Accidentally mixed up Kit step

[Dr_Moneydick]

Hi, not sure if this is the right section but its in regards to a rather pricey wine kit, basically I added the yeast nutrient first before realizing due to the idiotic french labels that no it was the nutrient I added, I subsequently added yeast (all in the same day) and its currently starting in a large bucket.

I'm new to these at-home systems/kits my last one turned out fine for what it was, I'm concerned this will turbocharge the fermentation and throw everything off or burn out the yeast prematurely?

 

[JimRausch]

Welcome to the forum.
And no worries. Stepped additions, starting with one at pitch time, then another a day or two later is a fairly standard technique.

 

[Blacksmith1]

Also adding all nutrient up front is acceptable.
old school common practice

 

[Seamonkey84]

Adding it too early is better than adding it too late. Actually, skipping it all together is better than adding it too late. So did you add it all up front or is it a staggered schedule? Does the juice that came with the kit already have nutrients mixed in?

 

[Dr_Moneydick]

The kit has nutrient packets separate, I believe its one of the few that do it that way. From what I gather I'll be fine, fermentation started within a day and now its really frothing.

The kit included 4kg of grape skin and stems, is there any harm in leaving these in longer as you would with oak chips?

 

[Seamonkey84]

You’ll prob want to be within a day or two of the instructions with the skins and stems. Leaving them in too long can lead to bitterness. Same reason that they remove the fruit pulp from the wine after a given time. If it’s tour first time with this recipe you might want to try and stick with the instructions until you know how it’ll turn out. You can always add oak or tea afterward too.

 

[DIYer]

I agree you might want to stick pretty close to the instructions for the first time, but in the future, you might want to look into extended maceration (EM), which means leaving the skins in for 1-2 months. A lot of kit wine makers do this with (reportedly) very good results. I have 2 of the same red kit with skins on hand right now and I plan to do one per instructions and do EM (only 4 weeks) on the other for comparison.

If you haven't found it already, you might also want to sign up at winemakingtalk.com--forum just like this but dedicated to wine rather than beer.

 

[kh54s10]

I don't think the timing of the nutrient and yeast additions will make any difference. I haven't yet done a kit that had any nutrients. Nutrients just feed the yeast helping them along. If they are both in there during fermentation, that is what counts. A day or so plus or minus will not make a noticeable difference.

I also don't think the timing of removing the grape skins is anywhere near critical. I would expect it to take weeks, not days, to cause any change in flavor.

 

[Coffee49]

Hi, not sure if this is the right section but its in regards to a rather pricey wine kit, basically I added the yeast nutrient first before realizing due to the idiotic french labels that no it was the nutrient I added, I subsequently added yeast (all in the same day) and its currently starting in a large bucket.

I'm new to these at-home systems/kits my last one turned out fine for what it was, I'm concerned this will turbocharge the fermentation and throw everything off or burn out the yeast prematurely?

Never heard of a nutrient to be added to a kit, usually juice is fortified prior to shipment but fermentation in 24 hrs is good