Homemade wine?

Question

I make my own wine, and make it in batches of about 20 gallon. Sometimes, there is too much, way too much of a yeasty taste and smell. Am i using too much yeast or is it something else?
I only use one packet per batch. (approx 1.5 tbsp I think) Thanks.

Answer 1

I doubt the yeasty taste comes from the use of too much yeast. Yeast will multiply according to the amount of sugar in your batch. If you double or cut the yeast, in the end you get the same amount of yeast, it might slightly alter the time that your wine would be ready. You might want to switch yeast, to see how it alte the flavor. I think you might of mixed your wine with the dredge in the bottom try pooring off the wine to seperate from the bottom scum or filtering it. You might be aging the wine too long.

Answer 2

The main question is are you using the right kind of yeast? You should only be using winemaker's yeasts for the particular type of wine. When I made wine, I used regular baking yeast which imparted a terrible yeasty flavor and aroma and was a big mistake. There are many types of yeasts out there that you can buy from winemaking supply houses. Do a batch with the right kind of yeast and it should turn out much better. You may also want to finely filter your existing batch to remove any dead yeast cells that may be contributing the taste and smell. Possibly you can filter it through charcoal too.

Answer 3

You're probably using the right amount of yeast but not enough flavour, or you're not leaving it long enough. Try adding more sugar.