Easy Sparkling Wine

[altavino]

if it was hydrated according to the instructions that came with it then not sure why it didn't work
it could have been a dud batch.

did you shake up the bottles a couple times a day for 2 weeks?

i've heard someone on winepress who did not do this had the co2 build up behind the screed and actually dry out the yeast in a little gas bubble.

not sure if your plan will work, you could run a couple test bottles . I wouldn't think you'd need to add more sugar if yeast didn't eat the first addition.

 

[Pumpkinman]

Ironic enough, when I tried to soak for 30 mins due to lack of time, the wine did not carbonate, I replaced the stoppers with yeast that I soaked for 2 hrs and everything went ok.
One other time I tried using left over encapsulated yeast from last year kept in a very cold fridge and it did not carbonate very well, just slight carbonation, I have a few more bottles that I just left to see if it would carbonate after a few months, I'll try it tonite or tomorrow and let you know
Altovino, I appreciate your knowledge and expertise, is that you in your avatar? Looks like you are having fun in the vineyard.

 

[Fabiola]

not sure why it didn't work

did you shake up the bottles a couple times a day for 2 weeks?

i've heard someone on winepress who did not do this had the co2 build up behind the screed and actually dry out the yeast in a little gas bubble.

not sure if your plan will work, you could run a couple test bottles . I wouldn't think you'd need to add more sugar if yeast didn't eat the first addition.

I did shake the bottles, and they were lying down, so all the time the wine was in contact with yeast...

 

[Pumpkinman]

I couldn't wait, good news, the bottles are carbonated enough to help push the stopper out, I'll leave the bottles that are left until Christmas and New Years. I'll take a slow carbonation over a flat sparkling wine any day!
Fabiola, this might have been addressed already, but did the yeast have a date on the package?

 

[Fabiola]

I couldn't wait, good news, the bottles are carbonated enough to help push the stopper out, I'll leave the bottles that are left until Christmas and New Years. I'll take a slow carbonation over a flat sparkling wine any day!
Fabiola, this might have been addressed already, but did the yeast have a date on the package?

No, no date, I was also trying to figure out if this is an old yeast...

 

[Pumpkinman]

Fabiola,
I would think at this point, after reading that you've done everything correctly, it might have been old yeast.

 

[Fabiola]

Fabiola,
I would think at this point, after reading that you've done everything correctly, it might have been old yeast.

is there still a fix for those bottles?

 

[Pumpkinman]

I would contact the place where you purchased the yeast and tell them that after 8 months the yeast hasn't carbonated the wine, maybe they will replace it, possibly, but after 8 months, not likely, either way, I'd give it a try. If they replace it, I'd pull the plastic stoppers and replace the yeast, soaking it for 2 hrs in the sugar water as per the instructions.
If you decide against that, you might be able to hydrate a packet of EC-1118 in 12 oz water, add 1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) to each 750ml bottle and return the stopper and wire to the bottle, wait a few days and check one bottle.
I base this on the fact that one packet of EC-1118, 5 grams, is used to ferment 5-6 gallons of must, if you made 5 gallons, or 2 cases of sparkling wine use a full packet and 12 oz water.
If you made one case of sparkling wine (12 bottles), I'd weigh out 2-3 grams of yeast and hydrate with 6 ounces of water, and add the same 1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) to each 750 ml bottle.
This is what I was going to do until I checked mine yesterday evening and found that they were carbonating slow, you really have nothing to lose except a packet of yeast.

 

[Fabiola]

I would contact the place where you purchased the yeast and tell them that after 8 months the yeast hasn't carbonated the wine, maybe they will replace it, possibly, but after 8 months, not likely, either way, I'd give it a try. If they replace it, I'd pull the plastic stoppers and replace the yeast, soaking it for 2 hrs in the sugar water as per the instructions.
If you decide against that, you might be able to hydrate a packet of EC-1118 in 12 oz water, add 1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) to each 750ml bottle and return the stopper and wire to the bottle, wait a few days and check one bottle.
I base this on the fact that one packet of EC-1118, 5 grams, is used to ferment 5-6 gallons of must, if you made 5 gallons, or 2 cases of sparkling wine use a full packet and 12 oz water.
If you made one case of sparkling wine (12 bottles), I'd weigh out 2-3 grams of yeast and hydrate with 6 ounces of water, and add the same 1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) to each 750 ml bottle.
This is what I was going to do until I checked mine yesterday evening and found that they were carbonating slow, you really have nothing to lose except a packet of yeast.

