How To Make Instant Pot Wine

Instant Pot Wine. A novel idea, right? We’ve all seen a meme or two running around Facebook wishing that “One of those Pinterest chicks could throw grapes in a crock pot and make wine.” Well, how about one of those Pinterest guys? (That would be me lol). I love Pinterest. That is all.

How to make wine in an instant pot

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I used to laugh every time I saw this because I wanted it to be so true. Well, I kind of figured out how to make instant pot wine, but out of grape juice…not grapes. So I’m pretty close enough lol!

This Guy (ME!) Figured out How to Make Instant Pot Wine

Yes! I totally decided to put in the effort and figure out how to do it! This meme inspired me to try to figure out how to make some Instant Pot wine I LOVE a challenge.

Believe it or not, it’s not as hard as you might think it is to make Instant Pot wine, but it does take a little bit of patience.

You’re not just going to wake up one day and start throwing juice in your Instant Pot and expect to have wine by the end of the day. That’s not how it works; however, starting the process off in your Instant Pot will GREATLY reduce the amount of time it takes to have drinkable wine in less time than normal.

So, let’s just cut to the chase and get started with the whole process! Let’s face the facts: It’s what you came here for you – to learn how to make Instant Pot wine.

Sanitizing Your Instant Pot

I didn’t throw this in here before, but I want to recommend in sanitizing your Instant Pot. This is VERY easy to do, and a requirement. If you don’t, the left over bacteria will destroy the yeast and fermentation process.

I definitely recommend this Easy Clean cleanser. This is a food grade quality sanitizer, so you don’t have to worry about rinsing off anything with water. Be sure that you sanitize everything that you use, including the Instant Pot liner, the Instant Pot lid, the juice bottle, and the juice bottle lid.

Ingredients Needed to Make Instant Pot Wine

To get everything started, you’re going to need just a few things to make your Instant Pot wine.

Directions to Make Instant Pot Wine

  1. Open your bottle of juice and remove 1 cup of juice from it and set to the side. 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.
  2. Open your bottle of juice again, and add a 1/2 packet of the Lalvin red wine yeast into it. Close the lid and lightly shake back and forth inside of the bottle.
  3. Once done, pour the juice from the bottle into your Instant Pot inner pot liner. (PLEASE BE SURE YOUR POT IS ACTUALLY INSIDE OF 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!
  4. Close and lock the lid of your Instant Pot. Press the Yogurt button, and then press less. The Less heat on the Yogurt function will keep the heat stead around 80ish degrees fahrenheit. This is less than a human 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.
  5. 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! 😀
  6. 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 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, hence why we are alternating the opening and closing of the vent on your Instant Pot.

This is what your Instant Pot wine will look like after 20 hours have passed. As you can see, the deep red color of the grape juice is gone, it’s more cloudy because of the yeast having a feast up in your Instant Pot, and you can see a ring of bubbles around the glass. The bubbles are the carbon dioxide that the yeast is producing.

If you take a taste of it, it’ll be very fizzy and have a carbonated taste. However, it won’t really taste good. Of course, in the nature of science, I had to take a sip lol. It was a little gross. Not horrible, but it’s yeasty tasting with a bit of alcohol, and meh.

However, the nose of the wine (the smell) is starting to form. You can smell the alcohol starting to form! I was excited because I was on the right path. Alas, it’s not ready yet, so back in the IP it goes.

  1. 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 HALF way. 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 a mess to clean up!
  2. Secure the plastic cap on the bottle with the clear packing tape. Refer to the image below to see it better. 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 goober cool, but it’s not really necessary at all. At least, in my own opinion it’s a waste of money.

Now, this is kind of a crappy photo, but I wanted you to visually what your potential wine is going to look like after 48 hours of bathing in the heat of your instant Pot. You can see the CO2 bubbles still at the top. In fact, if you tap the bottle, you’re going to be able to see the CO2 bubbles all around the bottle form.

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.

You Gotta Have Patience for your Instant Pot Wine

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.

TYPICALLY, you can wait up to a month to drink it to be at a fabulous spot. However, you can drink it way before then. I found that after 8 days of being in the bottle, I really didn’t notice the fizziness anymore. Just a tiny tiny bit.

So I wanted to put it to the test: I let Stephen and Ellie try it. They were TOTALLY pleasantly surprised! The nose of the wine has hints of chocolate and dark cherries, and it had a very palatable wine taste. Stephen said he could go ahead and drink the whole bottle, and Ellie stated that she might want to give it an extra day or two to calm down the CO2. She still tasted a tad bit of it in there, but she rather enjoyed it!

As I was pouring the wine, I didn’t see any bubbling action happening as I previous did in inspecting the different stages of the wine.

There was just a bubble or two from the pouring action into the glass. So I poured the wine back in….waited 2 days, and was happy with the outcome! However, let me say this: You should really let the wine in the bottle store for at least 30 days. After 30 days, you can then transfer to sanitized wine bottles and cork it, if you wish…or just drink it up.

Look mom! No bubbles! I happily drank a glass of it before the other two could enjoy it with me because I was just too excited. LOL! Yasssss! Don’t judge me, I needed some alone wine time with my first ever batch of wine.

I seriously didn’t think this was going to work at all. I was expecting a failure, but I was patient and played that annoying waiting game. Honestly, it was so much better than some of those cheap bottles of wine that I’ve bought. Dare I say, even better than the 2 buck Chuck from Trader Joe’s!

Look at that beautiful color that formed form the Grape Juice! So fierce and fabulous.

Guess what? You can do this with almost ANY TYPE OF GRAPE JUICE to create different flavor profiles. So with the different juice varieties out there, you’ll be basically making a yummy wine cooler!

cheers to my instant pot wine!

Cheers to you, Instant pot in helping me make some Instant Pot wine! You’re really are worth every penny that I’ve spent on it! You can make gifts for almost everyone you want to as a gift.

Now, I need to go hit up some sales at my grocery stores to buy more juice!

So many people have asked where I got my wine glasses from, and you can easily find them on Amazon.com! Below, you’ll see an image with info about them: 

Don’t have an Instant Pot? Grab one today! Below is the model that I have, and am in LOVE with!


EXTRA NOTES: 

  1. 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. A LOT of home winemakers love these things, and I actually bought myself a couple of packs to have on hand and start using! You can buy your airlocks by clicking here. They’re super affordable!
  2. If you want to keep with how much ABV (Alcohol By Volume) that your wine has, you can always purchase a Hydrometer. Again, very affordable 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.
  3. The fermentation process REALLY kicks into high gear after the 2nd to 3rd day.
  4. 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.
  5. Can you use normal bread yeast in it? I’ve heard of people using regular yeast before with good results, but I don’t really recommend it. Only because I feel that bread yeast is simply over powering.

More Of My Instant Pot Recipes You Might Enjoy:

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR INSTANT POT

INSTANT POT ACCESSORIES YOU NEED

Pin the Instant Pot Wine on Pinterest!

instant pot wine pinterest image

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329 Comments

    1. You can use other types of wine of yeast, but these have had those most viable results and one of the top most rated brands to use. 🙂 I hope this helps!

        1. I haven’t made it yet, but I look forward to trying it out soon! I’ve had friends that have made lemincello in their IP!

