Ingredients

• 1 1/2 to 2 cups sugar
• 1 packet yeast (No need for anything fancy: Fleischmann's ActiveDry works just fine. You can find these packets in the baking aisle.)
• 1/2 gallon grape juice (This is where your own preferences come in. If you want to make a red wine, buy purple grape juice. For white wine, buy
• white grape juice. And if you want to make something interesting try any other kind of fruit juice that catches your fancy. Important note: Make sure the juice is pasteurized and has no preservatives, which will kill the yeast.)
   

Instructions

1. Wash everything thoroughly in hot water. This is basically the only thing you can do wrong. If your brew gets contaminated, you can't drink it.
2. Pour out between 3/4 and 1 cup of the grape juice. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but trust me—it must be done to make room for the ingredients you'll be adding.
3. Add 1.5 cups of sugar to the grape juice. If you want the wine to be less alcoholic, add 1 cup; and if you want the wine to be more alcoholic, add 2 cups. Then screw the cap back on tight and shake that bottle like you're doing some crazy dance from the '80s, and you really want to impress your date. Do this for about a minute or until you think the sugar is pretty well dissolved.
4. Add one yeast packet. You don't need to use the funnel for this, but you can if you want. There's no need to be stingy with yeast—it's the cheapest part of this whole project, so don't try to make it last.
5. Wait 5 minutes. Give the yeast time to moisten. After that, do another vigorous shake for 10 or 15 seconds and be excited that you're almost done with the hard part.
6. Place the balloon over the top of the bottle. The bottle should be uncapped, and it should look like the picture below. Then poke 1–2 pin-sized holes in the bottom third of the balloon (area closest to the top of the bottle).