| When you look at the selection of wine on the | | | | bucket with a lid, a siphon, two one-gallon glass |
| shelves, do you ever wonder whether the wine | | | | jars and some cotton wool. |
| makers used specific recipes for each one? | | | | First activate the yeast in four ounces of tepid |
| Truth is, wine makers have been trained how to | | | | (blood-heat) water. Peel and slice the bananas, put |
| make wine, and of course they have recipes. But | | | | in the bowl and cover with boiling water to steep. |
| when they make their wine they also change | | | | Leave the bottle in a warm place (around 70 °F) |
| things, like the type of grape or quantity (if any) | | | | for six hours, and let the bananas sit for the |
| of added sugar, or the brand of yeast they use. | | | | same period. |
| They usually keep a wine log and note everything | | | | Stand the cans of concentrate in hot water in the |
| they did and what happened during the | | | | sink for about half an hour, especially if the |
| fermentation process. Then they can fine tune | | | | weather is cold. Then pour the concentrate into |
| each batch of wine they make until they produce | | | | the bucket. Rinse the cans and add this water to |
| something really special. | | | | the bucket. Strain the water from the bananas |
| While master wine makers can adapt known | | | | and pour this into the bucket too. Then add |
| recipes and come up with their own | | | | enough tepid water to fill the bucket. Add half the |
| award-winning concoctions, if you are going try | | | | sugar and stir. Add the yeast, cover and leave in |
| your hand at making wine at home, you'll be a lot | | | | a warm place for three days. |
| safer if you stick to a wine making recipe that | | | | After three days dissolve the rest of the sugar in |
| tells you exactly what to do. | | | | a little water and stir into the bucket with the |
| Here's a recipe that uses white grape concentrate | | | | yeast nutrient. Leave for another week. |
| and bananas to make a table wine you'll be proud | | | | Fermentation should have subsided and the yeast |
| of. | | | | particles should have sunk to the bottom. The |
| To make two gallons, you'll need two cans of | | | | liquid should be clear and the wine should taste |
| concentrate, two teaspoons of wine yeast, one | | | | quite dry. |
| teaspoon of yeast nutrient, two pounds of sugar | | | | Siphon the wine equally into the two glass jars |
| and a pound of bananas. Bananas might seem to | | | | and top up with water. Plug the top of the jars |
| be a strange ingredient to add to wine, but | | | | with cotton wool and let stand at room |
| because they are quite bland, they don't interfere | | | | temperature. The wine will become even dryer as |
| with the grape flavor but add immediate body | | | | in continues to ferment very gently. |
| and smoothness to the wine. | | | | After three to four weeks, siphon into wine |
| You will also need an eight ounce glass bottle to | | | | bottles ready for drinking. |
| activate the yeast, a glass bowl, a two-gallon | | | | |