    1. Yay! I can’t wait for you to try it out! It’s not too sweet, and has hints of dark cherry and a bit of raw chocolate.

  1. Omg…yogurt and now wine. I have made homemade Limoncello in the past but I can’t wait to try this. Thank you so much for sharing

        1. Bread yeast and wine yeast are the same type of yeast. Various wine yeasts have been “breed” to give various flavor or scents to a wine/mead but you absolutely can use bread yeast and many homebrewers start out using active dry bread yeast because you can figure out if it’s something you actually want to do without purchasing an extra thing. My first wine was made in the plastic jug the whole time, 1 cup juice removed and replaced with 1 cup of sugar and 1 packet of bread yeast and I absolutely will make it again. Definitely do NOT tighten the lid and don’t be alarmed by foam at the top or sediment at the bottom.

  2. I have a fermenting jar — used for making pickles — with a one-way valve built into the lid for releasing CO2. I don’t know if it’s large enough, but if it is, could that be used?

    1. You can use a balloon instead of taping the lid on or using an air lock. I used to make this all the time when I was a kid. The recipe has been around for a long time. The IP makes it much more convenient.

      1. I was just about to ask about that. Many years ago, one of the junk/novelty shops (closest thing today would be the “As Seen On TV” stores) used to sell a “wine making kit.” It was only a can of concentrated juice, a packet of wine yeast, a balloon, and instructions!

        You were supposed to let the balloon inflate, and when if would deflate, your wine was ready.

      1. Thank you! This is what I was looking for. I was initially put off by the comparison to a “wine cooler”, which tend to have very low alcohol levels and just give me a headache. 12-14% is dry, so this seems perfect for me! Can’t wait to try it.

    1. With these kind of grape juices, it can only become but so dry. I might have to come up with a few cool methods to get different flavors out of it 😀

      1. A champagne yeast will eat more sugar, giving you a higher ABV and a drier wine. Lalvin and Red Star both have this type. 🙂

  3. This is interesting. Thank you for sharing! What’s the shelf life of the wine and at any time, does it need to be refrigerated?

    1. Hi Sue! No need to refrigerate, unless you like a cold wine. As far as shelf life goes, it should be good for up to 6 months! I’ve heard through the grapevine that it can last up to 8 months if stored properly!

  4. I like a sweet wine .. like a zinfandel .. maybe I could increase the sugar to 1 1/2 cups .. we have been making grape juice wine (and apple) for some time now the old fashioned way .. can’t wait to try the IP .. I’m going to make a batch of both .. thanks for sharing your recipe .. :0)

    1. I can’t wait to see your results! Increase the sugar a little bit to what you suggested if you like that sweeter wine 😀 Happy wine making!

    2. Adding more sugar before you ferment it won’t give you a sweeter wine, it will give you a wine higher in alcohol (sugar here is not for sweetening, it’s a fermentable; the more sugar you have to ferment, the more alcohol you will end up with). If you want a sweeter wine, force the fermentation to stop early by putting the bottle in the fridge to make the yeast go dormant.

      Also, Zinfandel is not a sweet wine. Maybe you’re thinking of “White Zinfandel”?

    3. Do not add more sugar. The initial addition of sugar is converted to alcohol only. What till the wine has stabilized and just before bottling, back sweeten with a sugar syrup to your taste. Wait 24 hours before bottling to ensure it does not start fermenting.. if so add half a tsp of potassium so rate to kill yeast

  5. Question… since there is so much natural sugar in fruit juice, is it really necessary to add the cup of sugar? I’ve heard, in Italy, it’s not legal to add sugar when making wine…

    1. Hi Ann! Yes, it’s kind of imperative to do so. We are not dealing with unprocessed grapes off of the vine. This is more processed and using different grape varietals. So nothing to worry about there. 🙂

      1. Our apple cider seller here has great stuff that starts fermenting on its own, so you can totally do cider without needing to add anything unless you want to!

      2. Oooo, I wonder if you can use homemade juice to make this?? I have two grapevines and a small pear tree orchard, and of course all the fruit gets ripe in the same 2-week window so I can never eat it all. Does it being homemade make any difference? I suppose it’s not pasteurized, but it could be if I heated it up …

        1. Hi Kim! I’m talking with a few people right now to get some insight on what needs to be done with fresh fruit.

    1. I tend to naturally sanitize my equipment, and forgot to mention that it would be good idea to do so. Thank you for the reminder!

    1. Hi Kathleen! I actually just update the directions with a bit more clarity. You start with the vent open, and then close it after 6-8 hours. I apologize for creating a grey area! Happy Wine making!

      1. For people who don’t like the idea of bleach, or are worried the silicone could degrade over time from it, 1 cup H2O + 1 cup plain white vinegar) steamed in the pot for 2 mins on “steam” may be an alternative solution (pun intended) and can help remove any odors trapped in the silicone. I know I definitely don’t want last night’s chili leeching into the wine’s flavor… 🙃 That’s the sanitization mixture, but I don’t know how not airing out the pot and ring will affect things, since the vinegar smell remnants usually just off gas. If the vinegar smell is too strong, maybe run it through again with just water after. 🤔

  6. This sounds so fun! Would like to try. I am a little confused, though. Earlier in your instructions you say NOT to close the vent on the lid (#4), then a little later (#6) you say to alternate between sealed and venting. Could I please ask you to clarify?

    1. Hi Cindy! I actually just update the directions with a bit more clarity. You start with the vent open, and then close it after 6-8 hours. I apologize for creating a grey area! Happy Wine making!

    1. Hi Linda! 1 cup is necessary for the yeast. If you’re concerned about the sugar intake, you can also use coconut sugar in the fermentation process. The yeast will eat the sugar to help create the alcohol. 🙂 Happy wine making!

      1. So I wonder if it could be done on the Slow Cooker setting for those Instant Pots that do not have a yogurt setting. Your thoughts, David?

      2. I just got the Instant Pot LUX 8QT. It doesn’t have a yogurt button but you can make yogurt in it . what function would I use to make this wine ? My husband and are excited to try this .

        1. Try the same heat setting you use for the yogurt. The idea is not to kill the yeast (or yogurt cultures) by over heating. Let us know how it works out.

  7. Please clarify for me. In step 4 you have
    DO NOT CLOSE THE VENT ON YOUR LID! We need it open so the wine can breathe.
    Then step 6
    Every 6-8 hours, you want to alternate opening the lid vent and closing the lid vent.
    Is step 6 after the 48 hrs with the vent open?
    Thanks

    1. Hi Danny! I actually just update the directions with a bit more clarity. You start with the vent open, and then close it after 6-8 hours. I apologize for creating a grey area! Happy Wine making!

  8. Have you tried other types of juice? White grape? Black currant? Blueberry? Blueberry wine is supposed to be a rare treat. Here in Maine it is very pricey.

    1. The pomegranate varieties of Welches are delicious. You may have to buy the frozen tubes. Just ensure they are 100% juice, and not “juice drink” 🙂

    2. I tried this with pineapple juice and white wine yeast. Judging from the amount of CO2, the yeast was having a party. In about a month, we shall see.

  9. David, this sounds like a fun project. We are fairly new IP owners. Can we buy the yeast at most grocery stores or should we try the wine specialty shops first? How many times have you made this type of wine? Is there a way to print your directions without all the photo’s?

    1. Hi Mike, and welcome to our crazy IP world! So…yes, in short, you can use normal yeast. I’ve actually done it with that before. Specific wine yeast, like the ones I shared in my post, are more geared specifically for wine fermentation. Happy Wine making!

