Predicting yeast health make a good wine?

[Saymaq]

Good morning/afternoon/evening

I was wondering if anyone could help me at this:

My friends and I would wanna know if there is a procedure or a process in wine to know if the yeast are healty enough? I mean, I know that there are methods like counting them in the microscope with a hemocytometer, but it's this really necesary to make this yeast count in wine making? Does it affects the quality of wine by doing this? Does it make it better?


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[sour_grapes]

Obviously, counting the yeast will not make your wine better.

Probably you are aware of that, and are asking something different, like, "If I knew the yeast culture was too sparse, could I do something to bring up their numbers and thereby make better wine?"

There is more to the story than number of yeast. For example, the must could be missing some nutrients (like nitrogen) which would stress your yeast and cause off flavors in the wine. I don't know a way to detect that except for the smell of the off flavors (but perhaps there is a way I am unaware of).

 

[cocroach]

Hmmm...I'm not sure how you would count them, or if you would really want to. I'm pretty sure the Wyeast smack-packs say something like +20 billion yeast cells.

In addition to Paul's comment, I would suggest using yeast that has been stored accordingly and before it's expiry date as ways to ensure healthy yeast. Dry yeast has a longer shelf life of about 1 year. Liquid yeast needs to be refrigerated and used within 6 months before the cells start dying off.

 

[JohnT]

The most I do is to bloom the yeast. If it blooms up (becomes frothy), then I feel it is healthy (active and alive).

Like Sour_grapes said, having live, active yeast is only one component of a healthy and complete fermentation. Nitrogen and the proper nutrients are essential.

 

[manvsvine]

the best way to ensure yeast health is to use a fresh package of it and to ensure it will have enough food by using a complex nutrient like fermaid which will meet all its nutritional needs to take the must all the way through to dryness without producing h2s .

if its not producing h2s and smelling like eggs and it doesn't get stuck , its healthy enough

as for microscoping it , well yeast multiplies so rapidly , it is kind of pointless to try to count it.

a 1 gram per gallon addition of yeast will produce a viable colony and be almost fail safe