Sanitation practices

[wineview]

I am very conscious about the importance of working clean. At times I wonder if I am going overboard. For example, if you are making a yeast starter, do you sanitize the measuring spoon that touches the nutrient or sugar added to the starter? What about the measuring cup for the water or whisk to stir in the yeast and nutrients. I have, and am wondering if I really need to be that careful.
Love to hear your thoughts and methods.

 

[Ohio Bob]

I am very conscious about the importance of working clean. At times I wonder if I am going overboard. For example, if you are making a yeast starter, do you sanitize the measuring spoon that touches the nutrient or sugar added to the starter? What about the measuring cup for the water or whisk to stir in the yeast and nutrients. I have, and am wondering if I really need to be that careful.
Love to hear your thoughts and methods.

In my opinion, and in very simple terms, you can divide winemaking into pre-fermentation and post-fermentation. I boil my yeast starter solution with sugar in it, partly to sanitize but also get the sugar fully dissolved, then add nutrient. When the starter gets to 100F I add the yeast. None of the tools I use gets sanitized, just a rinse with clean water, if that.

Punch down tools get sanitized, partly because I still have the sanitizer solution available when sanitizing the fermentation bucket. After that solution gets old, I just rinse tools in water.

As the must gets closer to wine and not must anymore, it’s post-fermentation. Everything gets sanitized. Exceptions are the measuring spoons for tannins, Kmeta, oak cubes. Equipment like auto siphons, tubing, hydrometer, airlocks all get sanitized. My feeling is that the Kmeta and dissolved CO2 help keep any bacteria at bay.

 

[wineview]

I use Go Ferm. Doesn’t the boiling water kill the nutrients?