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Thanks a lot LED! That's a highly informative and helpful article. I think I now know why my yeasts' 'personalities' and cycles are as observed. The article also explains why my yeasts behave so differently in a natural grape must vs apple juice must. PS I agree with you about the universe...

Tom I also look forward to hearing explanations for this. I have noticed great differences in foaming between different yeasts in identical musts. At one extreme D47 produces minimal foam and then settles down to work while at the other extreme K1V foams out of the fermenter, settles, then...

I would rather eat the nuts. It seems a waste to make wine with them.

I calculated that for the equivalent Vit B1 content of 1 Young's Vit B1 tab, you would need 10 tsps (52g) Marmite. Alternatively, you would need 600 tsps (3,000g) tomato puree! My sums could be wrong, but Marmite certainly seems feasible.

Yes, somehow there was enough oxygen for the acetobacter to thrive. FWIW I minimize exposure of finished wine to air by deep syphoning, first into glass DJs for sediment to drop out and then into 2L pets (squeezed after filling to exclude all air) for storage. Despite being careful I still...

That's certainly a big loss. As I dislike the taste of sulphite I store my wines for up to a year without any added preservatives. However your experience has made me re-think this risky approach.

Hi Partist, thanks for this info. I too really like the AJ wine as a light white. I made one version with D47 and another with K1V but prefer the D47 wine. My experience is that if all the AJ is in at the start of fermentation, the finished wine tastes like a grape wine, without obvious apple...

Come on Flick, we are all ears. Tell us how you did it. :):)

Hello Jo, I think many of us are casual about our home winemaking. I never use a hydrometer (I estimate sugar levels according to typical fruit sugar content), never use finings (the wine clears naturally), bottle in 2 litre pets (empty plastic water bottles from the supermarket), and bottle in...

Thanks Angle. Both peach and pear sound promising to me. It would be interesting to compare them, and to also see how different yeasts affect the result. I have been impressed by the substantial taste difference of wines from identical musts but different yeast strains. I have only compared...

Angle thanks for your reminder about the whole being potentially greater than the sum of its parts in wine blending. Usually I try to combine ingredients in the must (e.g. blackberry + elderberry) but like yourself I also try to improve wines through blending. That celery/peach combo sounds...

OD I'm also keen to hear the answers here. In the meantime, I learned that by merely leaving a Tesco "value" AJ carton open in the kitchen, the juice spontaneously ferments without any additives or fuss. I don't know if the AJ (no added preservatives) contains yeast cells or if the inoculation...

Hi Keith, I use the cheapest granulated sugar, poured dry into the must. I have experimented with inverted sugar and concluded that it was not worth the hassle. I believe that challenging the yeast to work a little harder likely adds to the wine's character.

Thanks LED. That link provides a highly informative explanation. It is also consistent with my experience of the exhausted yeast in lees being slow starters in a new must while only a small sample of active yeast from a current ferment rapidly starts fermentation in a new must.

Hi Scott, like yourself, I am trying to progress through trial and error. I might have been lucky in that I have only ever used Lalvin yeasts (D47 for whites, K1V for reds, either one for pinks). Also, as I propagate the yeast from lees (stored in a pet at room temperature, sometimes for many...

Hi Scott, as Roddy said, "why not post up what you're using, maybe it's the ingredients?" Otherwise we are just guessing in the dark. FWIW, all my incomplete ferments occurred when I forgot to add nutrient.

Tanzanite, yes, a good Elderberry wine involves a balance of red fruit flavours and is not all about the Elderberry. As you would know, the addition of Blackberry and Blackcurrant helps with this. Similar to yourself, I sometimes allow the wine to mature with oak chips for a more luxurious finish.

Dublin12, Thanks. In my view this wine is enjoyable from day one and that is when I start drinking it. I know, we are supposed to age our wine to soften tannins and meld flavours. However I prefer the more intense flavours of new wine and apparently the health benefits of red wine diminish as...

Additional considerations for improving an Elderberry recipe include: using a yeast such as Lalvin K1V-1116 for increased fruitiness, adding Sloe Berries for bitterness, Currants for vinosity and Apple Juice for a faintly sweet note. In a 25 Litre plastic FV I use 750 grams dry Elderberries...

The cheapest (and best-tasting) is raisins, which is all I use nowadays. The taste is more authentic and pleasing that GJ. Currants + Elderberry + Sloe with Lalvin RC212 for a superb 'Cabernet'; Sultanas + Lalvin D47 for a good 'Chardonnay'.