saw a recipe online for a starter solution for red wines. after you break it down the mix was 3 packets of yeast, 1/4 tbsp powdered sugar, one of those mini boxes of raisins all dropped into 1 cup of water. this was good for 15 gallons of wine, so 1/3 cup of this mixture per carboy. this sound acceptable to anyone or bogus? hopefully someone is still awake b/c I need to put something in tomorrow morning!
let me know if u have a better one too. thanks
oh and yeast was rc212 lavlin if that helps
Just for information's sake, it sounds pretty bogus..
To make a starter..
You want about 1-cup of warm/room temperature water.
It can even still be in the measuring cup - a glass one
Sprinkle the yeast on top so it forms a thin layer, not clumping and falling to the bottom. Give it 15 minutes to soak in water and fall on its own. After the 15 minutes, it should all be on the bottom of the cup/jar. Give it a light swirl/stir, and let it rest another 5-10 minutes.
The individual 'clumps' should start to rise and fall on their own. Then, to this 1-cup of liquid, add 1/2-cup of your 'must' - the wine you're starting. You want to wait on adding the yeast nutrient to your must, until after you pitch the yeast and they begin fermentation (two different steps), because really, if you use any nutrient during rehydration, you want it to be designed for rehydration - like Go-Ferm.
Then you'll have 1 1/2-cups of liquid, 1/3 of which, is your must. After 15-30 minutes, the yeast should start to form that 'cap' that you're looking for.. At which point you can add another 1/2-cup of must to the starter, making the ratio of water to must, 1:1.
The idea is to gradually acclimate the yeast to the conditions of the must.. Slowly altering the sugar, acidity and nutrient levels.. Then when the ratio is 1:1, you can pitch the starter into the must, and add the yeast nutrient shortly afterward
Lallemond recommends for most cases, just put the yeast into warm water (104 deg F, I believe). If a difficult ferment is suspected, add GoFerm to the water and the water temp goes up a bit (110 deg F, maybe).
If you want to use Go-Ferm, which I'd recommend & I personally use it on every batch..
You'll want to use 1.25 grams of Go-Ferm for every gram of yeast started. Dissolve the Go-Ferm into 20-times its weight, of water (ml = grams) at a temp of 110F. Let this cool below 104F before adding the yeast or they wont survive. From there, it's basically like the same as I wrote above.
By the time you add the yeast to the must, you want them within 10F of eachother.
IIRC powdered sugar contains cornstarch. Wouldn't this cause a haze?
I'm pretty sure you're correct, there.. That rings a bell pretty clearly, but I'm not 100% either.
