I am looking to experienced dry cherry wine makers for a yeast recommendation

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psiluvu

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I'm making another batch of dry cherry wine and need recommendations for yeast. For the first batch I made (which turned out well), I used Lalvin EC-1118. Has anyone used Lalvin 71B-1122? If so, what say you?
 
I'm trying to achieve another good result using a yeast that comes highly recommended. I know there's not just one yeast for any wine so thought I would ask for some ideas.
 
And you aren't wrong, but any yeast will ferment a wine to dry. the question is, are you looking for a certain flavor profile? any flavors you're trying to enhance or minimize? drink it now or are you patient?

I've done an awesome cherry on red star champagne yeast, but it had a strong up front flavor and needed a lot of aging. the batch on EC-1118 came out more balanced, but sharper and was ready to drink sooner - but I like the red star batch more once it aged out.

Articulate your goals and the yeast experts will be able to help out.
 
You're asking me to be articulate so I'll try. For the wine that I drink most... Petite Syrah or a red blend with Petite Syrah... I like it "in your face", i.e., a glass of "black ink" where the bold fruit flavors come at you right up front and linger. For this batch of cherry fruit wine, I'd like some of the same recognizing that we're talking cherries and not Petite Syrah grapes. The color should be as intense as that fruit can produce. The fruit should come through quickly and linger. I let the first batch of cherry wine I made settle for a year and a half so it was ultra-clear. That was never my intention but procrastinate can be my middle name. So my intention this time is to rack it for maybe six months and have it ready for fall, 2017. Need more?
 
You're asking me to be articulate so I'll try. For the wine that I drink most... Petite Syrah or a red blend with Petite Syrah... I like it "in your face", i.e., a glass of "black ink" where the bold fruit flavors come at you right up front and linger. For this batch of cherry fruit wine, I'd like some of the same recognizing that we're talking cherries and not Petite Syrah grapes. The color should be as intense as that fruit can produce. The fruit should come through quickly and linger. I let the first batch of cherry wine I made settle for a year and a half so it was ultra-clear. That was never my intention but procrastinate can be my middle name. So my intention this time is to rack it for maybe six months and have it ready for fall, 2017. Need more?

Click the link for one of the many available yeast charts:

https://winemakermag.com/yeast-strains-chart

You can see that there exists a veritable plethora of choices. I don't do a lot of non grape fruit, and never a cherry, so I can't tell you what's best for cherry, nor your taste. Consider splitting up your must and trying a couple of different yeasts when you make this batch, see which you like better, maybe a blend of the two before bottling becomes your method, experiment and see how the different flavor and aroma profiles come through in the final product.

EC 1118 is pretty neutral, but dependable, try the Narbonne and maybe K1-V1116, or RC-212.............
 
I'm making another batch of dry cherry wine and need recommendations for yeast. For the first batch I made (which turned out well), I used Lalvin EC-1118. Has anyone used Lalvin 71B-1122? If so, what say you?


This Strain was designed to be used for White wines from grapes, where tartaric is the dominant acid. Using it in wines made from fruits/country wines, is acceptable and chosen by many.


71B-1122 can metabolize20 to 40 percent of malic acid. This can/will change the profile of the wine, because some fruits are Malic dominant. It is another way to lower/change acids.

Spliting a batch up is a good idea, this helps by giving you a quicker description of profiles.
 
Anyone seen a chart/list of the various wine yeast that includes a 'Pros' and 'Cons' list. I think that could be helpful - e.g. Montrachet, while a solid yeast is known to be prone to producing HS2 if it's deprived of nutrients.
A chart like this could be helpful when folks have certain constraints such as consistently low temps in their available brewing/fermentation area.

I know that some of these aspects are subjective but in many cases they are well known by experienced wine makers.
 

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