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So this is the third year I am making home made wine from a combination of red (75%) and white(25%). In the past the person in which I purchased from had a big industrial blender of sorts and gave me back a product of appox 70%juice, 30% grounded up seeds, skin, etc. Which after mixing for appox 10 days, then separating liquid and making air tight and starting sugar to alcohol process for 90 days or so.

BUT this year he bought a new machine that was more like an industrial press, that gave me appox 95% juice only 5% seeds, skin, etc. Its going to make the separating process much easier for sure but I'm concerned that without the skin in there, maybe I will be losing on some of the yeast..??

I thank you all in advance as I really depend on this, currently living in a country that does not allow alcohol , so I need my homemade:) enter image description here

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  • Thanks all! I'm in a third world country, only have access to bread yeast. In years past it came out just to our liking (perhaps beginners luck) and the only reason I'm bugging is because the skin has been separated versus bathing with it (but the remains were super dry and pressed, I think the press gets most of the goodies out) I have no rush, no issues waiting for it to ferment , which is what I gather what you gents are telling me the advantages of the yeast are (asides from the natural, that I dont have access to) Also, that picture was from the supplier, lol. Mine is 200 kilos
    – Amir Naderi
    Oct 9, 2018 at 14:22

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First off, you can make wine without yeast. Wine has been made for thousands of years that way since yeast is on the skins of every grape. It is the preferred method of those who want a more "authentic" product. Just crush the grapes and stand back. You can make very good wine this way.

But, most people make wine these days from a commercial wine yeast you buy. The reason is that you can control when and how the grape juice ferments. Commercial yeasts ferment faster, more efficiently and easier to work with. I suggest you buy some yeast. You will need a lot of it from the pictures you are showing.

Having said that, in the process of crushing the grapes the yeast is released into the grape juice and will do it's thing just like you did the previous years. No worries. Just do what you did before.

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Making wine with wild yeast, certainly very possible, if fraught with uncertainties in my opinion. How viable is the yeast, is it strong enough to complete a fermentation or will it die off before you reach a target SG? Will that stain of unknown yeast with unknown origins result in a funky tasting wine. These questions and their variable answers are why most vintners when working with fresh grapes usually choose to bath the grapes in a light K-Meta solution to kill off the wild yeast and then introduce a stable predictable yeast that will provide you with a good wine, fermented well and allowed to cleanup the undesirables left from fermentation. So, can you make wine from wild yeast, sure can, just be aware of the issues before you jump in.

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I suggest you add good quality wine yeast so that you can ensure that your wine ferments properly. It is best to do so as lots of yeast is lost from the surface of the grapes. The yeast will ensure your wine will ferment completely.

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