Renaissance yeasts for Reds

[Landwaster]

Been interested in finally trying some different yeast strains when we do a barrel of Barbera this year. We crush into 3 open barrels for fermentation so I may try a different yeast in each. I have heard good things around here about D254 and Renaissance Avante (ADT-36). But I haven't really seen any info on the two other Renaissance red yeasts: Brio (BRO-58) and Muse (MTS-29). Does anyone have any first-hand experience?

 

[CDrew]

Yes-I've used Avante for 4 years and Bravo the last 2 years and it is also excellent. I've not used Brio which I think is kind of Pinot Noir specific, and Muse I know nothing about other than the max temp(77F) was too low for my garage wine making. I've also used Allegro and Fresco for white wines, both excellent.

For Barbera, I'd use Avante. It tolerates high heat, high alcohol and is trouble free. My 2020 Barbera is excellent at this point and 100% fermented with Avante.

 

[hawkwing]

Sorry to highjack but my question fits nicely. How important is it that the Renaissance strain used is for the grape variety being fermented? What if I were to use Avante on Merlot grapes?

 

[CDrew]

Sorry to highjack but my question fits nicely. How important is it that the Renaissance strain used is for the grape variety being fermented? What if I were to use Avante on Merlot grapes?

It is a great choice.

 

[Bossbaby]

Two years ago I had a 6 gal batch of elderberry develope hydrogen sulfide that I could not get rid of. Considering the time and energy put into making Elderberry wine I quickly considered renaissance yeast. I purchased Avante this year to use on 12 gal of petite pearl and another 6 gal of elderberry. I successfully made 12 gal of elderberry last year without issue using 1118 but used go ferm to hydrate yeast and then fermaid K during primary.

 

[hawkwing]

It’s interesting as I’ve used RC-212 a few times and have never had the rotten egg smell. I have always used yeast nutrients though. I started my chokecherry wine with RC-212. What’s the difference between elderberry and chokecherry? They look similar.

That said I took advice from this forum and ordered Avante for the grapes I’ve ordered. Too much of an investment to risk it.

 

[Landwaster]

Yes-I've used Avante for 4 years and Bravo the last 2 years and it is also excellent. I've not used Brio which I think is kind of Pinot Noir specific, and Muse I know nothing about other than the max temp(77F) was too low for my garage wine making.

Didn't notice Muse's max temp is only 77F -- good to know.

I'll give Avante and D254 a try.

 

[Snafflebit]

I am using BM45 from Scott Labs this year on Merlot and Cab Sauvignon. It was developed in Italy. Maybe worth considering. It is a heavy nutrient user and can produce H2S

 

[Landwaster]

An update from the barbera fermentation: we went with 3 different yeasts, fermented in separate bins, and pressed into a single barrel. When we pressed we ranked them and gave 3 points to first choice and 1 point to second choice:

Avante/Andante: 10
D254: 9
Pasteur Red: 8

Interestingly, some said that Avante was smooth and D254 was harsher, while others said the opposite. All had a nice fruit profile.

Avante and D254 fermented at about the same speed, while D254 took a few more days.

 

[Landwaster]

I am using BM45 from Scott Labs this year on Merlot and Cab Sauvignon. It was developed in Italy. Maybe worth considering. It is a heavy nutrient user and can produce H2S

Our local supply shop wine expert said to use BM 4x4 instead since it's an "update" to BM45 and fixes some of its issues. We tried it in our Sangiovese batch.

 

[Jbu60]

Our local supply shop wine expert said to use BM 4x4 instead since it's an "update" to BM45 and fixes some of its issues. We tried it in our Sangiovese batch.

I used BM4X4 one year not knowing that it required a heavier dose of nutrients and after a couple of days it stunk up the place considerably. I had to run out and buy more Fermaid (not really knowing how much to add) and it still wasn't enough to stop the H2S. Had to splash rack the wine later on a couple of times to get the stink out. Luckily it worked. I switched to Renaissance this year for the first time (Avante and Brio) and it was a delight, garage smelled nice, wife was happy, so far so good. With all the moving parts in wine making, a non-H2S producing yeast is a no brainer.

 

[verdot]

I used Muse this year after having an H2S issue last year. As far as its claim to not produce H2S, it certainly seems to have done its job. As someone already stated, its fermentation temp is low, and I’ve noticed less color extraction which may be a result of this.

 

[Rice_Guy]

The vinters club has several of the selections this fall. Avante was used on a gwertzrtaminer with good feed back at racking. I have used Fresco on several apple batches and again seems good.

The one I would like to try is TR313 since the description mentions good/ improved aromatics. So far I am only seeing 500 gm packs which is a bit for a home winemaker.

 

[Guasto-IS]

3 years ago I made the switch over to Rennaisance Avante/Andante for all red blends and have never looked back to using Scott or the dreaded Red Pasteur (personal opinion of course). Although I've had very good success using BM45 or BM4x4 in the past, Renaissance has proven to be much better especially when using premium grapes (Lanza and LMP).

This year, using Bravo for Zin/Alicante and Petite Sirah blends and early tasting has been impressive so far, but only time will tell.

For white wine kits (Chardonnay and Albarino) I replace the EC1118 pack with Allegro and can't be happier with the results.