Thanks a lot...

 

[tonyt]

I'm really wanting to do this process but the sparkling wine style we like the best is blanc de noirs or white from Pinot Noir. Does anyone know of a white Pinot Noir kit I could start with.

 

[Pumpkinman]

Tony, Pinot Noir (red) is one of the classic sparkling wines! I cannot wait to make a few bottles of sparkling wine with the Catawba.

 

[photoactivist]

Tonyt, I, too, am looking for a white pinot noir kit I can jump in on this project. If you find one, please do inform us all, as shall I. Also, I'm just about to backsweeten my 2013 Riesling, and was considering making a couple bottles of sparkling wine from it. I'll post if I do.

 

[tonyt]

Came up empty on the white Pinot. Bzac suggests Riesling. Let us know if you try it and where you get all of the supplies.

 

[photoactivist]

Came up empty on the white Pinot. Bzac suggests Riesling.

Yeah, I didn't have any luck getting my hands on pressed Pinot noir either. I ended up picking up a Pinot Grigio kit that I'm going to use. I'll post all the details with pictures once it's underway; though I prefer to have finished work before publishing details in case I need to make suggestions to changes or blunders.
Still considering my Riesling. I'll keep you in the loop.
I contacted Scott labs, the producers of the proelif encapsulated yeast. Unfortunately, they only sell it by the kilogram. I don't particularly have the means and motives to make 1,000 bottles as of now. I'm not sure how morewines.com got their 83gram packs of the prorestart uvaferm; but I'll probably start there initially. I'm part of a local wine guild that I might try to pull some resources if I can show them this works, and all of us go in on buying the proelif together.

 

[photoactivist]

Ok, I made a post on winepress & I'll make it here; I'm willing to take the lead on buying a kilo from Scott labs and split with people if they would like to get in on it. It will cost $241 to get the kilo to me; so it would be $2.41 per 10 grams plus shipping to get to anyone interested. We can use PayPal for the transactions.
Any takers?

 

[Pumpkinman]

I'd be willing to get 50 grams from you, for $2.41 per 10 grams, that's a good deal. If you decide to avoid getting a kilo, you can get 83 grams for $29.95 on Morewine, they are currently out of stock, but I'm sure that they'll have it soon.
Here is a tip about this yeast, They say "once opened use immediately.", I've had the same package (83 grams) for over a year, I've sealed it well and ziploc'd it and kept it in a very cold refrigerator, and it is still viable, the big difference is that when fresh, I could rehydrate the beads in 2 hrs, and the Sparkling wine would be ready to drink in 2 weeks, after 1 yr, it took 6-8 weeks to carbonate properly, and this last batch, 5 bottles using Chardonnay and 6 bottles using Pinot Noir, I used 2 grams per bottle instead of 1, and made sure that I soaked the beads in the sugar solution for 4 hrs, I could visibly see the beads swelled; I opened a bottle after 1 week and it was slightly carbonated, so it is working, I'll check again in 2 more weeks. I'm adjusting the quantity and length of hydration to compensate for the age.
That said....I would prefer to purchase fresh ProRestart 43®, I want to make at least a half dozen bottles of sparkling Catawba in the next month or so.
Let me know if you go ahead with the purchase, I'm in for 50 grams, I'll PayPal you the $12.05 plus shipping.

 

[photoactivist]

If you decide to avoid getting a kilo, you can get 83 grams for $29.95 on Morewine, they are currently out of stock...

I thought morewine just had the pro restart. Do they carry the pro elif?
Fantastic, pm. I'll keep you in the loop on the purchase. Sounds like we don't have too much of a concern if you're still using yours for a year after opening. I was planning on vacuum packing the parcels for shipment, so that should with freshness as well.

 

[Pumpkinman]

You are correct, I apologize, I used the Uvaferm 43 Prorestart, but the proelif sounds even better, I'll still add the beads to the plastic stopper and use the stainless screen to keep them in place.
I'm still interested, let me know if you decide to move forward with this.

 

[tonyt]

do I get the screens and can they be reused?

 

[Pumpkinman]

Make sure that you get the stainless steel screens, I'm sure that they can be reused, but they were so inexpensive that I toss them along with the stopper when I'm done with the bottle.
You can find them here Click Me , 100 for $5.99.

Here is a link to a PDF on Scott Labs website describing ProElif yeast and its use in making sparkling wines, a very good read,

Click here for ProElif