Step 1

Phase 1:

Step 2

Open your bottle of juice and remove 1 cup of juice from it and set aside. Once this is done, use your funnel and add 1 cup of sugar to your bottle of juice. Place the plastic cap on it somewhat tightly and shake vigorously to help try to dissolve most of the sugar. This will take about 1 -2 minutes.

Step 3

Open your bottle of juice again, and add a packet of the red wine yeast into it. Close the lid and lightly shake back and forth inside of the bottle.

Step 4

Once done, pour the juice from the bottle into your Instant Pot inner pot liner. (Be sure your inner pot is actually inside your Instant Pot.) Remember that cup of juice we put to the side? Pour that inside with the rest of the juice. Do NOT throw away your plastic juice bottle. You're going to need it!

Step 5

Close and lock the lid of your Instant Pot. Press the Yogurt button, and then press Less Heat. Using Less Heat on the Yogurt function will keep the heat steady around 80° F. This is less than a human's body heat. This heat zone will keep the yeast super happy in the sugary mixture inside of your Instant Pot. This is SO important! So please...make sure you use the Less Heat on the Yogurt function. DO NOT CLOSE THE VENT ON YOUR LID! We need it open so the wine can breathe.

Step 6

Now you need to have some patience!! You're going to run the time for a total of 48 hours!! Each day, let it run for 24 hours. If you have two Instant Pots, then this is perfect as you can still cook with your other one!

Step 7

In step 4, you will notice that I said to NOT close the vent on your lid. The reason is that this is your starting point. Every 6-8 hours, you want to alternate opening the lid vent and closing the lid vent. So, for the first round, you will leave the vent open. Wait 6-8 hours (depending  on if you're sleeping or not!), and then close the vent. Then alternate. The yeast will be eating that sugar up inside of your grape juice to create that yummy alcohol content for us. It will be producing a LOT of carbon dioxide. I love doing it in the Instant pot because it can LITERALLY handle any kind of pressure that builds up,  which is why we are alternating the opening and closing of the vent on your Instant Pot.

Step 8

Instant Pot Wine

Step 9

Phase 2:

Step 10

After your 48 hours is up, you can transfer the wine "juice" back into your plastic container. Take the plastic lid and place it on halfway. You don't want it to seal tight. Remember, the yeast is constantly releasing carbon dioxide and the pressure will build up and blow the lid off of the bottle. Then you'll just have a mess to clean up!

Step 11

Secure the plastic cap on the bottle with the clear packing tape. Place a piece of tape across, and then place a piece of tape around the neck to keep the tape in place. This will help create a venting area for the carbon dioxide to release from the bottle. Now, you can get a nifty little aerator for the job instead of plastic and tape, and it will make you look cool, but it's not really necessary at all. At least, in my own opinion it's a waste of money.

Step 12

Instant Pot Wine

Step 13

Place the bottle in an area that doesn't have a ton of light. I placed mine behind my Instant Pot underneath my cabinets. It's dark, and a great room temperature for the wine magic to happen.

Step 14

Instant Pot Wine

Step 15

Phase 3:

Step 16

Now comes the waiting game. Yes, I know. You want to go ahead and start drinking it and show it off to your friends about what you created, but you can't. You need more time.

Step 17

TYPICALLY, you should wait up to a month to drink it for it to be at a fabulous spot. However, you can drink it way before then. I found that after eight days of being in the bottle, my wine was more than drinkable.

Step 18

Instant Pot Wine

Step 19

Notes and tips:

Step 20

Before you get started, I recommend sanitizing your Instant Pot. This is VERY easy to do. Take 1 tablespoon of bleach and 1 gallon of hot water. Mix well, and pour into your Instant Pot liner pot. Allow to sit for at least 30 seconds to kill any type of bacteria. Dry with a clean towel, and you’re ready to go!

Step 21

If you're afraid of bacteria entering the lid and wrecking your wine, you can always buy an airlock. They're easy to use and super affordable.

Step 22

If you want to keep with how much ABV (Alcohol By Volume) your wine has, you can always purchase a Hydrometer. Again, very affordable and good to have on hand. A hydrometer measures the specific gravity of your wine. You take a starting point measurement and an ending point measurement. There's a fun little formula you can use to figure out your percentage ABV. ABV% = (OG – FG) x 131.25, where OG is the Original Specific Gravity, and FG is the Final Specific Gravity.

Step 23

The fermentation process REALLY kicks into high gear after the second to third day.

Step 24

They do make wine kits that give you everything you need to start making wine from juice, buy they're kind of pricey and so unnecessary, In my own opinion.