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 Sonora, Ca -- With the unemployment rate in Tuolumne County hitting 12.7 percent just this July, it's always good have a few tips and tricks for saving a few bucks. I could say something smarmy about the correlation of alcohol abuse and unemployment rates, but I wont.
This is a simple no-brainer recipe that yields a slightly cloudy, drinkable wine-cooler-like beverage on the cheap in about two weeks or less. Because the wine is made in the sterile container the juice comes in, it's much easier to keep contamination out of the process. There is no cooking or heating of any ingredients.
Ingredients and supplies:
1 bottle (64-128 oz) of high-sugar-content juice such as cranberry juice. Be sure to buy a kind without preservatives to avoid killing the yeast.
1/4 package of wine making yeast. I used Red Star Cotes de Blanc.
1 sterilized airlock with rubber stopper that will fit the mouth of the juice bottle. Other airlocks will work, but for this recipe the simple airlock is super easy. What do airlocks and walruses have in common? They both like a tight seal.
A quantity of sugar to sweeten the wine when it's done.
Directions:Assemble all the tools and ingredients. Grab your large bottle of cheap Cranberry Juice. Usually the sugar content is a whopping 39g per serving., which is why I use it. The more the sugar, the more the alcohol.
Without contaminating the juice add about a 1/4 packet of wine making yeast, available online or from any wine making/home brew shop. Replace the cap and give it a gentle shake to distribute the yeast.
Place your sterilized airlock on top of the bottle. (Dipping the airlock and rubber stopper in a bowl of cold water with a cap full of bleach will suffice to sterilize your equipment. Be sure to rinse all the bleach solution off.) 
Place the bottle in a dark, room-temperature place for 7-14 days. The fermentation process will be visible after a day or so as evidenced by vigorous bubbling. When the bubbles stop after what seems like forever, move on to the next step.
When done, siphon or pour off the top part of the wine into a separate sterile container, making sure to not disturb the dead yeast which has accumulated at the bottom. Do not be greedy, the stuff at the bottom looks and tastes bad, throw it away.
Taste it and cringe. If you like it, wow, but most of us will want to add a bit of sugar to taste. The sugar may reactivate the process if all the yeast isn't dead. This can lead to an exploding bottle, or a carbonated surprise if consumed right away.
You can bottle the wine in sterilized vessels, or drink it right away. If you bottle it, make sure the fermentation process is complete (no bubbles), otherwise the bottle could explode after a few days on the shelf. Serve chilled.
Price list (2009):
Juice: $2
Wine yeast packet: $.80
Rubber stopper: $.40
Air Lock: $1.50
Sugar: $.80
Total for first batch: $5.50 +  +  = 
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