Yeast

[Rusty Nesmith]

I have been watching videos on YouTube. Tim Vandergrift and one other. Both of them stirred everything in very good except the yeast. They both poured the yeast on top and left it. Do you not stir in the yeast?

 

[CDrew]

Stir in the yeast. I think that's old school to sprinkle on top. There was some belief it needed to breathe and would benefit from oxygen, but after crushing and stirring the must is already saturated with oxygen, so after your rehydration, just stir it in.

And looking at your avatar picture, I don't remember anywhere like that in West Virginia. Maybe global climate change has really had an effect there.

 

[mainshipfred]

I'm a believer in hydrating the yeast. I think folks like Tim's and others recommendations are geared to those just getting started. Hydrating the yeast at the wrong temps and without the proper nutrients can hinder or halt the yeasts development.

 

[Ajmassa]

I have been watching videos on YouTube. Tim Vandergrift and one other. Both of them stirred everything in very good except the yeast. They both poured the yeast on top and left it. Do you not stir in the yeast?

Dry yeast I sprinkle on top. (Juice buckets)
When Hydrating I’ve done both stirred it in and left on surface. Don’t think any way really made a difference. Always end up with wine!

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

Stir in the yeast. I think that's old school to sprinkle on top. There was some belief it needed to breathe and would benefit from oxygen, but after crushing and stirring the must is already saturated with oxygen, so after your rehydration, just stir it in.

And looking at your avatar picture, I don't remember anywhere like that in West Virginia. Maybe global climate change has really had an effect there.

That is Panama City Beach, Florida. We went down for a week in August and was able the connect with Aunts and Cousins that I haven’t seen in 40 years. My family live in Apalachicola and Carrabelle. We would love to live there.

 

[Intheswamp]

Carabelle, SGI, East Bay, etc...old Florida.

 

[user 36973]

I'm a believer in hydrating the yeast. I think folks like Tim's and others recommendations are geared to those just getting started.

And hydration is what most yeast manufacturers instruct you to do in order to maximize the yeast innoculation concentration.

While you *can* sprinkle dry yeast on top of the must and have it ferment successfully (most of us have done this at some point), you usually end up with a lower initial population of yeast which can slow the onset of fermentation, thereby allowing unfriendly yeasts to have a shot at your wine. Less of an issue with the processed juice kits but more of a concern with crushed grapes from the field.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

Carabelle, SGI, East Bay, etc...old Florida.

Great area. One of my cousins used to own a Bed and Breakfast on SGI.

 

[1d10t]

Kit makers have a vested interest in making the kit as easy and 'fool proof' as possible.

Works ≠ Optimal

 

[Scooter68]

Sadly they don't really worry much about the quality of the end product. I've have never heard a newbie ask "Why does the kit tell me I should age this wine for 12 months before drinking or bottling?
Those kit makers want their products sold and used fast so they can keep selling more. If that ever changes.... let me know I might look into kit wines.

 

[Chuck E]

That is Panama City Beach, Florida. We went down for a week in August and was able the connect with Aunts and Cousins that I haven’t seen in 40 years. My family live in Apalachicola and Carrabelle. We would love to live there.

My in-laws used to winter over in Mexico Beach. The hurricane really wiped that town off the map.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

Wow it sounds like I messed up starting with a kit.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

My in-laws used to winter over in Mexico Beach. The hurricane really wiped that town off the map.

Yes we drove through there in August and it was in bad shape. The main road through down town was still closed.

 

[sour_grapes]

Wow it sounds like I messed up starting with a kit.

No, no, not at all. Even if you later decide to venture out from kits, you learn a lot from doing them, and some of the variables are helpfully removed from the process.

 

[1d10t]

Wow it sounds like I messed up starting with a kit.

Not at all. You should get drinkable wine and learn some stuff along the way.

 

[Scooter68]

Kits are fine - it's a way to get started - BUT just remember that their instructions are only really good up until you pitch the yeast. After that you should be using a hydrometer and your own eyes and taste buds to make decisions.

When in doubt just post a question here. Plenty of folks happy to help.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

Kits are fine - it's a way to get started - BUT just remember that their instructions are only really good up until you pitch the yeast. After that you should be using a hydrometer and your own eyes and taste buds to make decisions.

When in doubt just post a question here. Plenty of folks happy to help.

I can guarantee I will be asking a lot of questions. I joined a different forum first and it takes days to get an answer if I get one at all. Everybody here is so friendly and quick to answer and help. Very happy I found this forum. Best one out there that I have found. I got my kit. I will start it Sunday or Monday. I want it to stay in the garage and it is 65 in there now and will get colder. I bought a heater with temp control to wrap around my bucket and it should be here tomorrow.

 

[CDrew]

I've not made a kit of wine but sort of wished I had. There are many procedures to get straight that a Kit fermentation would do. like sanitary procedures, how to rack, vacuum/pressure relationships, etc. But I also would look at kits as a path to wine making from grapes. Fruit wine beverages are maybe sorta wines, but wine is made from grapes.

I started out as a home brewer. You start with extracts, and then partial mashes and then full on all grain brewing. The differences in taste are immediately obvious. Wine making is the same. The more you start with the stuff from the field, the better your product. So make a kit or two, then once everything seems normal make wine from grapes.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

Where do you get grapes from if there are not any local?

 

[Scooter68]

Those folks who live well away from vineyards:
1) Grow their own, assuming they have the wherewithal to do so.
2) Find a vineyard in their area who will sell them grapes,
3) Drive to a vineyard and haul lugs of grapes back
4) Buy Buckets of juice ready to ferment
5) Make wine from local fruit. (Contrary to some opinions - It is possible to make great wine from Fruit other than grapes. Just as great wines are now grown around the world, not just in France)

Note: Each method has it's drawbacks and advantages
Time to raise vines to a production state and age
Finding a local vineyard (though you might be surprised where you will find them)
Long drive to haul enough grapes to make a good size batch of wine
Buckets have often been received with the juice already well into fermentation
Fruit other than grapes present a different set of needs to achieve the right balance

Personally I've chosen the 5th option as I was served an outstanding glass of apple wine in Germany and could never find/purchase one in the states. So I make my own along with a wide variety of other fruit WINES to include Blueberry, Blackberry, Black Raspberry, Peach, Apple, Plum, Black Currant and more. I don't delve into some of the more unusual varieties that some folks make but I would still consider them a type of wine, within reason.