Wine yeasts: overview of the pure yeast varieties and prices

Wine lovers are always on the lookout for that special drop. Wines from the nearby Rheingau are also tasted as well as wines from distant countries such as Chile or South Africa. How about creating your own wine? With a few kilograms of grapes and a little wine yeast, everyone can effortlessly play winemaking. You can look forward to the taste, it will always be unique.

What turns fruit into delicious wine?

Yeasts naturally adhere to berries and fruits. These microorganisms multiply from leaking juices when the fruit cracks. If berries and fruits are made into must, these yeasts are also included. Under these ideal conditions, the types of yeast multiply and convert sugar into alcohol and the must begins to ferment. In this case, we speak of spontaneous fermentation or wild fermentation, as it starts all by itself. The result can be a very tasty wine. But it doesn't have to be.

Disadvantages of spontaneous fermentation

A spontaneous fermentation is anything but uniform in its course. At the beginning, by-products such as acetic acid esters or higher-chain alcohols are formed. These can serve the taste if the amount is right. If there is too much of them in the wine, it tastes fuzzy on the one hand, and on the other hand drinking it leads to a headache. Furthermore, these substances can superimpose finer fruit aromas. As a result, the wine no longer tastes typical of the type of fruit used.
Another disadvantage arises from the fact that spontaneous fermentations are slower. With these slow fermentations, the alcohol content rises correspondingly more slowly. Microorganisms such as bacteria and mold, which are otherwise contained by the alcohol, can more easily compete with the yeast bacteria in the initial phase and multiply strongly. The taste of the wine can unfortunately be undermined, or the wine may even spoil completely.

Pure yeast for a good result

So-called pure yeasts are used so that the result of the fermentation is not left to chance. These commercial yeasts have been optimized for "clean" fermentation with few undesirable by-products. The wines made with pure yeast can be reproduced in terms of taste. They can be great tasting without causing a headache the next day. They are usually more harmonious than wines from spontaneous fermentation and can also be stored better with the same taste. But cultured yeasts offer other advantages:

• fermentation starts faster
• even with a higher sugar content
• This prevents the growth of acetic acid bacteria
• they have a higher alcohol tolerance

Note: Grapes that can be bought in stores are often treated. Therefore, there are often no or only few natural yeasts that can be used for wine fermentation. For this reason, pure yeast is almost always indispensable for such fruit.

Pure yeast in liquid form

The cultured yeast is propagated in germ-free grape or apple juice, and fermentation takes place in the process. As soon as this fermentation process is completed, the resulting wine with the pure yeast contained in it is filled into small bottles and sold as liquid yeast. The yeast cells are in a dormant state. Only when the living conditions get better, as in a new approach to wine, will they start to multiply again.

Pure cultured yeast as dry yeast

The second form in which wine yeasts are available is dry yeast. The pure yeasts are first propagated in aseptic juice. The yeast cells are then dehydrated by removing as much water as possible from them. Yeast cells treated in this way can tolerate higher temperatures and can be stored better, even opened sachets. Dry yeast has the advantage that it is more durable and cleaner than liquid yeast. On the other hand, dry yeast must first be dissolved in water or a fermentation starter must be prepared before it is added to the fermentation batch.
Tip: It is best to buy vacuum-packed dry yeast. Other packaging often leads to a considerable loss of quality of the yeast.

Different yeast breeds

The wild yeast served as the basis for various purebred yeast breeds. The different yeast breeds differ not only in their alcohol tolerance. Your unique blend of aromatic substances plays a decisive role in the development of the wine's taste.

That is why the yeasts are also divided into taste categories. "Sweet" yeasts form a lot of glycerine during fermentation. This substance is also responsible for the sustainability of the taste and is also harmless to our health. "Sweet" yeast is not synonymous with sweet wine. With the right amount of sugar, it can also be used to make a dry wine.
Wine yeast for dry wines
Pure yeasts 'Zeltinger', 'Piesporter' and 'Bernkastler' are suitable for dry wines.
Wine yeast for lovely wines
Pure yeasts Steiberg, Bordeaux and Burgundy are good for lovely wines:

• Steinberg: apple, pear, currant, white grape white, plum
• Bordeaux: blackberry, blueberry, grape red
• Burgundy: blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, elderberry, plum, sour cherry, sloe

