2 Buckets of Cab Sav on the way...Questions

[Wild Duk]

I have 2 buckets of Stuart Ranck Cab Sav arriving next week....The yeast they aent was D254.....After reading about it, it says thats it can be blended with D80 and have good results.....Anyone tried this or know what they are talking about......

I'm gonna ferment the 2 buckets seperately, then add them together at press time.....If I use 2 yeasts, do I mix the yeasts or just ferment seperately in each bucket.....Or should I just stick with the D254 exclusively that is coming with the buckets????

Thx

 

[robie]

I haven't looked up the yeast specification to see if these two yeast strains can co-exist, but if they say one can blend them, one likely can.

You can do it either way. Or you could blend the two in one batch but not in the other batch, then compare the taste. Early on, right after fermentation you might not be able to taste the difference, though.

Take a look at what the charts say is the advantages of each yeast. If you really like both sets of advantages, go ahead and blend the yeast in both batches.

 

[novalou]

I have 2 buckets of Stuart Ranck Cab Sav arriving next week....The yeast they aent was D254.....After reading about it, it says thats it can be blended with D80 and have good results.....Anyone tried this or know what they are talking about......

I'm gonna ferment the 2 buckets seperately, then add them together at press time.....If I use 2 yeasts, do I mix the yeasts or just ferment seperately in each bucket.....Or should I just stick with the D254 exclusively that is coming with the buckets????

Thx

I would not inoculate with two different yeasts. They will fight each other until one wins. Normally you'd make two batches, one with each yeast. Then you can blend.

 

[JohnT]

I agree, use only one strain of yeast.

I also am a big fan of RC212 yeast, but that is just my opinion.

johnT.

 

[grapeman]

D254 is an excellent yeast for Cab Sauv. It imparts a lot of mouthfeel and complexity while respecting the fruitiness. If it was me doing it, I would stick with the single yeast they used.

 

[Brintk]

I have used both D-254 and D-80 to ferment grapes from the same purchase, supplier, and varietal. I split the crushed grapes into two equal sized containers, then innoculated each with a single variety of yeast. After the sugars reached 1.01 SG in each batch they were individually pressed, then combined 50%/50% in carboys and ML bacteria was added. The result was slightly better tasting - after two years of bulk aging and oaking - than a wine made from the same varietal that was made the previous year with just D-254. Could be just the difference in growing conditions, or terrior, but was definitely more complex, softer and more rounded.

Give it a try.

 

[robie]

I would not inoculate with two different yeasts. They will fight each other until one wins. Normally you'd make two batches, one with each yeast. Then you can blend.

Although that rules is a good one to follow, fight to win is not always true. Some yeast strains can co-ferment together.
The only way to determine for sure is to look at the particular yeast specifications.