You know you’re arrived as a home winemaker when the fruit-flies become an everyday part of your life.
Last night I went to pour the last bit of the 2009 Dry Run Pinot Noir we were drinking (which is mellowing-out quiet nicely in the bottle I might add) and ended up with five fruit flies in my glass.
Since I won’t be giving up my hobby anytime soon and I’m told there’s no real way to get rid of them, I took that as a sign that we need to be drinking faster.
Having had 24 hours to recover from the trauma of adding water to my latest production, I was back in high spirits and ready to launch fermentation.
Every variety prefers a slightly different strand of yeast starter, and for this year’s Pinot Noir I chose Lalvin’s Bourgovin RC212.
I combined 3 small packets with 6 ounces of warm water, let stand for 15 minutes to create a milkshake looking mush, then added to the buckets of must.
And with that, our wine will be born.
We hope.
You know you’re arrived as a home winemaker when the fruit-flies become an everyday part of your life. Last night I went to pour the last bit of the 2009 Dry Run Pinot Noir we were drinking (which is mellowing-out quiet nicely in the bottle I might add) and ended up with five fruit flies in my glass. Since I won’t be giving up my hobby anytime soon and I’m told there’s no real way to get rid of them, I took that as a sign that we need to be drinking faster. 
Having had 24 hours to recover from the trauma of adding water to my latest production, I was back in high spirits and ready to launch fermentation. Every variety prefers a slightly different strand of yeast starter, and for this year’s Pinot Noir I chose Lalvin’s Bourgovin RC212. I combined 3 small packets with 6 ounces of warm water, let stand for 15 minutes to create a milkshake looking mush, then added to the buckets of must. And with that, our wine will be born. We hope.
I don't get it...how do fruit flies get into your closed bottles?
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