at 20% alcohol content, it's just like drinking a mixed drink.

So, there you have it. This is a very simple way to save a bit of money on your libations. The first time you make a jug, it will cost $10. After that, it should cost you less than $6 per gallon. For instructions from another source, along with pictures, check here. If you would like to find out how to get a bit more flavor out of your wine, check here. If you have any questions on the process, don't hesitate to ask them in the comments section. Best of luck!