Yeasts
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- Lalvin KV-1116
Lalvin EC-1118
Red Star Montrachet
- Red Star
Pasture Red
Red Star Cote Des Blanc
Red Star Premier Cuve'e
Red
Star Pasture Champagne
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Lalvin
KV-1116
This strain tends to express freshness of white grape
varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Seyval. The natural
fresh fruit aromas are retained longer than with other standard yeast
strains. Fruit wines and wines made from concentrates poor in nutrient
balance benefit from the capacity of K1V-1116 to adapt to difficult
fermentation conditions. Restarts stuck fermentations.
Lalvin
EC-1118
This strain was isolated, studied and selected from
Champagne fermentations. Due to its competitive factor and ability to
ferment equally well over a wide temperature range, the EC-1118 is one of
the most widely used yeasts in the world. The fermentation characteristics
of the EC-1118 - extremely low production of foam, volatile acid and H2S -
make this strain an excellent choice. This strain ferments well over a
very wide temperature range, from 7o to 35oC (45o to 95oF) and
demonstrates high osmotic and alcohol tolerance. Good flocculation with
compact lees and a relatively neutral flavor and aroma contribution are
also properties of the EC-1118. The EC-1118 strain is recommended for all
types of wines, including sparkling, and late harvest wines and cider. It
may also be used to restart stuck fermentations. I
use this yeast more than any other, It ferments fairly fast, and always
ferments to dryness.
Red
Star Montrachet
For: full-bodied reds, Chardonnay A vigorous yeast
preferred by some for full-bodied reds and Chardonnays, it may have a high
temperature spike unless cooled during the peak of fermentation.
Montrachet is known for a tendency to make H2S, especially when residual
sulfur dust is present at harvest. As a result, we suggest that winemakers
approach Montrachet with caution. If no sulfides are formed, wines are
full-flavored, complex and intense. I personally Dont
recommend ever using this Yeast!!!!
Red Star Pasture Red
(French Red, Bordeaux Red) --
For Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and other full-bodied reds.
This strong, even fermenter produces full-bodied reds that age well in oak
and in the bottle. Pasteur Red encourages development of varietal
intensity balanced by complex aromas and flavors. Grapes of the Cabernet
family respond well to this yeast, as do other flavorful grapes such as
red Rhone varieties. It is the all-time most successful red wine yeast.
Nutrient supplementation is recommended.
Red
Star Cote Des Blanc
fruity / ester aromas.. moderate fermenter..temperature
sensitive.... don't have wide variations in ferm. temp. Tends to stop
before dry (leaves residual sugar) Also known as Epernay.
Premier
Cuvee (see also EC-1118)
(Formerly known as Prise de Mousse) Ferments over wide
temperature range, good for sparkling and still wines. Good strain to
restart a stuck or sluggish fermentation. Often imparts a suble citrus
like flavor. Good with whites or reds. Saccharomyces byanus strain.
Sugar/Alcohol yield varies between 16.5 to 17 g of sugar per % alcohol. AT
150 g sugar per Lt. at 15c the yield is 16.96 alcohol at 200 g sugar per
Lt. at 28c the yield is 17.02.
Pasteur
Champagne
Moderately vigorous with high SO2 and alcohol tolerance.
Fairly neutral. Cold tolerant. Saccharomyces byanus strain
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Yeast
Starter |
This is very simple. just draw off about 1/2 to 1 cup of your
must after you have added all the ingredients, including the acid and sugar BUT
NOT THE CAMPDEN TABS. we dont want any sulfer dioxide in the starter bottle.
Place must in a container that is clean. I use a small mayonaise jar that has
the label removed. add a pinch of yeast nutrient and sprinke yeast into jar.
Place on the kitchen counter top with the lid just laid on jar and off to the
side alittle, so air can get to it. This will kick in FAST!!! By doing this you
can cut the wait time after adding campden tabs to only 3-5 hours. I have never
had a must fail to start after adding this starter mixture to the must, even
only a few hours after adding the C tabs. |
Flavor
Extraction |
Making a good wine requires extraction of
flavor and color from either a fruit or a grape variety. The method used
depends largely on the type of wine you are making and the type of fruit
used. For most all grape wines, you will use a press of some sort, which
can also be used for fruits as well. The home winemaker however will not
need to go to such lengths to get flavor into the wine. There are
basically 4 methods commonly
used.
- Pulp fermentation
- Cold water soaking
- Hot water soaking
- Boiling.
Pulp fermentation,
is exactly what it sounds like. You cut the fruit into small pieces and
place them into a nylon straining bag. Place the bag into the bottom of
your fermentation bucket, and mash with your hands. If its a hard fruit
such as apples, just place it in the bottom without mashing. With
grapes, you just need to break the skin open. you add your water and all
ingredients to the fermenter and ferment with the fruit in for about 5-7
days. 5 days for a soft fruit, and 7 days for a harder fruit.
Cold water soaking, The
fruit is added as with pulp fermentation, but the must in not inoculated
with yeast. You add the water and pectin enzyme to the fermenter and let
the fruit soak for 3-5 days, stirring a couple of times a day. This
method is commonly used for fruits with high tannic seeds which are
impossible to remove. (blackberries) You will get the fruit flavor
leeched out into the must, but will avoid the harsh, tart flavor
that to much tannin can give to a wine.
