[mplsbrewer]

This is my first wine kit that I got during Northern Brewer's buy one get one free sale. It is a Wine Expert Selection Original Pinot Noir. I don't use pre-supplied dry yeast for any of my beer brewing and instead opt for Wyeast most of the time. In my kit I got Lalvin EC-1118 champagne yeast and was wondering if I would benefit by switching up with something else style specific. And maybe making a yeast starter if you do that for wine yeast...I have no idea.

[cpfan]

Winexpert is the one manufacturer that uses a number of different yeasts in their kits. Personally I would not substitute yeast in a WE kit. UNLESS, I was going to a liquid yeast, like Wyeast.

If you do want to try a different yeast, get an identical kit, and substitute in that one. Then you will be able to see the difference for yourself. Don't forget to age for a year before deciding.

It is not necessary to make a yeast starter for a wine kit. Believe me, having run a Ferment on Premises, I've made thousands. However, the back of the EC-1118 package gives you basic instructions. Yes you can make a better starter (nutrient, etc), but I've never done it.

Steve

[mplsbrewer]

This is good to know that they don't just toss in this yeast for every kit they have. It seemed odd to me off the bat, admittedly I know nothing about wine making, that they include a champagne yeast. I thought maybe this was just to speed up the process so they could say their wine is drinkable at 28 days. Maybe I'll just go with it. I do though have easy access to Wyeast through Northern Brewer which is miles from my house if anyone thinks otherwise and if $6 more is going to provide a better finished product I'll do it.

[cpfan]

Originally Posted by mplsbrewer

This is good to know that they don't just toss in this yeast for every kit they have. It seemed odd to me off the bat, admittedly I know nothing about wine making, that they include a champagne yeast. I thought maybe this was just to speed up the process so they could say their wine is drinkable at 28 days. Maybe I'll just go with it. I do though have easy access to Wyeast through Northern Brewer which is miles from my house if anyone thinks otherwise and if $6 more is going to provide a better finished product I'll do it.

Champagne is a region of France, that happens to be famous for champagne the wine. My understanding is that this yeast was identified/collected from that region, thus it is yeast from the Champagne region. It's probably used in the making of champagne (I don't actually know), but that doesn't mean that it is ONLY a champagne yeast.

Steve