Wine Yeast, Levadura Para Hacer Vino

[RobinsonGO]

Hello All,
Looking to buy yeast for making wine; not sure where I can find it. I called a few wineries they did not know. I know there is a brew making supply shop in Mar Del Plata, but that is too far to drive this weekend. If anyone has any suggestions, We would love the help. Thanks!

 

[milbujias]

Hello... you can use any yeast you use for bread. it´s the same, levadura de cerveza, here in Argentina. Good luck !!!!

 

[Johnno]

Yes - best of luck - and if you ever fancy a ''joint venture'' in mead making let me know

 

[elhombresinnombre]

In Britain, where I used to make my own country wines, the strains of yeast that bakeries preferred tended to have a low resistance to alcohol so the little critters died of alcoholic poisoning quite quickly. Not an issue in breadmaking, nor in brewing beer, but it did mean that wine fermentation tended to finish when the alcohol content reached about 8-10%. If you can't find hardier, wine-makers' yeasts and you resort to bakers' yeasts, remember to reduce the sugar content so that when the ferment has completed, the resulting wine isn't sickly sweet from unspent sugar.

 

[RobinsonGO]

Well, It has been about 2 months since this was posted. I did try to use bread yeast. I made two types, a sweet and a dry, both using the bread yeast. I wish I had heard your recommendations "elhombres" about not using as much sugar for the sweet. I racked all my bottles about 2 weeks ago, and yes, the sweet was very sweet. They both tasted fair and I am happy enough for my first try. I have heard, as well, that the old Argentine way uses no yeast at all. Supposedly, the must is enough to cause fermentation. Thanks for the recommendations for the future.

Also, I have finally found a apartment in downtown, and am ready to supply myself with new brewing equipment. I believe I am going to order it from a shop in Mar Del Plata, (hoping the shipping wont be TOO expensive). Is there any interest in a brewing party at some point? Location: Belgrano.

Saludos

 

[RobinsonGO]

Yes - best of luck - and if you ever fancy a ''joint venture'' in mead making let me know

My last mead experience lead to quite the hangover; however sometimes we must try things a few times to really get a full understanding. Im in.

 

[Johnno]

We live in Belgrano too - will pm you

 

[elhombresinnombre]

...I have heard, as well, that the old Argentine way uses no yeast at all. Supposedly, the must is enough to cause fermentation...

The old way relies on the grower/winemaker knowing that there is a symbiotic relationship between the grapes he grows and the naturally occurring yeasts that form on them and he knows that because he and his family have been doing it like that for years - centuries even. If you don't have that certain knowledge about the grapes you are using, it's better to introduce your own controlled yeast culture with the characteristics that you desire. If you are making wine from grape juice or concentrate there will be no naturally occurring yeasts present and it is safer to introduce your own than rely on random yeasts that fall out of the air. The same is true if you are making country wines from fruit and flowers and vegetables.

 

[barnaby33]

I had a cultural question. Generally speaking Latin countries are wine drinkers. Germanic countries are beer drinkers. Why then is Argentina a much larger beer consumer?

 

[RobinsonGO]

The old way relies on the grower/winemaker knowing that there is a symbiotic relationship between the grapes he grows and the naturally occurring yeasts that form on them and he knows that because he and his family have been doing it like that for years - centuries even. If you don't have that certain knowledge about the grapes you are using, it's better to introduce your own controlled yeast culture with the characteristics that you desire. If you are making wine from grape juice or concentrate there will be no naturally occurring yeasts present and it is safer to introduce your own than rely on random yeasts that fall out of the air. The same is true if you are making country wines from fruit and flowers and vegetables.

Thanks for the info. Interestingly enough my wine has come from homegrown grapes that I picked. It took me 2 days total, one day to smash all the grapes and another day to add the yeast and fill the initial bottles. I was slightly confused when I saw how much fermentation had already begun, with only the must, before I added the yeast. As far as I knew wine always had yeast so I added it anyways. Now, I wish I would have tried without the additional yeast. Thanks for the insight.