How to Make a Wine Hydrometer

1. Roll the clay into a small ball about a centimeter in diameter. This will be placed on one end of the straw.

2. Place the two nails inside the straw. Then fill the glass with water. Put the straw in the water with the clay end in the water. The straw should float off the bottom of the glass. If it does not, remove one of the nails.

3. Look at the water level on the straw. Remove the straw, keeping your fingers on the water level that you saw when the straw was in the glass. Use a marker to mark the level where your finger is on the straw. Place the straw back in the water to make sure you have the right area of the straw marked.

4. Remove the straw, and dry it off. Using the ruler, mark the straw every 1 cm. Do this on each side of the water mark. Then start numbering at the open end of the straw starting with 1 and continue to the other end of the straw.

5. Test your wine density. Place the straw in the wine to see what its density is compared with that of the water. You want the wine's density to be very similar to the water's density. Use the numbers to judge.