Wine mixing during fermentation process in barrel, Bordeaux Vineyard
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DIY home-made wine isn't all that difficult (plus it's healthier)--even if you don't have wine specific yeast, you can substitute bread yeast without affecting it's flavor or consistency. Wine and bread yeast are similar strains of yeast, so switching one out for the other only requires a few adjustments to your recipe. For other home-made drink recipes-- go here.

Follow your home-made wine recipe per usual, until reaching the step that calls for addition of wine yeast.

When you reach this point, use a microwave or stove top to heat 1 cup water (per gallon of wine) in a saucepan or microwave-safe cooking dish. Measure the temperature carefully with a kitchen thermometer. If the water is too cool, the yeast will not ferment properly; if it's too hot, the yeast will die.

Pour 2 tbsp. sugar (per gallon of wine) into the water and stir until the sugar dissolves completely.

Next, add 1 tsp. bread yeast (per gallon of wine) to the sugar-water mixture and stir until there are no more dry clumps floating on top of the liquid.

Allow the yeast mixture to sit for five to 10 minutes until foamy. If the mixture doesn't foam up after 10 minutes, dump it out and re-do the process beginning at step 2. If you continue to have problems, your yeast may be expired.

Add the yeast mixture to the prepared must and stir until well combined. From this point, continue following your wine recipe's instructions.

Tip

Try making two batches of the same wine using different yeasts for each one; you may be surprised by the results.