# Vendors for wine yeast?



## sour_grapes (Nov 18, 2014)

We often talk about using various strains of yeast that are different from the Lalvin Big 5 or the Red Star Big 5 (all of which are widely available).

However, it seems to me that there are very few vendors that carry these other yeasts. To date, I have only purchased them from MoreWine! (their exclamation point, not mine). I have not found another vendor that has them in small sachets. (Presque Isle has some of them in 500g quantities, but not smaller packages.)

I need to place an order for some more. (I am thinking primarily D254 and BM45, perhaps try another one or two.) Any other vendors I should look at?

(And yes, I did search on WMT!)


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## francois_du_nord (Nov 18, 2014)

SG,

I don't have any experience with OOB yeast substitution, but am about to try the D-47 in my NZ Sauv Blanc on your and others recommendations. 

Here is my LHBS with the BM45 in an 8 gram pack. They also have Wyeast and White Labs liquids if you want to try those

Dry http://www.midwestsupplies.com/winemaking-ingredients/yeast/dry.html

Liquid http://www.midwestsupplies.com/winemaking-ingredients/yeast/liquid.html


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## Boatboy24 (Nov 18, 2014)

MoreWine! carries both of those. Is there a reason you're looking for another vendor?

If you like BM45, consider BM4X4:

_BM 4x4 is a new yeast blend created by Lallemand, designed to provide all of the benefits and flavors of the BM45 yeast strain, along with a much more reliable and consistent fermentation. This means that you'll be getting all of the flavors of jam, rose petals, and cherry liquor with a stronger fermentation with less risk of a stuck or sluggish fermentation. This is a blend between the traditional BM45 and a complimentary strain, chosen for its fermentation kinetics. Positive interaction between these strains means a more dependable fermentation, along with increased aromatic intensity, color intensity, and length of finish. Ideal fermentation temperature is between 64-82°F. This strain will enhance varietal character, and mouthfeel in a wine. Alcohol tolerance is 15%. _


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## sour_grapes (Nov 18, 2014)

Boatboy24 said:


> MoreWine! carries both of those. Is there a reason you're looking for another vendor?



Well, dang, that is a penetrating question! No, not really, or at least not a good reason. Mostly I was trying to optimize shipping, as I am also looking to pick up some wine kits: If I could find a vendor that has the yeast AND the kit(s) I want, I could perhaps save on shipping. 

That is the only immediate reason. But I guess I didn't quite realize the near-monopoly that MoreWine! has on sachets of yeast! I figgered someone else must carry them.


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## geek (Nov 18, 2014)

Paul,

have you checked RiteBrew ?
I think they're pretty close to you, at least they're located in WI.


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## Kraffty (Nov 18, 2014)

Hey Paul, I keep Brewandwinesupply.com, midwestsupplies.com and ECKrause.com in my favorites but seem to be going more and more to MoreWine. Probably because they have a warehouse here in California, but they really are pretty good all around. Midwest probably has more kits AND yeasts and closer to you. There's lots of them's all over the countrie's!

Mike::


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## ibglowin (Nov 18, 2014)

Most of the LHBS will only carry what sells (a lot) of. Thats what makes Morewine the place to go to for everything else except for your kits. Since they now have a warehouse in PA, shipping times back East should be extremely competitive to anywhere else in the Mideast to East.


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## sour_grapes (Nov 18, 2014)

geek said:


> Paul,
> 
> have you checked RiteBrew ?
> I think they're pretty close to you, at least they're located in WI.





Kraffty said:


> Hey Paul, I keep Brewandwinesupply.com, midwestsupplies.com and ECKrause.com in my favorites but seem to be going more and more to MoreWine. Probably because they have a warehouse here in California, but they really are pretty good all around. Midwest probably has more kits AND yeasts and closer to you. There's lots of them's all over the countrie's!
> 
> Mike::



Varis, thanks for Ritebrew. Actually, I had never heard of them. They only have the most-common yeasts, however. But, they do have RJS at decent prices, and hopefully shipping will be decent from there, which is only about 2 hours drive from me.

Mike, I do keep Doug at brew and wine "on speed dial," too. Again, only the big 5 yeasts, but that is where I have wound up getting my WE kits. His pricing on WE kits is _very_ competitive. My LHBS is Northern Brewer, which has, until recently, favored CC. Of course, CC and WE have merged, and so has Midwest and Northern Brewer! I can now get WE easily at Northern.

In fact, Northern Brewer is currently running a special (get $150 in gift cards for $125). The nice thing about their gift-card specials is that you therefore can combine them (at least in my past experience) with other specials. After all, if your kid gives you a gift certificate, and you use it to buy something that is a special deal, how can they tell you that you cannot use the gift certificate for that? Right now, the local store is running a special where, if the Packers win, you get 20% off. (And looking at the code in their promotional e-mail indicates that they have the same deal in Minnesota for the Vikings. Unfortunately for Minnesotans, that does not happen so often! :: )
If I combine these specials, that amounts to a whopping 1/3 off! So their CC Showcase Amarone lists at $180, but I can take it home for $120.

Is it just me, or does EC Kraus have consistently high prices? (e.g., CC Amarone is $190.) I think they may make up for some of that with their free shipping, but MoreWine has free shipping on kits, too. (CC Amarone is $155.)

George at FineVine Wines also does not have interesting yeast, sadly. His CC Showcase Amarone is $148, plus $10 shipping. However, he carries lots of other kits, including Mosti and RJS, as well as "downmarket" CC lines like Global Cuvee that no one else seems to have.


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## geek (Nov 18, 2014)

I heard good reviews about Ritebrew and their shipping price may be one of the best.


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making


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## cmason1957 (Nov 18, 2014)

You may also want to contact one of the sponsors of our site, I believe they have several unusual yeasts available. Design2Brew. They are located near me, so I can't comment on shipping prices, but overall the prices there seem very reasonable.


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## sour_grapes (Nov 18, 2014)

cmason1957 said:


> You may also want to contact one of the sponsors of our site, I believe they have several unusual yeasts available. Design2Brew. They are located near me, so I can't comment on shipping prices, but overall the prices there seem very reasonable.



Right you are! They have BM45, D254, and a number of others. Bookmarked!


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## sour_grapes (Nov 20, 2014)

I wound up going with MoreWine!, in case you were interested. Design2Brew actually carries all the yeast I was interested in, but they were short on stock of a couple, and a tad more expensive to boot. 

Thanks for the help, everyone!


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