Hot water soaking, A very
common start to pulp fermentation. Cut up the fruit and place in nylon
bag. boil several gallons of water and pour this over the fruit. Let
fruit soak in the hot water until it cools. Add rest of water and
chemicals. Ferment as usual. This method is one of the BEST. you can
dissolve some of your sugar in the hot water prior to pouring over the
fruit. The hot water also aids in extracting a lot of color from the
skins of the fruit, as well as steeping the fruit for good flavor
extraction. A plus to this method is that it also sterilizes the must,
thus eliminating the need for a lot of potassium metabisulphite.
Boiling, A
method used for several kinds of fruit wines. Plum and peach wines often
carry recipes that call for boiling the fruit. I am not sure why, because
for both of those fruits, I usually ferment on the pulp, after adding hot
water to the fruit. However if you desire to get a lot of flavor
extraction from a fruit, you can boil it for 10 mins or so. and then
remove the fruit and pour the hot juice into the fermentation bucket.
Certain fruits contain a lot of pectin, and boiling this fruit will
release the pectin into the juice. This will give a finished wine a pectin
haze, that will require a fining agent to clear. So never boil for to
long, and always add a pectin enzyme to aid in clearing the wine during
fermentation. |
Fermentation |
Fermentation is the
process of breaking down sugar molecules into alcohol and carbon
dioxide, when yeasts are present. When yeasts are added to a liquid
containing sugar, the yeast first begin to multiply and form a colony.
If several types of yeasts are present generally they will compete for
colonization. There are other organisms in a wine must besides just
yeast, especially if a pure grape wine is being made. Therefore it is
common to assume that other micro-biological things are going on during
the fermentation process. Generally acids present in the must as
tartaric and malic are reduced somewhat. Also nitrogen containing
compounds are usually consumed during the fermentation process, these
compounds are known to home winemakers as nutrient. The resulting wine
is composed of ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide, along with other
compounds. For the home winemaker the primary fermentation will be the
most active, in which 70% of the sugar is used up by the yeast. some of
the yeast will die off by the time this percentage is reached. Generally
most recipes for winemaking tell you to rack your wine at this time.
This will eliminate getting off flavors from any yeast that have
expired. On the other hand I have let wine completely finish
fermentation before the first racking, and have had no problems. If
fermenting on the pulp I usually rack when fermentation has reduced
sugar by 70%, but for pure juice fermentation where the entire process
is under airlock from the beginning I usually let the wine finish before
racking. The method used is purely up to the winemaker.
Method
- Once your must is prepared
with either all juice or fruit, and acid, nutrient, and
enzyme have been added, Then add your yeast. Either use a
starter for the yeast or just sprinkle on top of the must.
no need to stir in.
- Airlock fermenter and place
at about 70 degrees.
- Watch for signs for
bubbling in the airlock after about 24 hours or so.
- Stir must daily if
fermenting on fruit pulp.
- Stir must once 3 days after
start if fermenting juice only.
- After 5-7 days on pulp or
10 days for juice, rack to secondary fermenter.
- Allow fermentation to
finish and rack again about a week or two after finish.
- Once racked stabilize the
wine, and then stir vigorously to release all carbon
dioxide.
- Clear your wine either by
fining or aging.
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In addition to controlling the yeasts,
winemakers control the temperatures of the must during
fermentation to fit the wine being made. Cool fermentations
(45' to 55'F) preserve a maximum of the fresh grape aromas.
Warm ones (80 to 95'F) produce bouquets-smells associated with
wine rather than fruit. Typically, white and sparkling wines
ferment in the cool to middle range while reds, appetizer and
dessert wines ferment within the warmer half of the range.
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Airlocks
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An airlock is exactly what is sounds like.
It locks air out of a must or a finished wine. In the old days an
airlock was constructed out of anything that would work. Today home
winemakers can purchase airlocks very inexpensively. An airlock is
filled with water or a sulfur solution and placed in a grommeted hole in
the fermentation bucket. The massive amounts of carbon dioxide being
released by the fermentation process are allowed to escape through the
airlock because pressure is forcing bubbles out through the top.
However air and oxygen are not allowed to pass through the water or
solution, because there is no pressure forcing them in. Your wine will
age with out being exposed to air. |
Racking
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The process of transferring musts or wine
from one container to another. One usually does not pour his wine from
one container to the other because of the exposure to air. A racking
cane and tubing are used to siphon the wine, thus avoiding over exposure
to air. Generally a racking cane is a curved piece of hard plastic
tubing called a "J" tube. one end of the J-tube has a yeast
inhibiting tip on it, to reduce the chance of sediment being sucked into
the tube during racking. The other end of the J-tube comes out the top
of the carboy and curves downward. A piece of flexible plastic tubing is
placed over this end of the J-tube and leads to the receiving vessel. To
transfer your must or wine, you get the flow started by siphoning the
liquid. You can also use a pump or other tools designed to get the flow
started without putting your mouth over the end of the tube. I find that
as long as you are careful, and try not to get wine into your mouth,
there will be no problems. Transfer the wine being very careful not to
transfer sediment. Reattach airlock and your all done.!! |
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