  10. Hi David! Does this mean the wine would have little to no sulfites? I’ve had to stop drinking wine due to joint pain that I’m pretty sure is caused by the sulfites. It would be great to know I can make my own with no side effects. Thank you for posting!

    1. In the wine making process, yeast and sugar still create a minute amount. HOWEVER, there are no added sulfites like in the traditional wine making process that everyone does. Personally, I think you’ll be totally fine with it. Happy wine making!

    1. Hi Matt! You can totally store this for over a month. I’m going to update the post about a special device that you can get to allow it breathe and continue wine making process. You can also get a bottling system of being able to purchase your own corks to put in a bottle.

  11. Can you try other juices like cran grape or cran raspberry? Just thinking about all the flavors that could be made. I’m going to try this! Thank you.

    1. Cranberry is a yeast retardant, that’s why they recommend cranberry juice for urinary tract infections. I have absolutely killed the yeast in hard cider by adding cranberry juice. Then I actually tried to ferment cranberry juice on its own. I found it was possible if you add a CRAP-TON of sugar, but eventhen it’s iffy. I would not recommend to anyone who is not extremely experienced in winemaking to use any juice with cranberry in it.

  12. How do you open & close the lid vent? Simply by sealing or unsealing the lid? Have you tried this with white grape juice?

    1. When talking about the vent, it’s regards the pressure valve vent on the top of the lid. This is where you normally release the pressurized steam from. Happy Wine making!

  13. I’m a bit confused! In step 4 you say not to close the venting lid but step 6 you say to alternate every 6-8 hours, so after that initial 6-8 hour start of the instant pot with the lid open you close the vent for 6-8 hours then re-open for 6-8 hours alternating for 48 hours, is that correct!?!

    1. Hi Traci! I actually just update the directions with a bit more clarity. You start with the vent open, and then close it after 6-8 hours. I apologize for creating a grey area! Happy Wine making!

  14. I need some clarification. You said “Every 6-8 hours, you want to alternate opening the lid vent and closing the lid vent.” so do you mean that the first 6-8 hours the vent is open, then close it for another 6-8 hours, then open… and so on?

    1. Hi Christine! I actually just update the directions with a bit more clarity. You start with the vent open, and then close it after 6-8 hours. I apologize for creating a grey area! Happy Wine making!

  15. Hello, David, thank you for showing me how to save money making my own wine using the Instant Pot yogurt feature. When you tasted it as it matured did it have the same alcohol content as wines in the liquor stores? Or is it a weaker version – like a wine cooler?

    I’ll have to get started, and then I can have a home-made wine to de-glaze the pan I’ve seared the food in.

    1. It definitely gets to about the same alcohol content as you would buy from a liquor/wine store. Plus, I feel it’s completely perfect for cooking!

  16. Do you think you could use your recipe, but vary the fruit juice types? For example make a hard cider from apple? Do you know if anyone has experimented with that?

    1. You totally can! That’s what makes this a super fun project to do. Can you imagine the different flavors you can create?

  17. Hi, I am about to start making this today and had a few questions. Can you confirm that for the 1st 8hrs in the Instant Pot, the valve is set to venting and then switched to sealing for the following 8hrs and alternating each additional 8hrs until 48hrs has passed?

    Also, do you just pour carefully from the bottle to not disturb the yeast sediment at the bottom? I guess you could decant the wine into another container to leave the sediment behind.

    Unfortunately where I am in Canada Welch’s 100% grape juice is only available in 1.36L sizes, and not the larger 64oz (1.89L) size, so I bought two bottles and will scale the sugar and yeast according to your recipe.

    I will report back in a few weeks time if this works out. Thank you for posting this most interesting recipe for my Instant Pot!

    1. Hi Andrew! I actually just update the directions with a bit more clarity. You start with the vent open, and then close it after 6-8 hours. I apologize for creating a grey area! When it comes to the yeast sediment, I just decanted it using a coffee filter to catch any excess release of sediment. Happy Wine making!

    1. Hi Jennifer! I will have to find out for you. I read about this somewhere, and now have to figure out where I saw the answer lol.

  18. I came across this recipe and couldn’t wait to try it out! I’ve had my first batch of white wine fermenting for 2 days now. I tasted a tiny sip and yessssss, the alcohol is coming along! Just 8 more days and I’ll be ready for my first happy hour. I’m going to try the red wine next. So excited!

    1. What juice did you use to make the white wine? And what yeast? As I would like to make white wine. Thanks.

    1. Hi Ben! I actually just update the directions with a bit more clarity. You start with the vent open, and then close it after 6-8 hours. I apologize for creating a grey area! Happy Wine making!

  19. I figured out how to change it! You press the Adjust button. Next question…what do you mean by alternate opening and closing the vent? Do I leave it open for 6-8 hrs and then leave it closed for 6-8 hours?

    1. I’m so happy you figured it out!! Yay! I actually just update the directions with a bit more clarity. You start with the vent open, and then close it after 6-8 hours. I apologize for creating a grey area! Happy Wine making!

    1. The amount of sugar is really important for the yeast to “eat”. However, I’ve just recently learned that you could possibly use coconut sugar in the fermentation process! That’s so exciting.

  20. Do you think more sugar could be added to make it sweeter? Do you think it will it affect the outcome/ratio to yeast?

    1. With the more sugar added, it could be very well possible to turn it into a more sweeter wine…possibly of that of how moscato tastes. Happy Wine Making!!

  21. Annnddd…if I use an aerator..do I just stick it in the top of the bottle? I have the kind that you hold over the glass and pour your wine in! It would be nice to put it to good use since it has been in my drawer for three years!!😂
    Thanks for your great recipe…I am so excited!

    1. Well, the one that I was describing is more of an air regulator to help control the release of carbone dioxide build up. I will update this post to show everyone what I was trying to describe. Happy Wine making!

    2. Hey Stacy!
      The airlock is what you stick in the top afterwards– but only after 4-6 days. Until then, just lightly place the (sanitized) cap on top of your container. For the first few days post-Instant Pot, the yeast inside your wine is multiplying and needs the oxygen. After the 4-6 days is up, you place an airlock to keep air out, and also allow the carbon dioxide to leave as well without pressurizing the bottle. Cutting off the air at this point tell the yeast to stop multiplying and shift it’s priority to making more alcohol inside the wine! Unfortunatly the aerator you have is only useful for what you said– wine thats ready to drink. Hope your wine turns out great!

  22. I am on this!!! can’t wait, I will make a red and a white…hope it is better that cheap wine??? what label would you compare the results to, hopefully not a supermarket wine!

    1. Personally, I felt it was better than cheap wine. I was actually very shocked how “decent” it was for a bottle of $2 grape juice lol.

  23. In item 4 you say in caps DO NOT CLOSE THE VENT. In item 6 you say to alternate the vent every six to eight hours. Could you please explain. Does this mean close for 8 hours and then open for 8?

    1. Hi Dwain! I actually just update the directions with a bit more clarity. You start with the vent open, and then close it after 6-8 hours. I apologize for creating a grey area! Happy Wine making!

  24. I can’t wait to try this! Could I use coconut sugar? Does it actually need a cup of sugar as the grape juice is already pretty sweet? I’ve never attempted anything like this and I’m a little clueless hence the reason for my questions but excited to try!!

    1. Hi Debbie! I did some research, and have discovered that people have utilized coconut sugar to brew beer! So, I’m going to say yes that you can. I’m unfamiliar with the sugar properties of coconut, but yeast needs that sugar to ferment the grape juice. Let me know how it turns out for you! I would love to update this to reflect it.

