Wild yeast

[Smok1]

Hi, im new here, my names dave i am from the Okanagan in canada and i am new to making wine, 7 kits so far and all have turned out great. I have rhubarb, a peach tree and a apricot tree and i want to try my hand at making wine from scratch. My first question i guess is about wild yeast. From the forums i been searching say to kill the wild yeast using k-meta and mixing it in then pitch your store bought yeast ec-1118 or similar. My question is if i add k-meta in my juice to kill any wild yeast whats stopping it from killing my ec-1118? Thanks for any help.

 

[NorCal]

1118 is SO2 tolerant.

 

[BernardSmith]

Hi Smok1 - and welcome. That yeast may be tolerant of sulfur dioxide (K-meta) but the fact of the matter is that you are adding sulfur dioxide and sulfur dioxide will evaporate after a few hours which is why after adding K-meta you wait 24 hours and THEN add your chosen yeast. Add just about any yeast (including that champagne yeast) too soon and the K-meta will not have evaporated and so the poor yeast you have pitched (added) will be obliterated. But that said - and I know that many on this forum may disagree with me but EC -1118 is a sledge-hammer and one of its "strengths" is that it rips any flavor and aroma from your fruit. Best use for this yeast is to use it to prime a wine that you have already fermented using a yeast that is more tailored for the fruit you are using, the flavors you are seeking, and the mouthfeel you want...EC-1118 is a killer yeast and it will create an environment in the must that is inhospitable to any other yeast. In short, EC-1118 runs with scissors and does not play nicely with others in the nursery... ::

 

[Johny99]

Most literature agrees that the SO2 doesn't kill the yeast, basically it is to set back the nasty bacteria until the yeast can take over. Thus, it is advisable to use more with questionable fruit and with nice clean fruit, some of us skip it. That said, the comments on EC-1118 are spot on. Most native yeasts are quickly overwhelmed by the well inoculated commercial strains which are selected for their ability to take over and complete a clean fermentation.

Welcome to the forum from downriver.

 

[Smok1]

Awesome thanks guys, so im not sure if this is the place to ask a new question, im new to forum etiquette, but i want to start this rhubarb wine and id like to use my Omega maserating juicer so i can just ise the juice from the rhubarb then add sugar afterwards to get my sg up, is there any negatives to this method as opposed to putting the rhubarb in a bucket with sugar and pressing our the juices?

 

[Arne]

Don't know how your juicer works, but I will bet if you freeze it (the rhubarb) first it will produce juice easier. Also, just using juice is fine. Arne.

 

[Smok1]

Perfect, thanks for the help guys

 

[JWT]

When I make rhubarb I cut it up in pieces about 1/2" to 3/4" long at a diagonal & freeze it for a couple days Then I put it in a bucket with sugar over it for 24 hours. Then drain the juice into your fermenting bucket & then place the rhubarb in a mesh bag & put into the fermenting bucket. Hope this helps.

 

[Noontime]

To add to the comments about yeast, all of the commercially available wine yeast is much more tolerant to kmeta than wild yeasts and bacteria, since those strains have been bred to do that. As stated you should use a yeast that will positively influence your wine, so for fruit wines, strains like 71B, D47, and QA23 work great since they create different esters and such that help "fruitiness". EC-1188 is a neutral yeast so it doesn't add anything, it just powers through and has a high alcohol tolerance. It also dominates the environment, making it difficult for other organisms to to create a competing colony. It shouldn't strip off any flavors or aromas unless you're fermenting too hot and blowing things off. Another "killer" yeast that has high alcohol tolerance and is popular with fruit wines is K1V-1166 which isn't quite as neutral as EC-1188.