Thanks guys. Didn't know what a yeast starter was so looked it up and found this extract;
".....a starter properly made, using water, a small quantity of the must itself or a juice substitute (grape, orange or apple juice) and some nutrients, will acclimate the yeast to its destined environment. When the starter is added to the primary, it will practically explode with activity and do what nature and selection programmed it to do and do it that much more efficiently.
The correct method of making a starter is to rehydrate the yeast, activate its life cycle, and add it to the must. The optimum way to rehydrate the yeast is to add it directly to 1 cup of 100-105-degree F. tap or spring water (the harder the water the better; do not use distilled water). Stir gently, cover, allow to rehydrate for at least 30 minutes, check on it to be sure it is viable, and then leave it another 3 1/2 hours. During this time, allow the starter and must (or fruit juice) to attemperate to within 10 degrees F. of one another, and then add to the starter 1/4 cup of pre-sweetened, reconstituted juice (not pure concentrate) or strained must. Re-cover the starter, set it in a warm place and leave it alone. Check on it 4 hours later to ensure it is viable and add to it another 1/4 cup of juice or strained must. Again, cover and leave it alone for 4 hours. You can now add it to the must or add another 1/2 cup of juice or strained must to really increase the yeast population (at the end of an additional 4 hours, the colony will be approximately 64 times as large as it was when rehydrated). For highly acidic (native grapes) or potentially troublesome musts or juices (like blueberry, peach, or Ribena blackcurrant), the more must you add to the starter, the better acclimated the yeast will be to the conditions they will be living in. There are other methods of starting a culture and most are just as successful, but this method, only slightly varied, was recommended by George Clayton Cone of Lallemand, the makers of Lalvin wine yeasts, and that is good enough an endorsement for me.
Lallemand's scientists found that some musts and juices contain sprays, toxins and excessive SO2 that can be detrimental to the activity of yeast. The dry yeast is like a sponge for the first few seconds in liquid and will absorb everything into the cell that it would normally reject in the rehydrated form. Many home winemakers add the ADY culture directly to the must or juice and get away with it. However, many times it is the beginning of a sluggish or stuck fermentation. There are over 150 billion yeast cells in a 5-gram packet of Lallemand yeast. If you kill off half of them by improper rehydration, you still have 75 billion cells to work with. This 75 billion will go on to do a good job most of the time, but whatever killed off the other 75 billion may have seriously affected the health of the survivors."
I think I'll try resurrect my first batch by following the above advice and start a 2nd batch as my insurance. Live and learn.
Thanks.