  25. looks delish can’t wait to try it. Ok , what about using Apple juice, pineapple juice, any other flavors of juice? would it work? oh and was wondering since I have the 8 qt could i double the batch?

    1. Theoretically, you can totally double your batch. I might want to keep it in your instant pot for maybe an additional 6-8 hours to help with the fermentation process. Happy Wine making!

  26. Looking forward to trying out this recipe! You mention that when you start the Yogurt function, to not close the vent (let it breathe). But then later you say to alternate opening and closing the lid vent every 6 to 8 hours. I was a little confused by this. Do we keep the lid vent closed for part of the Yogurt function?

    1. Hi Carrie! I actually just update the directions with a bit more clarity. You start with the vent open, and then close it after 6-8 hours. I apologize for creating a grey area! Happy Wine making!

  27. the directions in step #4 state to leave the vent open, but in the step #6, it states to alternate the vent between closed and open with no specific details as to what length of time one should close the vent. Could you detail this step a little more?

    1. Hi Denis! I actually just update the directions with a bit more clarity. I apologize for creating a grey area! Happy Wine making!

  28. Can you use half the recipe and have it still work out? I have some frozen grapes from a family members grape vine. I want to thaw them and put through the juicer, but I don’t think it will amount to 64 oz. Thanks!

  29. Does the juice have to be grape based? I mean, to be actual wine I suppose it would. But would this work to make an alcoholic wine-ish beverage out of something like fruit punch or cranberry juice?? 🤔

        1. I’ve fermented cranberry juice before (minus instant pot) and got a pleasant dry drink that reminds me of a rose or a blush. Use a cranberry juice that’s 100% juice (although all cranberry juices have some sort of filler, usually grape or apple juice, because pure cranberry juice is too acidic to enjoy.) I added some cranberry juice concentrate to boost the fermentables, and fermented using champagne yeast.

  30. David, actually read all the comments. So some of my questions have been answered…so to start, I have a 3 qt mini-duo 7in 1 IP, so the pot itself is smaller. I see where I would adjust the juice/sugar ratio but I am trying to figure out how far up the pot do I fill with juice…more than likely the 3/4 line where you should not fill above? or nearer the top since we are not actually cooking it ?

    1. Hi Pat!!I think the 3/4 fill line is totally fine because you’re not “cooking” it at all. You’re just using it as fabulous incubator, basically. 🙂 Hope that helps!

  31. I started this on Saturday and did not close the vent until this morning when I reread the instructions to alternate sealing & venting. Is it shot or should I keep going with the pantry ferment stage?

    1. You won’t know until tomorrow. If you see a total color change from what it used to be, then you “should” be okay. Just smell it to see if you can smell the alcohol forming in your juice! 🙂

    2. Did the exact same thing. First 20 hours open, now closed (on hour 25). Totally drinking it though 🙂 Can hardly wait for hour 48, so I can start another batch. Wondering: can I make a larger batch? Different (better) grape juice? And, what some of the other commentators have said, less sweet?

  32. My comments are two. You say that you should use 1 bleach to sanitize. 1 what of bleach? I’m guessing tablespoon.

    Also, make sure that you don’t by grape juice that already has added sugar in it. Just 100% grape juice.

  33. I’m going to have to try this with my home grown cherries… I have had wine made from them by a friend a few years ago… and he won a blue ribbon for it at the MN state fair in 2014!!

  34. I’ve seen some people use a balloon over the bottle instead of taping the lid while it sits, would you suggest this, as it seems easier to set up?

  35. As an amateur-hour wine maker, I thought this was pretty interesting and a really good way to introduce people to the hobby. The biggest tip I can share is definitely, definitely, definitely invest in a hydrometer. They range anywhere from $5-$10 and once you know how to read it, is an invaluable tool – especially to those that are looking to make sweeter wines since they’re used for measuring sugar.

    Since I saw a lot of comments on that, be careful on how much sugar you add when wanting to make a sweeter wine. If you add too much, it becomes too much for the yeast and your ferment won’t start. You can always dilute it back down with more juice or water.

    For those wanting to try other juices, the preservatives to avoid are Sodium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate. These will prevent your yeast from doing what they need to do – which is why they were added to the juice in the first place! 🙂

    1. Hi Melissa, as a first time wine maker, my IP wine turned out perfect. It is just too dry. Suggestions on how to sweeten it?

  36. Hi David,

    I am now on day 6 of my batch of IP wine, and I am hopeful. A sample last night was pretty good, considering the short fermentation time – no yeast taste, mildly sweet and developing it’s character slowly. The bubbles were still moving fast up the sides of the bottles, so I will patiently wait.

    I am off to the store to get more grape juice, and managed to find the Lalvin yeast locally too. I found the concord grape juice by Kedem in the kosher aisle, and it’s half the price of Welch’s, so I am going to try this juice out next. I am also picking up a hydrometer so that I can accurately determine the alcohol content of the final wine. You have truly inspired the masses (well, at least me!) to embrace the Instant Pot.

    1. That’s so amazing, Andrew!! I’m trying to teach everyone just that….embrace the Instant Pot. Use it as a tool in every sense of the word!

  37. So once the fermentation process is done what is the best way to store? Could you use Masson jars or would you have to get the bottling kit you mentioned. Don’t want my kids to accidentally get a hold of the mommy juice!

    1. That should work totally fine! Just be sure that you sanitize your mason jars. It’s not the BEST way to store it, but if you know you’re going to drink it pretty fast…then it “should” be okay.

  38. David, thank you for taking the time to see the experiment through and share your results with us! I’ve fermented apple and cranberry juice before without the instant pot and had good results; will have to attempt it with grape juice soon. By running the mixture through the instant pot for 48 hours, is it merely giving the yeast the temperature it needs for optimum fermentation rate? Is there some other effect it has that I’m missing?

  39. Very cool. I’ve been making easy Apefelwein a super easy hard cider and can’t wait to try out IP Wine.

    1. iLearner, would you be willing to share your hard cider recipe please!?! I love hard cider, and would really love to know how to make my own!!!! Please and thank you!

  40. My family has been making wine for decades but we never used a hot pot, since they didn’t exist then. I’m glad to see this method since it saves time but is close to our method. My question is would there be any issue using a gallon glass jar and instead of packing tape use a large balloon rubber banded to the jar neck? That was how we did it because the balloon would expand for a couple of weeks and when it starts to deflate we’d know the wine was ready.

  41. I don’t have the yogurt feature on mine, but what about using the Keep Warm feature? It would probably speed up the yeast action, but might take longer than 48 hours. Thoughts?

    1. This wine isn’t going to have a really long shelf life, even if bottled. I’m thinking a year tops. Mostly because it is a low shelf life wine.

  42. This is so exciting, can’t wait to try it! The only thing I’m confused about is after your 48 hours in the IP is up. Since the juice has essentially been kept on low heat for 2 days I assume it’ll be warm. You can pour it straight into the plastic bottle, or does it need to cool at all first?

  43. Anyone figure out if other settings work? My IP doesn’t have a yogurt setting and I’m worried the other settings will be too hot and kill the yeast.

  44. Huh. This makes me wonder if you could do carbonated or fermented drinks. I tried to make a ginger bug and never could get it started. I’m wondering if the Instant Pot could help.

