November 2009 Newsletter
November 2009
News from: Winemakers Depot
WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE:
- Tips, Topics, & Factoids
- New Products
- Featured Products/Seasonal Products
- Promotions
- Industry News
- Drop us a Line
- Recipes from Our Friends
TIPS, TOPICS, & FACTOIDS:
Why do Some Fermenters have and Airlock and Others Do Not? Here is a question sent to us by one of our Customers, Stephanie G.
· QUESTION - I was just curious as to why your 12 and 24 galloon primary fermenters do not have a drilled and grometted hole for the airlock? Is it because they have more air space and don't need one? I thought that all primary fermenters needed an airlock hole?
· ANSWER - Good question... Actually during fermentation you do not need your container to be free from outside air. During fermentation there is so much gas being given off outside air can not settle on and into your must. Many people and small wineries with 1,000 or 2,000 lbs of grapes ferment in large bins and just cover with cheese cloth to keep bugs and dirt out. So why the lid, seal, grommet and airlock on the smaller 6.5 or 8 gallon fermenters? Some people will do long term aging in these, which is not something I would ever recommend because they are not air tight enough and long term exposure to these plastics can leave an off flavor to your wine, but they are okay for beer and many will use them for beer.
Wine Yeast Rehydration:
· How important is it to rehydrate the yeast before adding it to the fermenter?
· Very important! Extensive research shows that the yeast cell wall is very fragile during the first few minutes of rehydration. Some of the components of the yeast are going from a dry crystalline form to a gel like state and can go through this transformation successfully if rehydrated properly (refer to our 3 easy steps rehydration protocol). With rehydration water at lower temperatures the transformation from crystalline to gel is less successful, the cell wall becomes porous and leaches out vital parts of its insides. Rehydration in 60°F water can result in a loss of 60% of the yeast viability.
· Rehydration in distilled or deionized water is lethal to the yeast. The cell walls require the presence of some minerals, sodium, calcium, magnesium and or potassium, during rehydration. Tap water at 250 ppm hardness is optimum. Most tap water has enough hardness to do the job. The presence of 1/2% yeast extract, yeast hulls, autolyzed yeast or peptone in the rehydration water will give the yeast an added boost that will get it through its lag phase quicker. After the yeast cell wall has been reconstituted, the yeast returns to its normal ability to be selective.
Most fermentations should start with an inoculation of 3 - 4 million viable yeast cells per milliliter of must. A normal healthy fermentation will reach the stationary phase with a cell population up to 100 - 150 million viable yeast cells per milliliter. Because of this significant increase in biomass, it is critical that the active dried yeast gets off to a good start. Winemakers that carefully rehydrate their active dried yeast are taking a key preventative step to avoiding stuck and sluggish fermentations. Remember to use only clean 104°F tap water and please refer to our Easy 3 Steps Protocol for more information
· *This content is adapted from Lalvin/Lallemand’s website for Wine Yeast - For more information and technical data visit
Lalvin-Lallemand's website Our 6 Part
Wine Making Tutorial is Now Complete with the posting to our website of Lesson 5 on Wine Stabilization and Clearing and Lesson 6 on Bottling Wine which Includes Sweetening and other Pre-Bottling related topics.
Quotes:
- Wine Kits - You know what they say… “Make One to Drink and Make One to Age”
NEW PRODUTS:
Products that were New Last Month but Due to the Time of Year Still Worth Noting:
FEATURED PRODUCTS:
PROMOTIONS:
Here are a few of the items we have on special right now.
We will also add items during the month. For more information on current promotions Click the Following Link:
PROMOTIONS
INDUSTRY NEWS
· WineMaker Magazine Annual Wine Competition:
o Entry Deadline for Wines to Arrive in Vermont: March 15, 2010
o Wines Judged in Vermont: April 16-18, 2010
o Results First Announced at WineMaker Magazine Conference in Washington State May 22, 2010
· Have a question about a product
· If there is a product you need but can’t find on our website
· If there is there is a topic you would like to see covered in our next or future Newsletter
· If you have a recipe you want to share
RECIPE of the MONTH: Rhubarb Wine Recipe (From Allison K.)
This recipe is for making 6 Gallons of Rhubarb Wine
Ingredients
· 14.5 lbs. Canadian Red rhubarb
· 14.5 lbs. sugar
1 packet (5 gr.) Cote de Blancs yeast
· 1 1/4 tsp. yeast nutrient
Directions
- Slice rhubarb thinly and cover with sugar in stainless steel or glass pan. Cover pan with cheesecloth.
- After two days, strain off juice and wash out sugar remaining in the pulp by stirring the pulp with cold water,
then strain again. Add enough water to make six gallons plus one quart and pour into six-gallon carboy. Save one quart as "sweet reserve" by putting into a Ziplock bag and freezing (the use of the reserve juice will produce a significantly more "fruity" wine). Do not add Campden tablets/sulfite at this time as it will reduce the taste of rhubarb in the final wine. - Add yeast and yeast nutrient and ferment at a temperature of 60 to 80 degrees (follow your yeast’s instructions).
- Transfer the wine after three months and top off by adding the one-quart "sweet reserve" juice. Add tartaric acid to raise the titratable acidity (TA) to 0.76, if needed.
- After five months, check sulfite level and add Campden tablets/metabisulfite to bring SO2 level to 50-60 PPM.
TA of my wine was 0.81 at bottling. - Bottle and enjoy!
Comments:
· The rhubarb should be small stalk red rhubarb as that is better flavor. Young rhubarb is best.
· Not adding sulfite at the beginning will help keep some additional flavor. The sweet reserve is taken out of the main batch, so no sulfite is added anywhere until after the fermentation is done.
· From my experience, rhubarb is sometimes tough to start because the acid is often high. It often works best to make a good yeast starter before adding to the must.