Syrah Fermenting

Made a yeast starter last night and added it this morning to the Syrah. The must was very quiet with no signs of fermentation starting on it's own.

Did the yeast starter a little different. Still trying to figure out the best way to use the nutrient. Ran across some information that suggested spreading out the nutrient in the starter and then once fermentation is going. That way the yeast doesn't get over-fed right away. Still want to add nutrient at the beginning of fermentation so you don't have left over "food" for bad bacteria to feed on later.

Using nutrient correctly both ensures a good fermentation, as well as some side-effect problems that can occur such as getting the rotten egg smell from Hydrogen Sulfide. I'm thinking that possibly the grapes we had an issue with last year is because the vineyard has a lower amount of available nitrogen. So adding in some Nutrient will help prevent the hydrogen sulfide problem. Here's an article with some interesting info about yeast nutrients and fermentation.
http://www.grapestompers.com/articles/yeast_nutrients.htm

Started the yeast this time in warm water (103 degrees), as directed on the package. Stirred 5 packages into 1 1/4 cup water. Heated a couple cups of juice up as normal to a steamy level, then let cool until it was tepid. Then combined the yeast and grape juice and added the 2tsp nutrient (need to find out the exact nutrient we got from Debra--Nampa Brewers). Let sit overnight and then added to the must. Will add another 1-2 tsp of the nutrient tonight or tomorrow once it is fermenting well.