Your Fav Red Wine Yeast(s)

[Bmd2k1]

After years of making only hard cider I jumped into wine making last Oct via kits. My fav hard cider yeast is D47 for a number of reasons

So far All my different Red wine kits have come with the "beast yeast" EC-1118 --- I know it "chews thru" anything & makes it easy for wine makers.

However, I've seen seasoned vintners swap it out for the likes of BM4x4, RC212 & others...

So I'm curious what experienced vintners Fav Red Wine yeast is for different wines & any insights for best utilization.

Cheers!

 

[winemaker81]

Presque Isle and WineMakerMag both have a yeast selection chart.

https://www.piwine.com/yeast-selection-chart.html
https://winemakermag.com/resource/yeast-strains-chart
I've used Red Star Premier Rouge the last couple of years with pleasing results. However, I encountered H2S in a 2nd run wine last fall (ran low on nutrients, won't make that mistake again). @CDrew recommended Renaissance Avante and Allegro to avoid that.

My reason for the Premier Rouge is the grapes I've purchased the last couple of years are high SG, ~1.100, so I needed a yeast that can handle high alcohol. This coming fall, if the grapes are high SG I'm going to dilute a bit with acidulated water to reduce the sugar.

If doing white, I used Lalvin QA23 for Sauvignon Blanc last fall. It was recommended by my LHBS as producing a fruiter wine. I'm happy with the result.

 

[CDrew]

@winemaker81 beat me to the reply button but here is what I was working on...

You might consider the newer wine making yeasts from Renaissance that cannot produce H2S. Avante or Bravo for red wines, Allegro for white wines. Personally, I've used Avante extensively the last 3 years and 1 year with the Allegro. Both with highly satisfactory results. These yeasts have a number of advantages, being heat and alcohol tolerant, but the big advantage over standard yeasts is that they cannot produce H2S, which is the bane of the home wine maker. You can read about them here.

The disadvantage for the home wine maker is that these yeasts only come in 500gm bricks. There are several sources that repackage into smaller amounts. If you're doing 5 gallons at a time, then you only need 5-10 grams of yeast! But Lodi Wine Labs
will repackage into smaller quantities, and so do The Beverage People in Sonoma. (though not on their webite just now-I checked).

But honestly, most yeasts with adequate nutrition will do well. With conventional yeasts, I've had good results with D21, D254, and Premier Rouge, with D21 being a clear favorite. You will get lots of opinions and should experiment.

For your cider, Renaissance makes a yeast for that as well called Fresco. Just a thought for next apple season. LINK

Good luck!

 

[winemaker81]

@CDrew, I looked at the Lodi Wine Labs site, thanks for the tip. They sell in "carboy", "barrel", and 500 gm packages. Do you know what size barrel they are talking about? I'm expecting to need 8 yeast red wine packets in the fall. If it's 30 or 60 gallon, I'm good.

 

[CDrew]

@CDrew, I looked at the Lodi Wine Labs site, thanks for the tip. They sell in "carboy", "barrel", and 500 gm packages. Do you know what size barrel they are talking about? I'm expecting to need 8 yeast red wine packets in the fall. If it's 30 or 60 gallon, I'm good.

Pretty sure "barrel" there is 60gm. But they are nice people and you can call and talk to a real and knowledgeable person. The first year I used Avante, they weighed out 100gm for me out of a 500gm brick. Since then, I just buy 500gm bricks in the fall and supply my local wine making friends as needed.

 

[Cap Puncher]

I honestly like BM 4x4, but is is high nutrient demand and not very friendly for malolactic. I had good success with doing MT in one fermentor and D80 in the other. And blending together.

I recently just got on the renaissance yeast train ( thanks CDrew and 4score). I currently have a cab sav and merlot going. I am using Avante and Bravo from renaissance for them (I did start with Biodiva). The ferment is nice and clean. Bravo is a high glycerol producer like (D254). I’m about halfway through the ferments and all fermentors smell great! I got them in 50 gram packages from Bosagrape. The we decent priced at about $12 Canadian and were an easy company to deal with.

 

[Al Hatfield]

I made a few reds this year and I really like the earthiness from Lalvin D80. The other posts have me interested in trying the Avante and Bravo for next year.

 

[heatherd]

Lallemand has a great chart of their yeasts: Wine Yeasts | Catalogue | Lallemand Wine

 

[Bmd2k1]

Lallemand has a great chart of their yeasts: Wine Yeasts | Catalogue | Lallemand Wine

Thanks... Familiar with it...but looking for some real world feedback from peeps in the trenches ✌

Cheers!

