Sassafrass Wine (question)

That is somewhat slow. Did you give it enough nutrient? Did you start it in contact with air so the yeast could multiply? Ray

I always prepare a vigorous starter, instead of just pitching a hydrated cup of yeast. Some people don't bother. However, I'm wondering if the flavoring agents in sassafrass, in particular, might be inhibitory to microbes, so I starter might be more important for sassafrass than for another wine.

It is working but it is going slow. If you want to you could just wait and see or you could make up a very vigorous starter using the same yeast and the add your fermenting wine too it as in a stuck wine procedure. This might kick start it.

Ray

Also, what's the room temperature it's at? This time of year it's easy to have room cold enough that it retards the yeasts speed at fermenting the sugar.

Joel

How warm is the carboy?

Here's how I make a starter. Its given me good results. My method is sort of a hodgepoge of what I've read on the net and stuff I just made up myself. :)

Take a cup of water in a 2 cup glass measuring cup, add a teaspoon of sugar. Its nice if it can be fructose or glucose, instead of table sugar. Bring to a boil in a microwave. Take it out of the microwave, and insert thermometer, wait until it drops to 100 deg. F. Add a pinch of yeast nutrient (some people are screaming now -- noooo... no nutrient in starter, or you'll make the yeast into sissys who can't survive must, so be forewarned). Sprinkle the dry yeast on top of the water. Do not stir. Go away for 15 min, no more, no less. (the back of the package usually describes some of these steps).

15 minutes are up, stir lightly. Go away for an hour. Come back to foamy yeast. Add 1 cup of your sanitized must, and yeast energizer -- I just crumble a human vitamin capsule (the screams have risen to deafening, now). Cover with plastic wrap to keep out dust, germs and fruit flys. Go to work.

Come back 8 hrs later to foamy must. Transfer to 2 quart vessel, be sloppy, sloshing in air. Add 2 cups sanitized must. Stir well, whipping in air. Cover with plastic. Go to sleep.

Wake up to a kitchen that smells like yeast and wine. Stir your sanitized must, again, whip air into your must in the bucket. Then pour your 2 quarts of fermenting must onto the top of your must, do not mix. Put on the buckets cover (lid with airlock, plastic wrap, tea towel, whatever). Go to work.

Come home to actively fermenting must. Stir, mixing from bottom to top, whipping in air. Seal again.

You may have to punch down a cap of fruit parts from day to day, but you will never have to stir in more air to get a good fermentation growing. The yeast has multiplied well, and has had tome to alter its biochemistry to match the environment you created in your must.