WineXpert My first Kit, still in box....let the questions begin

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Phished880

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Today I received my first kit, World Vineyard Spanish Tempranillo. When I was unpacking the kit I noticed that it came with Red Star's Premier Cuvee yeast. My question was would I be better to sub it with one of the 2 strains I have on hand. They are Lalvin 71bb-1122 and Red Star's Cotes de Blancs.

I'm sure they pick an appropriate yeast for each kit, but i didn't know if I could potentially improve the kit easily (this will allow the wife to budget more funds to winemaking).

Thanks in advance
J
 
My advice is to use the yeast that came with the kit. As you said, they went through a lot of trouble to pick that yeast for that kit.

Out of curiosity, what gives you the impression that one of the other yeast strains you have on hand would be better than that supplied with the kit?
 
Phished (Fish Head????)....I assume that you know very little about making kits (its your first) and the kit companies. Presumably, since you have other yeasts on hand, you have made other wines.

Kits are different. The grape juices have been processed, concentrated, whatever. Some yeasts do not perform well with kits.

Some kit companies provide one yeast for all kits. I have never seen anything other than EC-1118 in RJ Spagnols kits. Some companies (eg Vineco) provide EC-1118 with most kits, and RC-212 or K1-V116 with a few top end kits. Winexpert (makers of World Vineyard kits) provide a wide range of different yeasts with their kits.

So, if I was going to substitute yeasts with a kit, I would be much less likely to do it with a WE kit.

Steve
 
Out of curiosity, what gives you the impression that one of the other yeast strains you have on hand would be better than that supplied with the kit?

Tooth,
I come from the brewing side and was reading about wine strains and the ability to enhance character(ie berry or tropical fruit flavors, just to name a few) in a beer and wine. I was curious if the 2 I had on hand would potentially be able to more so compliment the wine I am making.

This is very typical of me. Do a ton of research/reading and then try to do too much at once. I guess I need to just tell myself "These kits are made for a reason" and get some experience with wine and then begin to get more creative.

Thanks for the help
J
 
I might toy with exchanging yeasts but it wouldnt be either of the 2 you have on hand for a red wine kit. Both of the yeasts you have on hand are very good yeasts but designed more for fruit wines such as Blackberry or Cherry.
 
Tooth,
I come from the brewing side and was reading about wine strains and the ability to enhance character(ie berry or tropical fruit flavors, just to name a few) in a beer and wine. I was curious if the 2 I had on hand would potentially be able to more so compliment the wine I am making.

This is very typical of me. Do a ton of research/reading and then try to do too much at once. I guess I need to just tell myself "These kits are made for a reason" and get some experience with wine and then begin to get more creative.

Thanks for the help
J

That makes sense. I was just curious. After posting my reply, it occurred to me that my question could have come off with a flippant tone. Glad you didn't take it that way. :D

I'm the same as you. I have much more experience with brewing and I also tend to overdo it before I really have the background experience. I did the same thing with brewing. I made far too many specialty beers before I nailed down my process by making regular beer-flavored-beer. Now that I did that, the specialty type beers are even better. :)
 
Phished:

Personally I would ignore that pdf. As I already said, "Some yeasts do not perform well with kits". When you decide to use grapes or maybe fresh juices, dig the pdf out again. Also some of the yeasts I saw at a quick glance at that pdf are not readily available to home wine makers. They are usually sold in the 500g size, unless you can find a store that repackages them. There are a couple of stores within a 30 min drive of home that repackage some of these yeasts, but I still probably won't use any with a kit.

I doubt that either of "Lalvin 71bb-1122 and Red Star's Cotes de Blancs" are better for that kit than what came with it. If you wish to try a Wyeast liquid yeast go for it.

Steve
 
i guess i forgot to explain that i would use this in other non-kit adventures. sorry for the confusion
 
More help needed.

Ok so due to a boat load of work and a pregnant wife, I'm just now getting ready to bottle. My question is what is the shortest amount of time I can wait after adding the chitostan?

Thanks
 
If I were you I wouldnt be quick to bottle it after adding a finiing agent. I wouod give it a few weeks at minimum, let the lees compact while carboy is tilted to one side for about 2 weeks and then gently tilt the other way and rack off the shallow end, this lets you get more wine out of your carboy with less chance of disturbing the lees. I would then let it sit in a clean carboy for a few weeks to make sure no very fine sediment is falling out like it usually does, if so I wouldnt bottle until it stos dropping these.
 
i like to wait at least 2 weeks after adding fining agents. then rack off sediment and either bottle or bulk age.
if bottling, it'll take another month for bottle-shock to get over, then your young wine will need to age appropriately. if you can bottle some of the batch into 187ml or 375ml bottles, then that gives you some tasters to sample the wine along the way as it ages without opening a full bottle.

as to yeasts - i think yeast selection is much more common and popular in beer brewing than wine making. meaning that the yeast has more influence on the finished product. there are other tweaks you can do in winemaking that will have a more pronounced and profound impact on the finished product and be far more noticeable than playing with yeasts... techniques, additives like oak and biolees, liquid tannins, glycerine, banana soups, zante curants, etc.
 
edit: what wade said. the longer you can wait the better. i usually filter 3-4 weeks after fining. then bulk age reds, usually bottle whites.
 

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