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I asked renowned author Daniel Pambianchi to review the article. He said, "I'm very familiar with this article; it's a good article. DO in a fully saturated wine, though, is more like in the 8.0-8.5 mg/L range. It is not non-trivial given that that extra 1.0-1.5 mg/L of O2 chews up an extra...

We had 2 bins of Cab Franc we just crushed Saturday. Both were 25 brix and 3.7 pH. We added tartaric to get to 3.5 (1 pound per bin). Assuming it will climb back to 3.7 post MLF. Also, on both bins, the brix climbed up to 26 after sitting for a day. But the real scare was when the meter read...

http://sdaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Oxygen-Updake-in-Wine.pdf

I'm more of a red wine guy than a white, but these offers of participating in a Chardonnay project the last two years were hard to resist. They turned out well, so when NorCal approached again with a Viognier option, it was intriguing. It became more than intriguing when I learned he found a...

I follow instructions - for most traditional Saccharomyces yeast, 110 degree GoFerm, once cooled to 104 add the yeast, then slowly add must until your starter is within 18 degrees of your must temp. I don't add Ferm-K until the end of the lag phase (6 to 12 hours following the yeast add). Half...

I recommend that you follow the instructions. This non-saccyeast (40% of your combo) is VERY sensitive to non-chloronated water temp. You want to keep it between 68-77 degrees F. I've seen the charts on how badly the yeast does if not in this range. Rehydrate the yeast without stirring -...

I just drop them in straight from the package.

We have had success with the D80/D254 - like others, we did separate batches and blended post-ferment. It was amazing how they differed in aroma and taste. We did however, have our share of H2S battles. We were applying textbook nutrient adds (Ferm-K) but something was out of whack there...

We seem to battle heat during most all of our ferments these days. Dry ice, ice bombs, etc. and we still hit the 90's. Decided last year to get a yeast that can thrive in the hot temps and high alcohol readings. 80 degrees would be a God-send! :)

For those who are fermenting this Fall, it's about time to solidify your essential supplies before you're faced with the mad rush and possible stock outs. We ordered early last year and it did relieve a little stress. There's already enough stress waiting to get final confirmation on your...

Yeah, that's the risk. I would slightly raise the SO2 (30-50) to allow for carefully adding the correct dosing of tartaric.

Yes, we plan to use Andante once again this Fall. Do I think we could achieve a slightly better taste/nose with D254/D80? Perhaps, but the difference is very slight. Erasing the risk of H2S AND using a yeast with a proven tolerance to heat and alcohol, makes this decision easy for us...

Great discussion. I think some "lessons learned" with regards to acid adds in the pre-fermentation stage - Allow the must to settle (12-24 hours), add acid (somewhat less than you calculate needing), allow the must to settle more (12 hours), measure, add more acid, settle, measure, etc.

These non-sacc yeasts ARE lab developed.

Kind of dry....but still interesting:

Correct....a one or two brix conversion but it dies quickly.

I'm not sure about the nutrient requirements....good question. I do know that it is "complementary" to MLF. And yes, this non-sacc yeast would take the place of the normal SO2 application at the front end. It's very intriguing isn't it?

I have a twist to this thread. I have also been firmly in the camp of only using commercial yeasts. I've even further limited my commercial choice to Renaissance Andante, a carefully made breakthrough yeast that eliminates any possibility of H2S. So, getting to that point, why would I want to...

That's exactly right. Make a 60-gallon barrel of wine. That will give you, hopefully, enough to last into the next season (300 bottles). That's how I "solved" the problem. :)

I'll have your name on a bottle of the new Cab!