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Make sure that you get the stainless steel screens, I'm sure that they can be reused, but they were so inexpensive that I toss them along with the stopper when I'm done with the bottle.
You can find them here Click Me , 100 for $5.99.

Indeed. They're just pipe screens for people who smoke pipes, like Popeye. I bought them at the local smoke shop.
I believe I got 3/4", and found it was more than adequate; no need for full 1". You might even be able to use 1/2".

I was reading also that biolees (now called oenolees) from Laffort helps with a smooth mouthfeel. You can find details at http://www.laffort.com/en/yeast-bioproducts/85-biolees.

I was thinking of packaging both together in the parcel packs, if we get enough people to join in the purchase.
 
I have both the stainless screens and biolees, so I'm good as far as that is concerned.
 
Biolees , surlie , booster blanc all release manoproteins / peptides which are the same compounds released in traditional champagne aged on the lees .
Noblesse according to the product lit is supposed to be the best producer of manoproteins of them all .

The yeast ageing is what makes champagne a step above other methods , so faking it with an inactivated yeast product like those above should work well.

Another tip , gum Arabic is often used in sparkling wine to improve bubble retention , reduce acidic tones and improve mouthfeel . In a short timeline process like this one it could make a big difference in getting that champagne character , combined with one of the siy products.
 
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ProElif® QA23 was designed for sparkling wine production, it may not be following traditional sparkling wine making processes, but it certainly is not faking it.
I've used biolees on the first batch, and the last two batches I didn't, I didn't really see to much of a difference, but they recommend treating the wine with opti-white is a greater yeast character is desired.
 
I was referring to the lees ageing process that traditional champagne goes through . Bottles are left on their sides for a long period , sometimes ten years before disgorging.

This is to let the bottle fermentation stage dead yeast lees have an increased surface area ( increasing contact with the wine and reducing the chance of reductive h2s from forming in the bottle , thinner lees layer , less chance of reduction) and so that as the yeast age and start to decompose , this is known as autolysis

Autolysis refers to the enzymatic self-destruction of yeast cells. The most important aspect of autolysis for sparkling wine is the release of flavour components: e.g. benzaldehyde (nutty, toasty), cis- & trans-farnesol (sunflower) & amino acids, proteins and lipids that act as surfactants. This gives the sparking wine it's nutty and creamy notes , it also triggers the sweetness sensors of our pallet making the wine taste sweeter than it really is , buffering the sharper acidity that most champagne style wines have , this is mort critical with dry styles .

Autolysis is affected by

Percentage alcohol: increases speed of autolysis

pH: higher pH favours quicker autolysis

Temperature: higher temps cause increased speed, but interfere with natural ageing, so optimum is 10 - 15°C

Time: there is very little autolysis for first few months after alcholic fermentation, with the most significant increase in next six months. e.g., wine is 24 % higher in amino acids after 1 year & 30 % after 4 years. After 6- 8 years, there is no further autolytic activity.

By using an inactivated yeast product , you are " faking it" by not needing 6 years of lees contact because these autolosys amino acids , peptides and proteins are already in a free form in the inactivated yeast product and react fairly quickly 1-3 months with the wine , so you get most but not all of the benefits of an extended lees contact ageing without the multi year wait.

Optiwhite or any of these products will have a similar effect .

I would think optiwhite or booster blanc the primary ferment to improve mouthfeel and promote yeast health would be a good idea , this would help ward off h2s .

During carboy aging would be the time to add biolees or noblesse , an addition at the top end of the manufacturers recommendation , stirred up once a month gently and ageing in the carboy for 3 or 4 months before bottling would give the wine a good base of yeast character . You will want the wines own fine lees as well as these siy products in the carboy during the ageing .

Even after you filter going into the bottle these siy residues will promote yeast health for the secondary ferment .

If you are going to use gum Arabic , use a pre filtered brand like Keller or arabanol and add it to your carboy a week or two before filtering and bottling stage.
 
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I actually used biolees to treat a wine not intended for Sparkling wine, it did smooth it out a lot, it almost seemed to give it more body and mouthfeel as well, but it needed at least three - four months to settle out of the wine, and two rackings.
 
It's good practice to rack off your fine lees and siy , let settle for a week then filter .

But if you want something faster and easier they make biolees instant , which is an siy combined with gum Arabic . Might work well for this if speed is of the essence .

http://www.winebusiness.com/unifiedguide/2010/?go=getProduct&productId=1510.


But I would think 3 or 4 months in contact with the wines natural fine lees and an siy product wouldn't be a bad idea.
 
I agree, I'm not looking to drink the wine in 2 weeks, but knowing that you could have it ready if necessary for an occasion without all of the extra riddling and such is appealing.
 
