Pitching Yeast in WIne for First Time

Winemaking
1

Hi All!

This year my family is short on time so we are stepping away from our traditional way of making wine with grapes and just using the already pressed must.

This being said, making wine over the years, we just let the crushed grapes ferment themselves and do not add yeast.

My question is…

We are making 55 gallons and I would like to pitch all of the yeast in one shot. Is a 1000ML erlenmeyer flask sufficient enough to pitch 9 packets of yeast at once? Do you have any other recommendations?

Thank you!!!

2

What yeast are you considering?
I’ll guess a dry yeast. In that case, just sprinkle it on top of the must. Or rehydreate in .5-.75qt of water. Which would be less than you flask.

3

[quote=“Nighthawk”]What yeast are you considering?
I’ll guess a dry yeast. In that case, just sprinkle it on top of the must. Or rehydreate in .5-.75qt of water. Which would be less than you flask.[/quote]

This is very helpful, thank you! The yeast I will be using is Red Star “Montrachet”.

After pitching, does the must need to be aerated or mixed daily?

Thank you!

4

You didn’t specify which type of wine you are making. If it’s a read, and you’re fermenting on the skins, you’ll have to “punch it down” two or three times a day til it reaches, pretty close to, it’s final brix. If it’s a white, it wouldn’t really hurt anything to agitate it once a day. :cheers:

5

Hi. Thanks for the Reply. It’s a red. Not fermenting on the skins, this is just pure grape must sold in 6 galling buckets due to lack of time this season.

Do I still need to agitate the wine by going this route?

6

I don’t see any need to agitate this wine daily. I would just leave it to do it’s business.

Just curious though, is this a frozen fresh pressed must, or a standard juice kit like Mosto Perfecto or the like?

7

[quote=“Brew Meister Smith”]I don’t see any need to agitate this wine daily. I would just leave it to do it’s business.

Just curious though, is this a frozen fresh pressed must, or a standard juice kit like Mosto Perfecto or the like?[/quote]

It was not previously frozen, and is also not a kit.

It is must that is pressed on site into 6 gallon buckets. It is refrigerated, however. (see image)

This contains 6 of one type of grape and 3 buckets of another.

Our plan is to blend them in one large primary as we normally would with pressed grapes and then pitch the yeast.

My final questions are.

  1. Should a batch this large typically require a yeast starter?

  2. Is 4-500ML of water sufficient enough for 9 packs of yeast (5 g each)

Thanks so much!

8

Your yeast choice has a general tendency to create more hydrogen sulfide which can cause issues.

Be careful!

9

Assuming normal strength table wine, rule of thumb for pitching dry wine yeast is 1/4 to 1/2 gram per liter of must. No need to make a starter, but rehydrate the yeast first in 10x it’s weight of water. So,…

55 gal must = 208 liters → need at least 50 g yeast

50g yeast should be rehydrated in 500 ml warm (about 100F) water for 15-30 minutes, not longer.

Good call on the hydrogen sulfide with this yeast. Might want to add some nutrient as well, as per the directions that come with the nutrient.

10
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/red- ... achet.html

read the description.

Also 1 packet of yeast works for 6-7 gals. I only sprinkle on the top of the must. it always works out.

I also had a link to a chart re: the yeast strains and that specific one and the comments to hydrogen sulfide but I cannot find it. Sorry.

use yeast nutrient.