Making a yeast starter 

Making wine at Fall Bright, YOU are the winemaker! We basically provide the amateur winemaker with the grapes or grape juices and winemaking supplies and know-how to make his own wine.

Do you need to make a yeast starter for your fermentation?

Yeast starters allow expansion of a single pack of yeast for larger batches.

Mitchell's short cut starter: Sprinkle the yeast onto warm (40-45oC or
104-115oF) distilled or sterile non-chlorinated water. Leave for 5-15 minutes (NOT LONGER). Go-Ferm, which is a micro nutrient for yeast at re-hydration may be used at this point. Follow procedure on label.

OR

After re-hydration, add an equal volume of sterile grape juice to the yeast. Shake to aerate. It will take up to two days to become active. Make up however much you want. (A 5-gram pack of yeast is rated for 5-7 gallons). Making a starter of a total volume of 1/2 of a gallon will inoculate 60 gallons!

If you are using wine for your starter "juice" add some dextrose for this starter yeast to get going.  Shake to aerate.

Starter recipe in Frishman's Enjoy Home Winemaking: 2 cups water, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon nutrient, 1/4 teaspoon citric acid, yeast.  
NOTE: Any recipe recommending 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon of yeast nutrient in a small volume of water (4 oz to 2 cups) will be too hot for the yeast, REDUCE the nutrient to a pinch.

The dose for nutrients such as Fermaid is 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons of juice, added in 2 equal doses, SO, if you put 1/2 teaspoon of nutrient into 2 cups of a starter, that mix will be hot (toxic) for the yeast. 

Put it in the juice--and yet a starter will require some nutrient so use Go-Ferm for the yeast re-hydration process instead and skip such recipes as above, OR use Tom Mitchell's starter method above using sterile juice for nutrient.