Alan Gould wrote:

> In article . com>, Doug
> > writes
>>
>>So if you're willing to measure the water temp. with a thermometer and
>>follow the rehydration instructions precisely, go ahead and do that.
>>Personally, I'm lazy; if I'm using one of the mainstream wine yeast
>>strains (say, Premier Cuvee, or EC-1118), I just sprinkle, cover
>>loosely and walk away. I've done 30 or 40 kits that way, as well as
>>fruit wines, and some from fresh grapes. Never had a problem with it.
>>
> I am not too certain what is involved in rehydration, but I tend to use
> a starter bottle with about 1/4 pint of luke-warm water and half a
> teaspoon of sugar to activate wine yeast before adding it to the must.
> Some winemakers use liquid from the must for the same job claiming that
> it helps to give 'direction' to the yeast, but I would think that it
> will get that when added to the must anyway.

After you get your starter going as you described, then you can add a little
of the must to the starter to get it acclimated to the conditions.