Hi All.
New to this winemaking but having fun anyway, but a question
about a starter bottle concerning the fruit juice.
What juice do you use, I have tried 100% grape juice (pasteurised)
from Waitrose (UK) but it looked like my yeast died as I did not
get any foam after 2 days. I did add nutrient, citric acid & sugar.
So should I be using some other type of juice and not off the shelf ?
TIA
Mike

On Sep 1, 2:25 pm, "Mike" > wrote:
> Hi All.
> New to this winemaking but having fun anyway, but a question
> about a starter bottle concerning the fruit juice.
> What juice do you use, I have tried 100% grape juice (pasteurised)
> from Waitrose (UK) but it looked like my yeast died as I did not
> get any foam after 2 days. I did add nutrient, citric acid & sugar.
> So should I be using some other type of juice and not off the shelf ?
> TIA
> Mike

Whatever type of juice you choose, make sure it does not contain
sorbic acid (sorbate) or benzoic acid. These will inhibit
fermentation. Frozen concentrates should not contain these, but
apparently are rare in the UK. If it contains sulfites (and not the
preservatives mentioned above), you can get it to work by stirring or
pouring between containers several times to "drive it out".

Perhaps you can get some apple cider in season that doesn't contain
preservatives and then freeze for winemaking use through the year.

Stephen

On 1 Sep, 20:25, "Mike" > wrote:
> Hi All.
> New to this winemaking but having fun anyway, but a question
> about a starter bottle concerning the fruit juice.
> *What juice do you use, I have tried 100% grape juice (pasteurised)
> from Waitrose (UK) but it looked like my yeast died as I did not
> get any foam after 2 days. I did add nutrient, citric acid & sugar.
> So should I be using some other type of juice and not off the shelf ?
> TIA
> Mike

This is because for a good few years virtually all the juices sold in
the UK contain sodium metabisulphide which kills bacteria (yeast
included).
you'd have to look at all the labels of juice to ensure that you'd
find one without it - although I havent found one yet.

McKevvy

On Sep 7, 12:08*am, McKevvy > wrote:

> This is because for a good few years virtually all the juices sold in
> the UK contain sodium metabisulphide which kills bacteria (yeast
> included).
> you'd have to look at all the labels of juice to ensure that you'd
> find one without it - although I havent found one yet.

Sodium metabisulphiTe is the same sulphite you get in campden tablets-
they won't stop a fermentation unless there's way too much of it.

I rarely have trouble getting juices to ferment, but I usually stick
to the tetrapack ones (which contain no preservatives).

On 9 Sep, 20:10, The Mad Alchemist > wrote:
> On Sep 7, 12:08*am, McKevvy > wrote:
>
> > This is because for a good few years virtually all the juices sold in
> > the UK contain sodium metabisulphide which kills bacteria (yeast
> > included).
> > you'd have to look at all the labels of juice to ensure that you'd
> > find one without it - although I havent found one yet.
>
> Sodium metabisulphiTe is the same sulphite you get in campden tablets-
> they won't stop a fermentation unless there's way too much of it.
>
> I rarely have trouble getting juices to ferment, but I usually stick
> to the tetrapack ones (which contain no preservatives).

Well theres far too much of it to allow a fermentation occur. I used
to regularly make apple wine from conc then suddenly I couldnt get it
to ferment. When I examined the label I realised why.

McK.

On Sep 1, 2:25*pm, "Mike" > wrote:
> Hi All.
> New to this winemaking but having fun anyway, but a question
> about a starter bottle concerning the fruit juice.
> *What juice do you use, I have tried 100% grape juice (pasteurised)
> from Waitrose (UK) but it looked like my yeast died as I did not
> get any foam after 2 days. I did add nutrient, citric acid & sugar.
> So should I be using some other type of juice and not off the shelf ?
> TIA
> Mike

Keep an eye out for juices that contain frutose corn sryup. This corn
sugar does not ferment, so you need to dilute the juice by half and
then add you own sugar.