Topic: Yeast & Fermentation

A quick explanation of what malolactic fermentation is, and how/when you may want to do it.

Learn how to stop fermentation before reaching dryness, plus when and why a winemaker may wish to do so.

Ask 5 winemakers and you may get 6 opinions about co-inocculation. But what does the science say?

Hi Lauren, great question. There are so many steps along the way where a fermentation can get into trouble, or “go pear shaped” as my interns from New Zealand used to say.

Wild or native yeasts, according to a general definition, occur naturally in the air or on surfaces. While the word, ‘wild’ might give the romantic impression that winemaking’s native yeasts come from

There once was a time when MLF only happened spontaneously in winemaking. These days, however, winemakers have more choices when it comes to performing MLF.

An introduction to sur lie aging and why you may want to consider it for your next batch.

Like most everything in winemaking, the glib answer is, “It depends.” The real answer, however, is much more complex and as you intimate, experience can play a large part in fine-tuning your

All home winemakers wish — and strive — for fermentations that go smoothly and completely to the desired finish, usually dry wine. When things go wrong, a frequent problem is a stuck

In the fourth installment of our year-long series about how homemade wine is made using home-grown grapes in Upstate New York, it’s time to check on finished fermentations and prune the grapevines.

Yeast are fairly simple, single-celled organisms. But their diversity, functionality, and ability to adapt is why humans, and especially winemakers love these fungi so much. Bob Peak takes us through several strains that winemakers should know are available.

In addition to alcoholic fermentation, the yeast used to ferment wine also metabolize other substances into byproducts. Learn more about how wine yeast works.

Ah that is a wonderful and complex question. When a winemaker chooses to inoculate for fermentation (which I generally recommend) there are many factors to take into account when making that choice.

One of the most important conditions for your yeast to thrive is an abundance of nutrients. If the must doesn’t provide enough naturally, it’s time to add yeast nutrients. Use these tips to know when it’s time to add nutrients, and what types your yeast need to complete a successful fermentation.

Well, I would’ve inoculated right off the bat if I didn’t see anything happening within 24 to 48 hours. Contrary to popular belief, yeast cells that can carry out a complete alcoholic

For tips on selecting the best strains to get the job done, we asked four experts with various wine and yeast-related backgrounds to give us a hand.

Just because your wine kit comes with a certain yeast, that doesn’t mean you can’t experiment with other options.

Many home winemakers are uncertain on whether or not to have their wines go through malolactic fermentation. This is not surprising since there is no “one size fits all” approach to the decision and using malolactic fermentation (MLF) depends on the type and style of wine that you are trying to make.

Want to preserve the delicate aromas in your white wines? Learn these hot tips for running a cool fermentation.

The dreaded “ring around the carboy” strikes again! Quickie answer – your instincts are correct. I would rack to clean containers and, since you’ve already added SO2, and since I doubt your

Before you set about making any major changes to this wine, make sure that when you taste you are not tasting a sample that has a lot of dissolved carbon dioxide gas

Without yeast, there can be no wine. But the role of wine yeast goes well beyond alcoholic fermentation — the biochemical process of converting sugar into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide. Yeast

Yeast selection is one of the most important winemaking decisions as the chosen yeast strain is, to a large extent, what shapes the wine, influences organoleptic (sensory) qualities, and reduces the risk

Since you don’t mention whether the 15 ppm is free or total SO2, it’s tough for me to refer specifically to either the instructions or your protocol. However, I routinely add up

Is the salmonella (commonly associated with eggs) a problem to consider when fining with egg whites? Bob McKee Tucker, Georgia Egg whites are an ancient, traditional and natural additive and are sometimes