Yeast Starter

A mixture containing sweet juice or water, often with yeast nutrient added into which yeast is pitched. This hydrates the yeast assuming the yeast are alive, speeds their growth before adding to the liquid to be fermented.

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Wine Thief

A device for drawing a sample of wine from a vessel the wine is fermenting, clearing or aging in. In home winemaking, a wine thief will have a small enough diameter to just fit through the hole of a carboy. There are two holes in the wine thief: one at the top and one at…

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Ullage

The measurement of head space between the wine and the cork or other “lid.”  

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Topping Up

The addition of wine or water to a fermentation vessel to keep the space between the wine and the top at a minimum which reduces the amount of air contact with the wine.

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Tannin

A substance that provides tartness to the flavour and needed in many wines to provide balance and increase longetivity of the wine’s aging ability.

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Stuck Fermenation

The term used to describe a fermentation that has stopped before converting the sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide. There can be a variety of reasons for a stuck fermentation and when occurs, rebalancing of the wine ingredients or trying new yeast.

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Sterilants

Chemicals such as sulfites that are used to inhibit the growth of wild yeast and bacteria.

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Starter Culture

A yeast culture made with juice, yeast and often yeast nutrient. The culture is then added to the larger volume of juice to begin the fermentation process.  

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Stabilizer

A substance added to the wine to ensure the yeast has been killed off when the wine reaches the desired specific gravity or content of residual sugar. Usually, potassium sorbate in conjunction with sulfite is used to stabilize wine.  

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Specific Gravity

The measurement of the density of a solution. In winemaking, the specific gravity provides information on the amount of sugar particles in the juice, must, fermenting wine and finished wine. It is measured with a .  

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Sparkling Wine

A wine that has been partially fermented in heavy bottles and the carbon dioxide is not allowed to escape.  

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Siphon

1. A device that transfers fluids from one container to another. 2. The process of transferring fluids from one container to another using a syphon. A syphon in home winemaking terms is usually made of food grade plastic. The vessel containing the wine to be syphoned sits higher than the vessel that the wine will…

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