23 June 2007
[Epi 4] TintoTV - Yeast Starter
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Winemaking fun becomes even more interesting here as Stephany and I take an empty jar of spaghetti sauce to make a yeast starter! The idea is to “jump-start” our yeast before adding it to our must. With the yeast starter, the yeast will multiply and will be wide awake so that fermentation will begin quickly when “pinching” onto our must. Beginning fermentation quickly shortens the sitting must’s lag time where longer periods increase risks of contamination and spoilage.
Our procedure was primarily based on the instruction set from this how-to forum post. We used the following materials in this episode:
- orange juice
- water
- sugar
- yeast nutrient
- yeast energizer
- Yeast (71B-1122)
Please keep your comments, questions, advice, and constructive criticism coming (whether it’s about the show or our winemaking technique, please comment below! Or just say hi too!). We are striving to improve the show and keep it fresh, entertaining, fun, and informative.
Coming up you’ll see the fermentation in progress, specific gravity readings, and eventually first racking! Thanks for watching!
I love the show! The yeast looks like uncooked scrambled eggs. Are you in your boxers in the morning?
— Amit Jun 25 #
great show no doubt… but 2 things came into my head… it wasn’t to exciting or as entertaining as the last one… and when zooming in makes it unfocus unless its completely still(trust me i know). therefore, next time i think u should not zoom that much at all and try to make it more than interesting because that will always help the audience. Other than that, it was a great show… keep it up!
— Michael Jun 26 #
Great show, especially when Nico is sans cap! J/K … As I was watching a question popped into my head but I can’t quite remember it now; if it comes back to mind, I’ll be sure to ask it!
— Juan Carlos Jul 3 #
Hey Nico and Steph, Great job on your video blogs! They are very informative. My wife and I are new to winemaking as well and are just about to produce our first kit wine. I had one question for you that my wife seems to be concerned about with our new hobby. Since you’re doing this with Steph, we figured you would have some insight. My wife is concerned that with all of the exposure to yeast during the process that she might perhaps end up contracting a vaginal yeast infection from the concentrated yeast floating around in the air. Is this something she needs to worry about based on your experience? I told her no, but she’s still a little apprehensive and I want to get started with making our wine! Winemaking sounds like a patient process as it is, so I don’t want to further delay starting our kit.
— Bart Jan 4 #