Well, I've been in contact with Scott labs for over a month; no luck getting any proelif availability. I finally broke down and just bought the restart 83g pack at more wine.
Apparently, Scott labs is not the maker of the yeast, but the sole importer in the US.
No luck getting ahold of the creators. My Portuguese is not so good.


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Ok, I'm still waiting to hear from Scott Labs on the next availability of ProElif, but I think I've amassed a package for all specialty ingredients that could be very useful in a one person size for anyone interested in buying them from me.

The package would include enough of the following ingredients to make 60 bottles of sparkling wine (2 six gallon carboys):
  • ProElif encapsulated yeast
  • Bioless
  • Gum Arabic
  • Carbination Drops
  • Stainless steel screens
  • Plastic Champagne Corks with Wire holds

You'll need to provide your own base wine and purchase champagne bottles; but those are readily available at most wine shops.

I'll need at least eight people interested to make purchases, and shipping would have to be extra. But I can make a package as such available for $90.00.
Purchased separately, the cost would range from $291.00-603.00.

If anyone might be interested, send me an email. I'll be glad to chat about it with you.
 
So, I used the prorestart, and I believe followed the directions implicitly... Five weeks later, no effervescence. I think the yeast batch I got may be bad. But I'm trying a second trial to check.
For those of you have done this before, does the encapsulated yeast give telltale signs of being alive? Like will it produce action or visible signs like yeast would in proofing? Because mine didn't at all, and shows no movement.


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I have never tried to make sparkling wine,so I bought a moscato kit,not intending to make a sparkling wine but thought what the heck give it a try after reading this.made the kit per instructions and is ready to bottle,went to buy things needed for the sparkling process and to ask questions from the owner of the supply shop. I was told that I could not make a sparkling wine from this kit because of the stabilizers in the Fpac and would not ferment.I cannot find anyone else who has mentioned this,right or wrong I do not know,looking for help.thanks!
(this is a winexpert moscato kit)
 
most kits have you add sorbate as well as having some in the fpaks. If trying to make a sparkling wine out of a kit you have to omit the sorbate and not use an fpak.
 
Anyone still making this method of sparkling wines? The ones I made last year are still still, with only a hint of effervescence after a long stay in a glass. I think proelif would've worked better than the prorestart I got. I'm totally disappointed about this.
 
Did y'all ever get this figured out and working? I was so excited to read all this until I got to this last page that it didn't get bubbly. I would definitely be interested in going in on the pkg. if it's all been working out. And yea I know the thread is a bit older. Sounds fun!
 
Did y'all ever get this figured out and working? I was so excited to read all this until I got to this last page that it didn't get bubbly. I would definitely be interested in going in on the pkg. if it's all been working out. And yea I know the thread is a bit older. Sounds fun!


I haven't checked out my sparkling wine for a while; but I have been wanting to make a trip to my wine storage and take out the last case and check it out. I'll let you know when I get it and how it turned out.
 
Would be interested to know too if it is the case that you cannot sorbate or add f-pack. Can anyone confirm?
I have a couple of wines that mid way thru the process, no sorbate added yet, and would like to try this process.
Thanks
Tony
 
I stumbled across this thread looking for a way to restart a stuck fermentation using encapsulated yeast. I was also at the time looking for a way to do a sparkling. WIN-WIN!

I had 1000lbs of pinot noir from the Grand River Valley Oh. We crushed it and in about 1 hour pressed it. I fermented it dry. It was 19-20 Brix, 3.10 pH, 9.0 T/A, perfect for sparkling.
Real beautiful salmon color and taste great.

Talked to a fella Michael at Scott Lab he said it is not necessary to rehydrate. We shall see.

Yesterday we did three bottles as described above in the thread.
1. bottle one, 2 sugar pills 1 gram in the cap (not rehydrated). Bottle 2, same as one but rehydrated. Bottle three added 14 grams additional sugar. (rehydrated).
I will wait a few weeks and report back.
 
Yesterday we opened a bottle after two weeks. It was flat no carbonation at all. Originally I talked to Mike at Scott Labs and he said you didn't have to re-hydrate the yeast. Well, maybe you do. So back to the drawing board. We are re-hydrating the yeast and starting over. See ya in two weeks for an update.
 
Update 3-9-22:
We opened all four bottles 2 had good "fizz" and seemed like a good sparkling but it was cloudy. Yeast looked intact in the cap. The other two no fizz, maybe the yeast didn't take. We decided to go with forced carbonation which we are trying to get down. The base is fantastic it's been in the keg for about a month I ordered a counter-pressure bottle filler to fill bottles. I will let you know how it goes.
 

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