  45. Hi David
    Once you are done the “cooking” process and you have poured the wine back into the juice bottle and pit the lid have on and the tape on, are you leaving it like that for 8+ days before serving? At what point are you closing the lid tight? Are you ever bottling the wine in actual wine bottles?
    Thanks… Going to try and surprise my wife with a batch and see what she thinks of it.

    1. I have some more wine “cooking” as we speak! I have some other techniques that I’ll be using in another post about this. 😀 Happy Wine Making!

  46. So excited to start this! One question on sterilizing the pot. Would running lid, sealer and pot through the dishwasher do the job?

    1. Honestly, you can just run the sanitizing cycle on your Instant pot. This way you can can lid and pot at the same time! Happy Wine Making!

  47. Mine is brewing up right now. I look forward to this, ive always wanted to make my own wine at home! Crossing off one vision board goal at a time! (-:

  48. Ok.. I know this is not the point of this recipe but do you think it would be possible to do on the stovetop?

    I’ve never used an IP so I’m not sure what the difference would be other than it being able to hold pressure?

    Just curious cause this is such a cool idea. Thanks ☺

  49. Hey David! I’m back!! The juice, sugar and yeast are in the Instant Pot!! I have an Ultra and the yougurt “low” setting says 90 degrees and I can’t get it to go lower. Do you think this will still work since it is less than body temp? And …I bought a gallon glass jug with an air regulator ….can I pour my half gallon of wine in it or will that leave too much air in the bottle? Sorry for having a question about a bottle you didn’t suggest using!!😬 thank you!

  50. I’m excited to try this! Instead of loosely taping on the cap, you can use a balloon with a pin hole in it to cover the bottle while it ferments. I remember my dad doing this when he made wine when I was a kid.

  51. Hi David!

    Looking forward to trying this out! The packets of yeast you link say that one packet can make up to 5 gallons of wine?
    Should I use the whole packet for 32 ounces of juice, or add more juice to the recipe to make the most of the yeast? Also, since 32 ounces is a quart or a 1/4 gallon, do you think I could make a few jugs in one batch in my 8qt? Or is that too much?

    Thanks!

    1. It makes “Up To” 5 gallons. Just use 1/2 a packet of the wine yeast. The yeast can only eat but so much sugar to create the alcohol before it becomes to line of a homeostases Happy Wine Making!

  52. Sounds interesting. I’ve made beer before but never wine. Did you just use the regular Welch’s grape juice? What varietal would you compare the finished product to?

  53. Hey Thanks so much for the recipe! I’m getting prepared to attempt but had a quick question: Do we aerate for the whole month? I saw your tape picture with the lid, but it looks like you took the tape off in the next picture. Thanks again, David!

    1. For best results, a month would be fab! I think it was just the angle of the photos? I’ll have to take a double look. Possibly I just didn’t put it on yet to show the results thus far.

    1. You can totally double the batch…same process of 48 hours with venting. However, I would wait an extra couple of days before drinking. Happy Wine Making!

  54. I have a ton of blackberries on Concord grapes on my property I’m so going to do this! since I’m processing right from the fruit itself what do you think about the measurement of sugar added? I make kombucha as well as brew beer so I have a pretty good knowledge with it but wine is new for me! Thank you

    1. That’s so awesome! I haven’t done one with fresh fruit just yet. Fresh fruits have a higher amount of residual sugar than processed juice. So maybe go down to 3/4 cup of sugar. Happy Wine Making!

  55. Hi David. I can’t wait to make wine. Hubby makes wine all the time but not with the IP. I don’t have the yogurt maker on my 6qt LUX version. Can you recommend another setting. Manual Low? Warming button?
    Thank you!

  56. All the comments from people wanting to get a little more sophisticated with this! Maybe they should read up on regular winemaking and go for the whole show. Not much different. Sealing the bottles and saving for 6 months sounds a little risky if the fermentation has not been thoroughly stopped (with a little metabisulfite.) And if you really want the look, a run through a coffee filter is a low-tech way to get a sparkle. Watch out with using pickling equipment – it doesn’t take but a tiny bit of residue and you have made a gallon of salad vinegar!

  57. This just went into my instant pot!! I am using Welch’s natural white. It was on sale at my discount store 100%grspe juice with Niagara grapes!! Sure hope it works!! Thank you!!

      1. I seen you seen my post on Facebook with my white wine I think I messed well I know I messed up and I knew it right away when I poured the wine into the carboy poured it all and even the sediment on the bottom I think I was supposed to throw that sediment away I’m not sure if this batch will clear up I am going to try another batch but it tastes good I like the way it taste I’m going to let it sit for the 30 days and see if that helps if you have any suggestions let me know thanks

        1. Hi Cookie!!
          I’ve not made white wine just yet…well, not completed yet. I have a batch “bubbling” away in my container at the moment.
          You can always use a coffee filter to help “decant” any of the sediment out of your bottle. I realized that I didn’t update the post with that piece of helpful information! I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the taste! If I can think of, or discover, any other information…I will totally tell you!

          1. I put it through the coffee filter and it got rid of the yeasty taste it seems to sweeten up if I let it in the glass a while before drinking although I like a little tart. I just opened a Riesling and it about the same taste but sweeter I like the homemade better I have a 2nd batch waiting it has been 6 days and still very cloudy I made a double batch and wondering if I should have left it in the pot longer? If I let it set in the carboy longer with the aerator I am hoping it will be fine next batch red!

          2. That’s so great to hear, and I’m so glad that you’re enjoying it! I haven’t tested doing a double batch, but I’m guess that maybe you could have left it in the pot maybe an extra half day? However, maybe the carboy and aerator might do the trick. Keep me updated please!

  58. I would highly recommend not using bleach to sanitize. There are plenty of sanitizers that are used specifically for brewing/vintning.
    Star San is a food grade no rinse sanitizer that I would recommend.

  59. I do not have a yogurt button on my instant pot. Can I use the keep warm setting? I have the 8qt IP-Lux or is that too warm? I have the porridge and soup and bean function? Maybe one of those has a low heat setting?

    1. I think the keep warm function is still a little too hot. I’m still trying to figure out how you can do it in your IP without the yogurt function.

  60. I started making this yesterday with the white Welch’s grape juice it’s been in there 22 hours I had to taste it it still tastes very sweet smells really good I guess it still has a day to eat up that sugar but I’m anxious to try it thank you for the recipe

  61. I don’t have an IP yet, but I do have 2 Annova sous vides. I think I’m going to try this using a gallon mason jar, with a pickle fermentation lid on top, and set it in my sous vide container, at 80 degrees. I also want to try it with white grape juice, as long as I can get the regular “red” kind to work. I hope it comes out good! Do you think it will work in the sous vide?

    1. I would just make sure that it doesn’t get too hot and you wind up cooking the yeast. 😀 Happy Wine Making!

  62. Hi, Thanks for sharing this recipe! Looking forward to making it. Can I use my 3 qt Instant Pot? Thanks.

  63. My grandma used to put a balloon over the top of her wine ‘jug’ and it would fill and then deflate. When it went down, the wine was ready!!

    1. You don’t “have” to add the sugar, but yeast and sugar makes the alcohol. Juice has sugar in it, but not really enough to create the alcohol content. Happy Wine Making!

