Is my must salvageable?

[WildernessMedic]

For those of you that helped on my all grape where I over sulfiteD thread...

Got home today to find nothing happening still. It's been several days (close to a week?) since I pitched. Over a week since I picked them for sure. If the sulfite was very heavy and killed my yeast, does that mean the must was protected? Basically is it trash because other stuff probable grew in my grape juice or does it just mean it's in a state of protection until the sulfites drop and I repitch?

 

[Johnd]

For those of you that helped on my all grape where I over sulfiteD thread...

Got home today to find nothing happening still. It's been several days (close to a week?) since I pitched. Over a week since I picked them for sure. If the sulfite was very heavy and killed my yeast, does that mean the must was protected? Basically is it trash because other stuff probable grew in my grape juice or does it just mean it's in a state of protection until the sulfites drop and I repitch?

If your yeast is yet unable to survive the environment, so should other organisms, and it's got some protection from oxidation. If it still smells ok, keep racking and try pitching new yeast. Without an SO2 test, it's impossible to know where you are.........but it will dissipate.

 

[WildernessMedic]

Ok thanks. Just cracked the lid and can still smell sulfites. I'm gonna rack the hell out of it, wait another 24 and pitch again. Sulfites must be pretty crazy. Hard to imagine old grape juice sitting in a bucket for a week turning out ok to drink lol

 

[Scooter68]

Honestly what's it going to cost you to put in another packet of yeast at this point? About $1.00 or you can dump it and call it a total loss.

Invest one more dollar and see what happens. You can even split the yeast and try it two ways. The sprinkle method with half the packet and the Yeast starter method with the other half. Use a 2-3 ozs of warm water, a little nutrient 1/4 tsp mix in the yeast, cap lightly and let it set in a warm spot for about 24 hrs.

Do the sprinkle first while the starter mix has time to fire up. I've walked in to find my starter mix with big bubbles, are fired up and hungry for some wine to ferment. Nothing really to lose now by trying again.

 

[Scooter68]

By the way anyone ever had communion grape juice that's turned?

I remember experiencing that a couple of times. All around the auditorium you could see people looking at each other. Nothing but grape juice running wild - fermenting. (We serve just plain grape juice at our congregation where many serve actual wine, but I don't want to start a theological debate here.) ::

 

[Scooter68]

Wonder if anyone has made a wine washboard out of a sheet of stainless steel? Seems like that would fit nicely into a fermentation bucket and permit a lot of gas release.

 

[WildernessMedic]

Nothing to lose just want to make sure there's a point. If someone says even if it starts it may be dangerous to drink due to some bacterial grow or something then I'd have no reason not to dump it out.

 

[Scooter68]

The SO2 should have killed any bacterial growth from the first dosage. As the wine ferments the alcohol will kill off any bacteria that shows up. And as you dose it again with a little less Potassium Metabisulfate later on, that will also wipe out any bacteria.
The process of wine making is really pretty safe unless you introduce chemicals that are dangerous/toxic - such as returning your TA test sample to the batch after you add sodium hydroxide. Other than that, it going to take some deliberate action to make it unsafe. You could say that the "spoilage" process is actually what we are inducing and controlling through fermentation with the resulting alcohol protecting the wine.

 

[LoveTheWine]

This is what I would suggest:
Make a yeast starter. Rehydrate a new pack of yeast in a 1 or 2 Liter container. After 15 min add a small amount of must and let this begin to ferment. After 1/2 a day, add more must. Repeat. After a while you will have a big enough yeast colony to hopefully start all your must fermenting when you dump it in

 

[Mismost]

This is what I would suggest:
Make a yeast starter. Rehydrate a new pack of yeast in a 1 or 2 Liter container. After 15 min add a small amount of must and let this begin to ferment. After 1/2 a day, add more must. Repeat. After a while you will have a big enough yeast colony to hopefully start all your must fermenting when you dump it in

I agree. In fact I always rehydrate my yeast for wine or beer. I frankly do not understand the "sprinkle method"...done it, I know it works. Read the yeast package, they say rehydrate, so I do that.

And I build that "starter" up with must or wort. I want to yeast that yeast working BEFORE I pitch it. Good sanitation, I've never had a problem and the fermentation takes off like steam engine.

 

[WildernessMedic]

I've always rehydrated too. Never tried that starter bit though, sounds like a great idea I'll give it a shot. Thanks.

 

[WildernessMedic]

Yikes. I did what was suggested. Rehydrated yeast, added to a liter of must separately. A few hours ago the starter was just taking off. I just checked and it's going full strength, but so is the bucket of must too??

Not sure what this means. A bad yeast got in and started before I got the right one in? Or is it possible the yeast was dormant/stunned by the high sulfites and once they evaporated it started?

Advice please :/

 

[Johnd]

Yikes. I did what was suggested. Rehydrated yeast, added to a liter of must separately. A few hours ago the starter was just taking off. I just checked and it's going full strength, but so is the bucket of must too??

Not sure what this means. A bad yeast got in and started before I got the right one in? Or is it possible the yeast was dormant/stunned by the high sulfites and once they evaporated it started?

Advice please :/

I doubt it's a bad yeast, your SO2 finally got low enough for the yeast you pitched twice to get going in the oversulfited must. If your starter is the same yeast, dump it in and enjoy the show.

 

[WildernessMedic]

SG is now at .994. Has some weird flavors in it but one of them is sweetness. What's going on? Now way I'm tasting sugar in something that dry right?

 

[Johnd]

SG is now at .994. Has some weird flavors in it but one of them is sweetness. What's going on? Now way I'm tasting sugar in something that dry right?

No, you shouldn't be tasting sugar in a .994 wine. Sometimes a very young wine that's fruity can be mistaken for sweetness. I'm not sure what you mean by the other weird flavors, but you still have a lot of stuff in there, namely CO2 in suspension as well as yeast, so it's not going to taste like a nice bottle of wine right now.

For the moment, just be steadily patient, you've gotten it this far. When the SG remains unchanged for a few days running, it'll be time to rack, get it protected with some sulfite, and let some of that CO2 and fermentation remains start settling out of your wine. You can start judging the taste a little further down the road.

 

[Johnd]

Just to be clear, I tried to go back through your threads to see what kind of grapes you were using, I think this evolution has been through at least two threads. These are the unidentified buckets of grapes that you picked, some green, some red, some in between, threw out a lot of moldy ones, crushed and over sulfited???????

 

[WildernessMedic]

Just to be clear, I tried to go back through your threads to see what kind of grapes you were using, I think this evolution has been through at least two threads. These are the unidentified buckets of grapes that you picked, some green, some red, some in between, threw out a lot of moldy ones, crushed and over sulfited???????

Yeah those be the ones haha.

 

[Johnd]

Yeah those be the ones haha.

Then let's be a little liberal with tasting notes, they may have not even been wine grapes. The fact that you didn't spit it out is a good sign.