How to Store Wine Yeast

Using fresh wine yeast is important when making homemade wine.

Winemaking and drinking is a custom that many people have enjoyed throughout the centuries. The first wine grape ever to be domesticated was grown sometime before the year 4000 B.C. Many centuries later, this species of grape is still made into wine. Because homemade wine is as flavorful as many wines produced in wineries, people enjoy making their own wine at home. You can find wine yeast, an essential ingredient of homemade wine, at winemaking shops. Learning how to properly store wine yeast is essential to maintain the freshness of the yeast.

Things You'll Need

• Clean bowl with tight-fitting lid
• Refrigerator

Instructions

1. Add unused wine yeast to a freshly washed and dried bowl that has a tight-fitting lid. Attach the lid to the bowl, making sure it is securely tightened. Any unopened packages of yeast should be left in the original, sealed package.

2. Place the sealed bowl or package of yeast into the refrigerator. Most home refrigerators maintain a temperature of about 45 degrees Fahrenheit. This is ideal for preserving the freshness of the yeast.

3. Refrigerate the wine yeast until it is needed for another batch of wine. The yeast should maintain freshness for at least two years.

Tips & Warnings

• Store your wine yeast in a pantry if you are unable to keep it in a refrigerator. However, the shelf life of the wine yeast is shortened with this type of storage. Wine yeast stored in a pantry should be used before one year of storage.

• Wine yeast should never be stored in a freezer. Freezing damages the cellular structure of yeast, causing a slowed or minimal fermentation of wine.

References

• E.C. Kraus: Home Wine Making Newsletter Issue Number 26
• University Of Hawaii at Manoa: Role Of Yeast In Production Of Alcoholic Beverages