  64. Hi David! thank you so much for this recipe. I tried this today but ugh didnt properly read the instructions and left the vent open for 20 hours. It is looking very bubbly right now. Do you think I ruined it? I’ve closed the valve as soon as I realized my mistake

  65. I’m sorry if this is a stupid question but how do you use the airlock? Also do you ferment in the grape juice bottle or into a different container? Then can you store the wine in an old wine bottle?
    I can’t wait to give this a try. Thanks for the recipe.

    1. You open and close the air lock in intervals of 6- 8 hours. You can definitely ferment it in any other container you wish to! Happy Wine Making!

  66. I am assuming that if you can make ½ the amount by decreasing sugar and yeast by ½ (as per someone’s comment above), you could double the amounts as well without having to adjust times. Is that correct? As long as I’m going to keep my pot busy, I might as well make more wine! And I have a pretty gallon jug to pour it into for the setting stage.

    1. That be correct with the half batches, but if you’re doubling the batch….I would allow an extra couple of days before drinking 🙂 Happy Wine Making!

  67. Hi! Thanks for this, I’ve started my first batch yesterday. My concern is that when I have the vent closed the pressure doesn’t build enough to lock the lid. It’s that normal?

  68. Back in the day when I was in college we used to make wine in the dorm. We used a balloon over the neck of the fermenting bottle. The fermentation process caused it to inflate and when it deflated the wine was ready. Not award winning stuff but it did the trick! PS: Be sure to use a large balloon. We had one blow once, NOT what you want to happen!

    1. A balloon works perfectly! Some even add little pin holes in the balloon to help release the CO2 build up. Happy Wine Making!

  69. I have a hard time finding low/no added sulfite wines. Do you know if there are sulfites in the grape juice?

    1. Most wines have added sulfites in the wine making process. This doesn’t! Happy Wine Making!

  70. I’m wondering if leaving the vent open the whole duration of the first 48 hours would work as well. Is the purpose of alternatively opening and closing the vent intended to minimize bacterial contamination? I’ve got a batch going, so I’m going to follow your directions for this round for sure.

    Really interested in other folks’ experiences doing this as well. Cool idea!

    1. It does minimize bacteria, but also serves to help the yeast eat the sugar in a more condensed space, while forcing the CO2 pressure to be built up to really help activate the yeast! Happy Wine Making!

  71. Thanks so much for this recipe! I’m trying it right now (overnight) and will close it in 8 hours.

    However, I realized that my day will be unfolding in such a way that the time interval before I open it again will be either 3.5 hours or 9 hours. Neither of those time periods are in the recommended 6-8 hours. Will either of them work? If so, would it be better to open after 3.5 hours or 9 hours?

  72. I like carbonation. You call it wine, I’ll call it bier and enjoy the fizz with my buzz. Avoiding preservatives is key to whatever brew you make. Yeast + sugar + time = happy brew. Thank you for keeping it simple.

  73. Starting my first batch now. In a few weeks, I’ll let you know how it turns out! Fun project, indeed! Thanks!

  74. Oh crum! Just saw in the comments your recipe calls for 1/2 a package of yeast….I added the whole thing!! Oh well…we shall see in six more days of it is good at all!! That’s what I get for not rereading!! Thanks so much for answering all of the comments and questions…you are awesome!

  75. I started a batch this morning. Seven hours later I closed the vent. When I did, I realized something: There’s no possible way that the escaping CO2 could ever reach the velocity necessary to push the pin up. Thus, it’s impossible for it to ever come to pressure. And, as long as the pin is down, it’s exactly the same as having the vent open. So what’s the point of alternating the vent? Have you ever had it come to pressure before?

    1. Hey Marshall! I apologize for the delayed response! No…it will not ever come to pressure. You’re just creating a housing unit and control the CO2 and O2 rate. So, you’re help the wine to “breathe”. Hope this helps!

  76. So I tried this with my own pressure cooker, and our of curiosity, I tasted the wine after 3 days back in the bottle (after it’s 24 hours were up). It still has a lot of carbonation and it was very sour. Is that normal? I know the fermentation process is in high gear right about now, but I wasn’t expecting it to be sour! Will the sour go away, or should I pour it out and start a new batch? I am pretty sure I did everything as instructed.

    1. Yes…that’s VERY normal! Now it’s just time for the waiting process to happen! Bottle her up and let her rest and finish doing it’s work. Happy Wine Making!!

  77. Just took the “wine” out of the Instant Pot last night. Can’t wait to taste it in a couple weeks! In a future batch do you think I could fortify this with brandy for super-duper cheap dessert wine? Any thoughts? When would I add the brandy if I wanted to try this in the future? Cool recipe. Always fun to try new things with the Instant Pot.

    1. OH!! That sounds like a delicious idea! I’m pretty sure that you can fortify it with brandy without any issues at all! Please let me know your results!

      1. Welp I haven’t tried the brandy-fortification yet but the wine itself actually came out great!!! Can’t believe it. Really easy, fun & delish alternate use of Instant Pot!

  78. Ok so I’m curious, as I have my first batch in my IP right now, instead of using the cap and tape technique, can I put some cheesecloth over the lip of the bottle and use a rubber band to keep it in place?

    1. You can, but you would have to make sure that it’s a pretty thick piece of cheese cloth. However, you can always use the balloon technique to where you place a balloon over the cap. The balloon will definitely expand, and when it deflates, it’s done!

  79. Hello David, I’m going to be taking my wine out of the pot & pouring into gallons with aerator. Do I have to pass the liquid through a coffee filter before pouring in the gallons or do I wait till fermentation is complete in say 1 month. Also after that can I pour wine into screw top win bottles. I did a double batch. Thanks, can’t wait to taste…it’s going to be a loooog month, lol

  80. First batch is over a week old, still in the bottle, still bubbling a little out the bubbler device. Other than drinking it – oh yeah!!- how do we bottle it?

  81. I’m looking forward to making my first batch, but I think I’ll sanitize the pot by boiling water under pressure. Chlorine in those concentrations might damage the pot.

    Anyway, thanks for the recipe!

    1. You can definitely use the sanitize function on your Instant Pot! You’re welcome for the recipe, and happy wine making!

  82. For other Canadian, I’ve (hopefully) done the math for using 1.36 Liter Welch’s bottles. I also included the numbers for a double batch.
    Ingredients:
    Juice (Liters) US 1.77, CAD 1.36, Double Batch 2.72
    Sugar (Cups) US 1.00, CAD 0.77, Double Batch 1.53
    Yeast (Grams) US 2.50, CAD 1.92, Double Batch 3.83
    Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. I did have a couple glasses of wine first. 😉
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15oxPt6uU9rZluYibKazUPHlus-eGLlrCn1m23mxYZws/edit#gid=0

  83. P.S. I just wanted to thank you for thinking of this and starting the experiment! Also, the way you answer all the comments and questions is admirable.

    1. You’re so very welcome! I’ve been trying to answer as many that I can. I get a ton of comments, but I try to treat everyone as an individual when replying to a comment. Thank you so very much!

  84. Hi David, question about the venting process you outlined… in addition to the manual vent control, the IP also has a float valve. When pressure cooking with the vent closed, it is open due to gravity until enough steam is being generated to push it up and complete the seal. I’m in the middle of fermentation of my first batch using your recipe, and it occurred to me that even with the vent closed, fermentation is never going to release CO2 fast enough to push the float valve closed. That means the pressure never really goes up no matter what I do with the vent. This has been borne out as I open and closed the vent according to your instructions — when I open it, there is no release of pressure.

