New member couple of questions

[bicycle bill]

Hi all. Yes this old man has decided to try his hand at making wine. Actually i have made some in the past however it was quite funky using baker's yeast,non sanatized equipment etc. I think i know a little more about the process now.

Question about the wine yeast.

I have a sachet of Red Star Montrachet containg 5 grams Eckraus says is enough to make five gallons. I don't want to make five gallons at first. I want to make a gallon. How do i divide the contents into five equal amounts without buying a scale that would handle this small amount? Isn't a teaspoon equal to a gram?

Also why could i not use the empty beer bottles i have for bottling the wine? I have the #6 corks that fit them?

 

[Yooper]

Welcome! You don't divide up the yeast packet- you use one package for any amount of wine from 1-5 gallons.

I don't see why you couldn't use beer bottles if you want. I use 375 ml wine bottles with a #8 cork all the time- it seems like that's close to the same size. I bottle in 750 ml bottles mostly because that's a convenient size for me. Just make sure your corker uses that size cork. I think those corks might be too small for some hand corkers.

Again, welcome!

 

[bicycle bill]

You don't divide up the yeast packet- you use one package for any amount of wine from 1-5 gallons.

I'm sorry but i must be dense. I don't understand why it is said "enough yeast for up to five gallons then" Seems logical to me that if the pack is enough for five gallons it would be too much for one.

About corking. I read somewhere that one could just stuff the cork in the bottle by hand foregoing the use of a corker. Would that be possible? Thanks

Edit: I just checked the Eckraus catalog and they do say the corks i spoke of can be pushed in by hand.

 

[Yooper]

wow- I'd never even thought about pushing the corks in- I have enough trouble with the corker! But then, I'm a weaking!

I'd suggest reading up on some wine making info, and my favorite place is here:

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/basics.asp

This will help alot. His site is a little hard to navigate, but the info (including literally 100s of recipes) is priceless.

The yeast package is for 1-5 gallons. It is enough for UP TO 5 gallons, but barely adequate. It works great for the smaller batches, because the yeast count is adequate but for over, say 3 gallons, it does take a while for the fermentation to get going. If you divide it up to save a dollar, you might get fermentation. But, the wild yeasts might get a foothold first. You want a fermentation to begin as soon as possible, as it helps to keep the other "things", wild yeasts, bacteria, etc. at bay. I would never use less than a package of yeast for a gallon of wine.

 

[NYeric]

I think what she is saying is use the whole yeast packet. The amount you use is not relavant as long as you use enough.

If you are making less than 5 gallons, just use half a packet or close enough. hen it comes to yeast you are better off using too much than too little.

 

[NYeric]

Sorry Yooper I guess we posted at the same time......Whats up with the new avatar? You trying to make a statement

 

[bicycle bill]

Thank you much good folks. I now understand more clearly as to how to use the yeast.

 

[Yooper]

Sorry Yooper I guess we posted at the same time......Whats up with the new avatar? You trying to make a statement

This is the "old" avatar I had for quite a while. I brought it back due to some requests.

There are some nice sites, too, online for a description of the different types of yeast and what they can be used for. Some yeasts will enhance fruity flavors in wine, while others will give you a drier wine. I think that's on Jack Keller's site too, if I remember correctly.