 

[heatherd]

Thanks... Familiar with it...but looking for some real world feedback from peeps in the trenches ✌

Cheers!

I like RC212 for reds and ICV D47 for whites.

 

[Bmd2k1]

I like RC212 for reds and ICV D47 for whites.

Are ya adding nutrients for RC212? If so, When?

Cheers!

PS -- D47 is my Fav hard cider yeast & just swapped out the provided ec1118 for D47...in a Zinfandel Rose´ I'm doing ✌

Cheers!

 

[sour_grapes]

My fave for most red wines is D-254. The best wines I have made have all been made with that -- which could simply be a coincidence!

I tend to use BM45 on Zin and Italian reds.

 

[Rice_Guy]

It is frustrating for a northern grower that the three mentioned charts do not rate malic acid metabolism .

Thanks... Familiar with it...but looking for some real world feedback from peeps in the trenches

Presque Isle and WineMakerMag both have a yeast selection chart.

https://www.piwine.com/yeast-selection-chart.html
https://winemakermag.com/resource/yeast-strains-chart
I've used Red Star Premier Rouge the last couple of years with pleasing results. However, I encountered H2S in a 2nd run wine last fall. @CDrew recommended Renaissance Avante and Allegro to avoid that.

My reason for the Premier Rouge is the grapes I've purchased the last couple of years are high SG, ~1.100, so I needed a yeast that can handle high alcohol. This coming fall, if the grapes are high SG I'm going to dilute a bit with acidulated water to reduce the sugar.

If doing white, I used Lalvin QA23 for Sauvignon Blanc last fall. It was recommended by my LHBS as producing a fruiter wine. I'm happy with the result.

 

[AaronSC]

@winemaker81 beat me to the reply button but here is what I was working on...

You might consider the newer wine making yeasts from Renaissance that cannot produce H2S. Avante or Bravo for red wines, Allegro for white wines. Personally, I've used Avante extensively the last 3 years and 1 year with the Allegro. Both with highly satisfactory results. These yeasts have a number of advantages, being heat and alcohol tolerant, but the big advantage over standard yeasts is that they cannot produce H2S, which is the bane of the home wine maker. You can read about them here.

The disadvantage for the home wine maker is that these yeasts only come in 500gm bricks. There are several sources that repackage into smaller amounts. If you're doing 5 gallons at a time, then you only need 5-10 grams of yeast! But Lodi Wine Labs
will repackage into smaller quantities, and so do The Beverage People in Sonoma. (though not on their webite just now-I checked).

But honestly, most yeasts with adequate nutrition will do well. With conventional yeasts, I've had good results with D21, D254, and Premier Rouge, with D21 being a clear favorite. You will get lots of opinions and should experiment.

For your cider, Renaissance makes a yeast for that as well called Fresco. Just a thought for next apple season. LINK

Good luck!

Did you use the D21 on white or red? I've only used it on reds so far.

-Aaron

 

[CDrew]

Did you use the D21 on white or red? I've only used it on reds so far.

-Aaron

Used on reds in previous years, and this year on a Rose.

 

[Bmd2k1]

Ordered some RC212 - gonna give it a whirl in an RJS Cru Chilean Triple varietal Red Blend ✌

 

[Kitchen]

RC212 for normal fermentations. D254 for barrel fermentation and sur lee aging.

 

[Bmd2k1]

RC212 for normal fermentations. D254 for barrel fermentation and sur lee aging.

Do you do any nutrient additions for your RC212 vino's? If so what/amt & when? Thanks!

Cheers!

 

[sour_grapes]

Do you do any nutrient additions for your RC212 vino's? If so what/amt & when? Thanks!

Cheers!

RC-212 is known to produce sulfides (H2S) in low-nutrient musts. So, yes, if you use RC-212, make sure your nutrient regimen is up to snuff. Sorry, I cannot give you a guideline on amount, but hopefully someone more knowledgable than I am will do so.

 

[Bmd2k1]

RC-212 is known to produce sulfides (H2S) in low-nutrient musts. So, yes, if you use RC-212, make sure your nutrient regimen is up to snuff. Sorry, I cannot give you a guideline on amount, but hopefully someone more knowledgable than I am will do so.

So if it's a kit wine....would you expect nutrient additions?