    I’m curious about your thoughts on those observations. I have a IP Duo 8 qt — maybe the float valve on my model is different from most? If my IP is not generating pressure during fermentation, should I ferment in the IP longer (since you suggest the pressure helps activate the yeast)? Thanks in advance!

    1. Hi Jake! It’ll never come up to that kind of pressure to push the pin up. When you vent, there’s no huge big gasp of air. It’s more like a tiny breath. You’re really creating a housing for the CO2 pressure and making the yeast work a little bit harder to get to the sugar to create the alcohol.
      There won’t be any need to vent it longer than suggested 🙂 I hope this helps!

  85. My first batch is out of the pot and in the cupboard bubbling away! Soooo excited. I’m going to put it into Trader Joe’s Triple Ginger bottles (because they’re pretty) and enjoy in my little camper van.

    1. They seemed to have been selling out of them like crazy, so I will update the post on exactly where to find more!

  86. Can you please tell me if you Alternate opening and closing every 6 to 8 hours or you just close it after the initial 8hrs and leave it closed for the 40 remainder?? So confused by the comments. Sorry

    1. I alternate it! 😀 First 8 hours is closed, then move to open position. Hope this helps, and happy wine making!

  87. After the 6-8 hours with vent OPEN…close and keep closed the rest of the time? Or open the vent again after 6-8 hours? I am very confused, even after reading all the vent questions it does not seem clear 🙁

    1. Yes…alternate the opening and closing, with the initial open vent time. 🙂 Happy Wine Making!

  88. I started my wine on March 16 and I finally tried it last night. It still tasted a lot like grape juice, but with a little kick. I think I’ll give it another couple weeks to mellow out. How do you recommend storing it? Can I put the cap on now?

    1. Definitely give it a little bit more time if still tasting a little grape juicey. As far as storing it, you can always get a wine bottle kit, but I just put the cap on it because we drink it pretty regularly lol.

    1. None just yet, Katy. So many settings are just too hot. I’m working with Instant Pot to figure it out with their help! 😀

  89. I made my first batch, and for some reason did not catch the *use ½ the packet of yeast* direction. After 3 weeks, the wine still has a few fermentation bubbles and I can taste a little fizz and a little grape juice yet. Do I just leave it in there longer? Do I toss it? I’m trying a second batch now, following the directions. 🙂

    1. You should still be fine! I would let it go for maybe another week and just let it “mellow” and finish the job. 🙂

  90. So, I made this and I think I did a few things wrong but I’m wondering if there’s still hope for me yet…I doubled the recipe, because I figured why not 😬. Then, I don’t think I was perfect about opening and shutting the valve in the beginning (probably erred on the side of more open). Now, I am about 15 days into fermenting and it is still a little fizzy but possibly also sour? Is there a way to tell if it has just gone bad instead of needing more time? Forgive me if this was already asked!

  91. Is there any reason I couldn’t just leave the vent closed the entire time? Would there be any change in outcome? I went through at least 85% of the comments and no one seems to have asked. Thanks!

    1. You can leave the vent closed; however, I opened and closed to help with the aeration of the CO2 to help it during the fermentation process in the IP.

      1. Thanks for your reply! Would the fermentation process take longer if I were to leave the vent closed, or would it yield a lower proof product at the end?

        1. I don’t feel you have a lower proof at the end at all. By giving it the extra time, you should still achieve a 12%-16% ABV!

  92. Do you think one could double the recipe? I have a one gallon carboy which would be double the recipe, thereby using 2 cups of sugar and one full packet of yeast.

    1. You can definitely double the recipe for the same amount of time! However, you might need an extra week of time to add on for the fermentation process!

  93. I made it. Came out nice. The longer it sat, the better it tasted. I would say 3 weeks is a good waiting period. After 2 weeks, I tried some and had to choke it down a little, but after 3 weeks, it was tasty. Tastes like church wine but had some serious alcohol kick. I didn’t measure the ABV but I slept great that night having enjoyed a couple of glasses.

  94. Fresh grapes work! I enjoyed 2 glasses last night, and it was pretty decent. It all started with an ad on craigslist for free grapes. I harvested 2 over-full plastic grocery bags of grapes, and turned them into 3 batches of wine with my IP. Each batch filled a 64 oz. growler. I didn’t see any contributions in the comments for using fresh grapes, so I thought I’d share how I did it. First – don’t wash the grapes, as they have natural wild yeast on them. Then, I took the stems off, and lightly crushed them with a potato masher in a large, shallow container. I put this mash into my 6 qt. IP, up to the 2/3 line, then mixed in 3/4 C of sugar and about 2 tsp of active dry bakers yeast. Yes, I used regular baking yeast! I was making “free” wine, so I didn’t want to spend anything on it. For the next two days, I followed the recipe. When I took it out of the IP, I poured everything though a cheese cloth covered strainer sitting in a funnel on top of a growler. I sterilized everything first with Star-San, including the cheese cloth. I put a water filled airlock on the growler, and put it in a dark cabinet. I waited until a few days after the bubbles stopped to put an air tight lid on. I only had one airlock, so I put the lids on loosely on the other 2 batches I made from the free grapes. I was worried about a blow-out, so I put fold and close plastic baggies, secured by rubber bands on top of the growlers with the lids on. I tried the wine about a week after first starting it, and it was cloudy and horrible. I waited another week, and it had cleared, and it was tasty! So, start to finish, it took 2 weeks to go from fresh grapes to drinkable wine. This turned out so well that I think I’m going to make blackberry wine next in my IP!

  95. Hey so I work in a cellar currently making wine and I do applaud you for making this recipe I just want everyone to know a couple of things:
    1) the sugar you are adding at the beginning does NOTHING for the sweetness at the end. If you want a sweet wine you are going to have to add more sugar at the end of the fermentation since this recipe is just for making dryer wines.
    2) When purchasing a hydrometer make sure you know how to read it. Measuring sugar in wine is called measuring Brix. That’s why there is a negative reading on hydrometers. The more negative the more dry. If you want a sweet wine without adding any sugar at the end try measuring periodically and stopping the yeast around the 7 brix mark on your hydrometers. That’s about the average sugar level in sweet wines. Do keep in mind that your ABV probably won’t be as high. Also some hydrometers will have the brix and the asociated ABV on them so there’s a bit less math to do.
    3) make sure you read the ingredients list on the juices before you buy them. Anything that has sorbate in it will prevent the yeast from converting sugars to alcohol, which is why they add it in the first place.
    4) you can make wine out of anything with sugar. The actual definition of wine is fermenting juice. Any fruit you can get a sugary juice from is able to be fermented and therefore becomes a wine.

    I believe that’s everything I came to say. Feel free, anyone, to ask me anymore questions.

  96. I’m going back to the late sixties in the Arkansas hills me and others capped our working bottles off with a condom. Really! It works great by trapping all the flavor yet allowing the gas a place to go. Might want to rubber band it as they sometimes get pretty large.

  97. sooo, if I made a batch of this, and then introduced a mother of vinegar into it … cold I make my own vinegars for dressings and cooking?

  98. Every year I have an embarrassing abundance of concord grapes from my 2 vines. and every year i process and bottle huge amounts of juice…promising myself to drink it with club soda or something but dont. SOO…now I have something else besides juice and jelly to do with these luscious grapes. As soon as I have a bit of experience with this new gadget guess what Im going to try? I even have a vintage capping machine and a bunch of kick ass wine bottles to reuse. OOOooo I think Im going to design my own ‘label’. LOL. can you tell Im excited to try this?