Wine yeast for sweet wines

• 'Sherry' is suitable for rose hips and gooseberries
• 'Haut Sauternes' is ideal for elderberries, quince and rhubarb
• 'Port wine' goes well with apricot, strawberry, rose hip, raspberry, elder blossom, elder fruit, mirabelle plum, plum, lingonberry, quince, rhubarb, sour cherry, sloe and gooseberry
• Malaga goes well with apricots, strawberries, rose hips, mirabelle plums and cranberries

The wine yeasts for sweet wines also include the wine yeasts 'Tokayer' and 'Samos'

Where can I buy wine yeast?

Wine yeast can be bought in health food stores, pharmacies, drug stores and often in hardware stores. Some online shops can also be found on the Internet that offer different wine yeasts cheaply. Small online shops and wine dealers are among the providers as well as online giants. Online shops also offer a good decision-making aid with their product reviews. Especially as a newcomer to the field of winemaking, you are a little unsure which yeast variety is the right choice.

What does wine yeast cost?

Wine yeasts are offered in different quantities.

• There are liquid yeast packets for 50, 100, 300 or 600 liters.
• A package for 50 liters costs around 4 euros.
• For 300 liters, the price is around 7 euros.
• 100 grams of dry yeast costs around 10 euros.

The prices vary with the different providers. In the case of online shops, there is also the question of shipping costs, which indirectly increase the price.

Storage of wine yeast

Liquid pure yeast ages quickly and thus its fermentability also decreases. If it is stored longer, more and more yeast cells die. Unfavorable storage conditions accelerate this process. While you can ensure the ideal temperatures of the wine yeasts yourself, you cannot completely exclude their incorrect storage before buying. Sales rooms that are warm in summer are just as unfavorable as an environment that is too cold during transport. In the event of incorrect storage, the best-before date is no longer a guideline. The usually recommended amount could then no longer be sufficient, which is why some hobby winemakers use the entire bottle content even with a smaller volume. Opened bottles should no longer be stored anyway.
Liquid yeast should therefore be ordered as soon as possible before use and consumed quickly. Until then, the unopened vial should be stored in the refrigerator. Opened sachets of dry yeast can be kept tightly closed in the refrigerator.

Wine making tools

You will need a few tools so that you can make delicious fruit wine yourself at home. Most of these are not part of common household items and must be purchased before making wine.

• Fermentation vessel and fermentation attachment made of glass or plastic
• Suction hose
• scale
• Wine yeast and yeast nutrient salt
• Lactic or citric acid for higher acidity
• Potassium pyrosulfite against microorganisms
• carbonate of lime for acidic fruits

Tip: You can also buy starter sets on the Internet that contain everything you need for your first wine tasting.
As a basis for winemaking, of course, you still need large quantities of grapes. But not only grapes, other types of fruit are also well suited for the production of fruit wine. Sugar is also necessary, which is converted into alcohol.

Making fruit wine step by step

1. Thoroughly clean the fruit, sorting out any spoiled fruit.

2. Let the washed fruit dry well.

3. Squeeze the fruit into juice and use it for fermentation. Or you can chop and mash the fruit to a mash.

4. Put the juice / mash in the fermentation tank.

5. Add sugar. After fermentation, about two grams of sugar turns into about one gram of alcohol.

6. Add lactic acid or citric acid when fermenting low-acid fruit.

7. Carbonate of lime is added when the fruits have a lot of acidity, such as berries.

8. Now add the wine yeast. Shake the bottle shortly beforehand, as yeasts tend to settle on the bottom.

9. Close the fermentation container and ideally place it in the cellar for fermentation. The ideal temperature for fermentation is 18 to 22 degrees.

10. Fermentation begins after a few days and can continue for a few weeks.

11. Fermentation is over when no more bubbles rise from the fermentation tank. Put the fermenter in a cool place and wait for the cloudy parts to settle to the bottom. Alternatively, you can filter the wine through a fine cloth.

12. The addition of potassium pyrosulphite (1 gram per 10 liters of wine) makes the wine more durable.

13. You are now ready to bottle the wine. It is best to close it with a cork.

Note: During fermentation, the volume of the mixture increases sharply. You should therefore only fill the fermentation container half full.