Yeast suggestions for Chilean Carmenere, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc juice

[Gael]

After a number of successful trials with kits I want to give it a go with grapejuice. I am going to start with two whites and one red. The kits typically contain Lalvin EC-1118 yeast. I am thinking about using that for the Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Is that a good yeast or would you say something like ICV/D-47 is better? Would you recommend this yeast for Carmenere as well?

Oh and any recipes are appreciated

Thanks
Gael

 

[cintipam]

Hi Gael

I have made a lot of white wine from juice buckets and think D47 is an excellent choice. 1118 is a workhorse, but white wine needs a gentle yeast to maintain aroma and delicate flavors. I ferment at a cooler temp than reds, and this means it takes longer. Use your hydrometer to make sure the ferment keeps going even if slow.

I've read other folks have been less than thrilled by Chilean juice buckets in the past as they created too light and flavorless a wine. I always keep concentrate on hand to perk up the flavor if juice seems thin. White grape concentrate is sold in all wine shops, but I mostly use a fruit juice concentrate that will complement the wine. Apple juice concentrate is great, along with any variety of white grape juice concentrate you find in your local store. I also add fruit from my backyard to make them one of a kind but you could always add a banana and some white raisins if you choose to go that route. I find too many raisins is a very bad thing, as early on I tried using a full box and the mouthfeel was almost oily. Yes, the raisins were oil free. The wine was still drinkable, but it freaked out a couple picky friends so I stopped using raisins in my whites wines.

Not an expert on reds, but I usually opt for RC212.

BTW early on I made the mistake of believing my first SG was accurate and that I needed to add sugar to take it up to 1.090. I realized too late that the red wine I was working with had actually started fermenting before I got it, and the added sugar took my yeast over it's tolerance level. I had the dickens of a time turning that into drinkable dry red wine. So keep that in mind and more than likely do not add sugar, tho a bit added via fruit juice concentrate isn't a bad thing.

Hope this helps and have a blast.

Pam in cinti

 

[MiBor]

This is my second year making Sauvignon Blanc from Chilean juice. I use Lalvin K1V-1116 yeast and ferment at ~65F. After ~3 months of bulk aging and another ~3 months in bottles it turned into a good wine, with a lot of floral/citrus/grape flavors (last year's batch).
In my opinion, the problem with Chilean juice is that it gets diluted with water to bring it to the desired SG, before shipping. I don't think they check the TA and pH after dilution because they were off last year and this year's juice was even more out of balance. Adding some SauvBlanc juice concentrate is a good idea if you want to keep the caracter of the varietal. I used some for this year's batch and so far the flavors are even better.

https://www.midwestsupplies.com/sauvignon-blanc-alexander-s-sun-country-concentrates

I'll know for sure how much it helped when it's done aging in September.
From what I've read around this and other forums, Chilean grape juice varies greatly in quality and should always be checked for acid/sugar before primary fermentation.

 

[Chuck E]

I'll know for sure how much it helped when it's done aging in September.
From what I've read around this and other forums, Chilean grape juice varies greatly in quality and should always be checked for acid/sugar before primary fermentation.

This Spring's Chilean Carmenere was low on brix. I needed to add sugar!

 

[cmsben61]

I used Q23 on a Sauvignon Blanc bucket and it came out very tasty.

 

[mainshipfred]

For what it's worth my Chilean grapes came in a 21 brix. So I can only imagine the juice buckets would be low as well unless they did some sweet