  99. Hello there il in France and it’s not that easy too get hold of an instant pot is it that important too get one or use another cooking instrument ?? We have a whole lot of grape juices around where I live !!can’t wait too try

  100. I started my IP wine on 11/30/2018 and called it finished today (1/26/2019)! Right at 8 weeks, from start to finish. I didn’t buy a “wine kit”, but rather did a quick online search to find good deals on a gallon glass bottle, an airlock w/cork, and a hydrometer quite inexpensively. Instead of grape juice, I used 64 oz of Northland 100% cranberry juice and 64 oz Northland 100% cranberry/pomegranate juice, with 1 whole packet of yeast and 2 cups sugar added. At 3-ish weeks in, it still tasted very yeasty and kind of vinegar-y, so I added another ½ cup of sugar and put it back under the cupboard. In about 3 more weeks when I checked it, it was still a teensy bit yeasty, but it was drinkable…the vinegar flavor was totally gone. But seeing as it was still yeasty, I decided to leave it for a bit longer. Today I got it out and the yeasty flavor was completely gone, the extra bubbles are gone, and the flavor is nice…definitely cranberry/pomegranate on the palate…which I like. ABV is sitting at a respectable 11.4%. Not bad for a first attempt making IP wine!! THANKS, David for sharing these instructions and all your tips through the comments.
    P.S. Also thanks to Kelly, for her pro comments/instructions!

  101. HELP! I just started my first batch of IP wine. However when I push the LESS button after the YOGURT button, it only changes the time…..LESS time. It doesn’t change the heat. HELP!

  102. My instant pot never pressurized after the initial six hours for when the vent was to be sealed. Is the instant pot supposed to actually pressurize (the little nub rising up) being on the lowest yogurt setting?

  103. I have tried this numerous times and it has worked great! ❤️ What do you think about me doing a double batch? Do you think I should change the time?

  104. I tried this, let it age about 3 weeks with the top vented, and now it is tasting slightly off. A little more “off” each day. Was I supposed to close the grape juice bottle tight after a week or so? Did bacteria get in?

  105. I am trying to make this recipe with my instant pot and after i press yogurt and then the minus sign it lowers what looks to be the warming minutes after it’s done vs. changing the pressure level. The pressure reads normal. There is no way to change that that i can see. How do i make it less to be 80 degrees?

  106. Hello, I’m in Australia so sk there’s no instant pots available here so I used my crockpot express xl with non stick pan fkr your recipe. people on Express facebook forums say that you can use instant pot recipes with the express without changing them. I put 6 litres of Berri grape juice from coles in the express (max capacity) with half a bag of the yeast you recommended and the sugar that you recomend scaled to my liquid quantity, I put it on the yoghurt setting which only runs for 12 hours on the express so I had to reset it each time I alternated the pressure release valve. the pressure release valve doesnt stay open so a noose of shoelace around the handle and valve was required to hold it open when needed. 12 hours into the pressure cooking process and my apartment flooded as my housemate broke off a sprinkler in his room! For the next 3 days I had no power however the express is very well insulated so maintains a temperature closer to the average for the day than in a non insulated container. Mid way through the IP procedure I ran a power extension cord from the hallway into the apartment to my Express that I now had to situate in a closet near the door. unfortunetly flood cleaners arrived shortly after and needed that socket so off it went again. I continued the rest of the instructions and bottled it in 3 sanitised 2l bottles, 2 of which were the plastic Berri juice bottles and one was a large glass bottle with rubber plug and a bubbler filled with a kind of brewing sanitiser with breaks down into natural compounds. I figured it would be best to have atleast one set up with bubbler to know when the fermentation has ceased and to better problem solve if the other two bottles without bubblers fail. I am a week and a half into the bottled fermentation and the bubbles are releasing through the bubbler once every 8 seconds, triple the time this took on bottle day one. I smell the bubble release every day to sense the changes, it gradually smells more like wine however there is a little off smell too, theres also a yeast smell coming through. I have squeezed one of the Berri bottles and it smells very wine like and very fruity. This squeezing could introduce bad bacteria but it is so very hard to just wait patiently for the fermentation to stop whilst not interfering. I will open the glass bottle once the fermentation stops and leave the other two for another 2 weeks to improve the flavour, then I will pour the final 4l through a coffee filter into the sanitised glass bottle and back into one of the Berri bottles. If all goes well I will have 6 litres of wine at $1.85 per 750ml (the cost of consumables). At Dan Murphys the cheapest wine they sell is $2.40 per 750ml and this is in a 5 liter boxed goon sack. Oddly enough this goon is called ‘Berri Estate’. I will write another comment when I know how my ‘Berri Appartement’ turns out.

    1. I don’t that will work as yeast needs the sugar for fermentation. However, if you do this, please let me know your results!

  107. Hi there! I have an official Instant Pot. But the owner’s manual doesn’t say anything about being able to reduce the heat on the yogurt setting; just the time (by pressing the minus button). I make yogurt in it, and I think it heats the yogurt to 110-115 F. I understand that is way too hot for the wine. How do you reduce the temperature on the yogurt setting?
    Thanks!

    1. Hey Dirk! What Instant Pot Model do you have? Do you have a plus or minus sign on yours? If so, press the minus sign to decrease the temperature. Good luck!

  108. I started my wine today and am half-way through the 48 hour process. We are expecting high winds with maybe a power outtage. What should I do if the pot shuts off half way through this process? Thanks.

    1. Hi Kristina! Get it started the best that you can. IF the power goes off, still leave it in the pot as the temperature in the pot won’t stray too far. If the power has been off for more than an hour, then go ahead and place the juice into your fermentor object (whatever container you’re using for the fermentation process). Hope this helps!

  109. Hi, what if I don’t have a yogurt button, I have a Nuwave and it doesn’t have one….is there a substitute I can use?
    Thanks!

  110. Hi David

    I have an Instant Pot Ultra and the lowest temp I can go to is 104ª on the Custom setting. However the Low setting for Yogurt is 91ª . Is 91ª too hot for the wine??

  111. Hi…Getting ready to try this for the first time. One brand of no-sugar-added grape juice available to me is Kedem (http://kedem.com/about.php), a food brand I’m very familiar with in general. Potassium metabisulfite has been added. I take it this is NOT desirable, and I should look for a brand without this additive?

  112. I made this according to your recipe last Thanksgiving. I am not a wine drinker at all but was intrigued by the process. The family said it wasn’t terrible but a little too sweet and what they would expect from commercial concord grape juice. I have just been gifted 40lbs of wine grapes so I’m trying again and hoping to knock their socks off. What is the best way to stop the fermentation process if I want to make it now but take it for a tasting on Thanksgiving or Christmas?

    1. I’m afraid that it might be. It appears that the Ultra models low setting for yogurt is so much higher than what it was before.

  113. I bought a power XL pressure cooker on marketplace the other day. It was a good deal. 10 court. But it doesn’t have a yogurt button. Do you have any ideas how I could try this wine without the yogurt button?

  114. Hello David! I just sampled my white wine after 11 days and it’s good! I bought a yeast that was meant for white sparkling wine. If I don’t mind a little effervescence, do you recommend I continue to let it sit for a total of 30 days, or will that make the bubbles dissipate? And, once the wine is able to be corked, can it go in the fridge? I don’t want to ruin my little masterpiece!! Thank you SO much!
    Katie

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