using frozen grapes from my vines

[FTC Wines]

Been away for a while, months packing, weeks moving, now weeks painting/cleaning the "new home". How long does it take to move 500 bottles, 11 carboys, 1/2 of them still full, & the rest of the winery, 700 mi. ANSWER: Too long! I digress, last thing I did before moving was pick as many Merlot grapes as I could. We washed them and froze them in gallon ziplock bags, The question is do I need to hit them with Campden/K-Meta or did the 2 months of freezing kill the wild yeast? Never worked with frozen grapes before, Thanks, Roy

 

[winemakingscientist]

Many of the yeast manufacturers recommend freezing yeast so that it will last longer, so I wouldn't count on freezing killing wild yeast.

 

[FTC Wines]

Thanks TWS, I was thinking I should hit with K-Meta, wouldn't want to mess up my last batch of Merlot, from my own grapes. Roy

 

[Turock]

When thawing fruit you NEED an adequate amount of meta because it can take several days to thaw and then come to room temp. In that amount of time you can create a hostile environment where bacteria can take hold and compete with the yeast for nutrients. This is a perfect way to get a stuck ferment.

We don't use meta to kill the wild yeast. We use meta for biological control. Pitching a known culture overwhelms the wild yeasts so that they don't control the ferment.

Use 1 campden tab per gallon.