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How to make homemade wine

juice.
Directions for yeast nutrients should be followed carefully to avoid off-flavors in the wine.

Settling White Juice
Fresher white table wines are produced when bits of skin, pulp and other debris is removed from juice before fermentation.
When the solids have been removed, fermentations are cleaner and better controlled.
Juice is often settled over night and then the clear juice is racked off the sediment the next day.


The juice must be kept cold, and the proper amount of sulfur dioxide should be used.
Sometimes, additional clear juice can be obtained by resettling the residue.
FERMENTATION
Grape skins have a waxy coating, and the coating is covered with native yeasts. Native yeast can spontaneously ferment grapes (without the winemaker adding additional yeast). Sulfur dioxide is used to arrest yeast activity, but reasonable quantities of SO2 will not kill the native yeast. Most winemakers prefer to add pure cultured yeast to start fermentation.

Cultured Yeast
Most home winemakers prefer dry yeast because using it is easier.
Some yeasts like Epernay does not tolerate high levels of alcohol.
Steinberg yeast does not tolerate high levels of sulfur dioxide.
Montrachet yeast produces more hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell) than many other types of yeast.
Montrachet yeast should never be used with grapes containing residual sulfur dust.
Pasteur Champagne yeast can produce large amounts of foam in warm fermentation.
Small wineries often use dry Prise de Mousse yeast to ferment all of their wines.
The type of yeast used has little impact on the flavor of aged wine.

Dry Yeast Rehydration
Yeast manufacturers recommend rehydrating dry yeast.
Dry yeast is rehydrated by adding a small amount of warm water.
About a cup of water should be used for each teaspoon of yeast.
The water temperature should be between 95 and 100 degrees.
After stirring, the yeast mixture should stand for 30 minutes.
Most winemakers use about one gram of dry yeast for each gallon of must or juice.

White Fermentations
Fermentation temperature is one of the most important factors for producing quality white table wines.
Light, fruity white wines like Riesling are always fermented at temperatures ranging from 40 to 55 degrees.
At these low temperatures, white fermentations often continue for two or three weeks.
Heavier style white wines are often fermented at temperatures between 55 and 65 degrees.
White juice should always be settled over night.
Only the clarified juice is fermented.
White wines


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