When to Add Yeast to Wine
While it may seem like a simple question with a simple answer, the truth is the winemaking process is much more craft than direct science. It is a nurturing process that winemakers the world over have come to take very seriously. When to add yeast to wine? That’s a loaded question worthy of a loaded answer.
The Winemaking Process
First, it is important to understand the basics of the winemaking process, the one that has been followed relatively consistently for 10,000 years.
The first thing winemakers must do, and perhaps the most critical feature of winemaking, is pay attention to the grapes being grown. Wine grapes are much sweeter than table grapes because we want all that extra sugar to be consumed by the yeast and give us a nice high ABV. Wine typically comes in around 11%, but it can go much higher and up to 18%.
Thus, while beer has sugars locked into those grains, the sugars are minimal in comparison to grapes. The typical beer ABV is around 5% and a high ABV beer is around 8% or 9%. It is rare that it will go much higher.
When we compare the ancient process of brewing to that of ancient winemaking, it is no wonder we see such a difference between the two.
While a meal or thick liquid of grain left out might bring in a beverage with 2% alcohol, grape juice left out to the elements can bring in a much higher alcohol content with no interference or interaction from a winemaker.
For this reason, the bubbling and frothing of grape juice into wine has long been thought a magical treat given to humans by the gods.
As such, the sweetest grapes are grown and then harvested, which is the second step; picking the grapes at their ripest, and therefore sweetest, point.
Next, the grapes are typically destemmed and crushed, either by the traditional foot stomping or by a machine that will do the job much more efficiently.
Now, if we have red wine, we will let the skins and seeds sit in the grape juice, now called must, for several hours to bring out the rich, vibrant colors. If we are making white wine, we will instantly remove the skins and seeds from the grapes to express only the brightest and whitest of colors.
If we are making a blush or an orange wine, we may leave the skins and seeds for a while, but a shorter while than if we are making red wine.
Now, once we remove the skins and seeds, we ferment.
When to Add Yeast to Wine
Fermentation is the point at which we either add yeast to wine or we allow the existing wild yeasts present to do their job alone, without the addition of commercial yeast.
In general, we can add yeast right after crushing the grapes and as soon as we remove the skins and seeds and are left with only must.
How to Add Yeast to Wine
If you are adding commercial yeast to your wine, you have three options.
You can sprinkle the packet of dehydrated yeast over the top of your must, in which case the yeast will take a few hours to start activating as it is rehydrating itself in the must and waking up to do its job.
You can rehydrate the yeast first, adding the packet, along with some sugar or yeast nutrient, to a cup of warm water. The directions on the packet will typically advise you to do this step first.
Or you can pitch the packet of yeast into a separate cup or two of must and create a yeast starter. To take this route, you will sprinkle the packet of yeast into a liter of must and wait about 24 to 48 hours. During this time, the yeast will hydrate itself in the must and start fermenting. You will notice the bubbling and frothing of the must, and once the bubbling and frothing slows down, you simply pitch the entire starter into your wine must. The yeast will get right to work fermenting.
Once fermentation has begun, you simply keep an eye on the bubbling and frothing. Once it has died down completely and your yeast has settled either at the top or the bottom of your vessel, you will collect the yeast, strain out any remaining debris, and rack the wine, preparing it for secondary fermentation, or malolactic acid fermentation, which will allow any remaining yeast to “mop up” any off flavors and smooth out the wine.
Now you’re on to bottling and aging your wine!
Whether to Add Yeast to Wine
On a final note, it is worth mentioning that, even today, wine can and is (sometimes) made without the addition of commercial yeast. While the beer industry relies heavily on the hundreds of strains of commercially packaged yeast, the wine industry is a bit more flexible, with some winemakers still relying on wild yeasts as a way of sticking to the most authentic and ancient practices in winemaking – the wine of the gods.
Thus, when it comes to answering the question of “when to add yeast to wine,” the answer may be “right after crushing the grapes and straining out the sediment,” but it could also be “never.”
Without the addition of commercial yeast, wine still manages to turn out remarkably delicious and complex. Let us not forget that wild yeasts, both from the vineyard and those that sneak in from the winery itself, have been making excellent wine for thousands of years.
Ultimately, it is a decision left up to the winemaker, a decision that can be changed at any time, with any batch.
Cheers!
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