In Wine, There is Truth . . .

and the truth is, this homemade wine is about 500 proof right now!

It should be ready to drink on Halloween night, and if stays as strong as it is now, we'll all be seeing things that aren't there. Someone suggested that perhaps I could bottle it as "Gourment Rubbing Alcohol".

So, I picked the muscadines and scuppernogs all by my little self, 4 pounds in all. The recipes I looked at online suggested that I squish each and every grape by hand . Naturally, I rejected that idea. I washed them and put then in a big stainless steel pot, and tried to squish them with a potato masher. No luck. Meat tenderizer. No luck. Damn. These aren't grapes, they've got skins like leather! I ended up putting on some latex gloves (the texture was disgusting, hence the gloves) and squishing the damn things one at a time. Ooohhh, that made me mad.

I added 4 pounds of sugar to the 4 pounds of muscadines and scuppernogs, 1 envelope of active dry yeast, and a couple of quarts of spring water. The directions said to stir the pot (I'm so good at that) once a day for 7 days, and otherwise leave alone. After about two days, you could smell the fermenting fruit and the ensuing alcohol content throughout the house. Whew-wee! After 7 days, I strained the mess through cheesecloth and put it in a big clear jug, where it will stay until Halloween. I think the time length is 6 weeks, but my brain has been befuddled by the fumes! I did stick my finger in it to taste it, and it's really strong. I'm a little afraid of drinking it when the time comes!