yeast strains...any difference?

[Lauritsen]

hello

I read this http://winemakersacademy.com/great-riesling-yeast-experiment-part-ii/
it sais that there are difference in aroma and taste depending on what yeast you use. Other places I read that there are no notable difference.

What is your opinion

 

[gregbathurst]

Partly it depends how much flavour there is in your wine. A full bodied red wine won't show much difference in yeast strains, but a lightly flavoured wine will have more room for the yeast to make a difference. Some yeasts are selected to produce fruity esters, they may improve the wine or detract from it, it depends on your point of view. I think the quality of your ingredients is more important than yeast selection.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

This is a great topic!
The short answer is ABSOLUTELY, yeast has a great impact on the wine, each yeast brings out specific characteristics of the varietal that you are making.

To give you an example:

In 2014 I purchased enough Cabernet Sauvignon grapes to make 35 gallons of wine, after crushing and destemming I split the Cabernet into 2 batches and fermented one batch with a traditional Bordeaux yeast - BDX, the other batch I fermented with RP15.
Both yeast came highly recommended by Scott Labs, not to mention the positive reviews given by fellow winemakers.

I chose BDX because it produces a traditional Cabernet and it brings out berries, plum, and jam flavors in the Classic Bordeaux style, it increases mouthfeel, and brings out the tannins.
This wine is everything that I wanted in a traditional Cabernet Sauvignon.

I chose RP15 because it makes a rich, concentrated red wine with a lush and balanced mouthfeel.
RP15 brings out the varietal and red fruit character, it brings out the berry characteristics creating a fruit forward wine, with color stability, and mellow tannins.
This wine is a crowd pleaser, it has a really smooth mouthfeel, almost silky, the berries are balanced, they do not over power the other characteristics.

I highly recommend the Scott Labs Fermentation Handbook - Click Here -
It is an invaluable resource!

I hope that this helps.

 

[Chef-Ryan]

I can vouch for the variance that yeast can create.. having tasted right from the barrels.. you can tell the difference that both oak, yeast and vineyard make.. we had 30 barrels from 4 vineyards, 8 yeast strains and a mix of new, old oak and 225L (standard wine barrels) and 500L ( big guys) sadly i can't recall the mix of french/american/Hungarian that was used but it is amazing to taste through.. and we also bottled a series of 3 wines where the only variance was the yeast used for each wine (similar oak, same vineyard ...etc)

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Oak barrels make an incredible difference, I agree 100%!

 

[Chef-Ryan]

It is a cool thing to taste wines where you make multiple batches and change 1 thing (big or small) and see the difference.. basically sometimes you have to try things yourself and make your own thoughts on how things affect the final product

 

[pumpkinman2012]

I bottled 30 cases of wine over the course of 2 days (thank God for the All In One Wine Pump!), 5 different batches, I blended a few, Bordeaux, Super Tuscan and a a few other blends that just seemed to work real well, the youngest being a year and a half old, the oldest being 3 years old, all will spend approx. 6 months before I really start to drink them or share a few with friends.
Like you, I like to try to get a unique wine, I bench trial a lot before bottling, I'll make some subtle changes to see if I can bring forward characteristics that we enjoy, the one thing that I'll recommend to anyone making wine - take detailed notes, you'll want to be able to recreate a wine, or learn what went wrong and avoid making that mistake again!

 

[Chef-Ryan]

I agree pumpkin man, bench trials are important before doing anything and you(not necessarily you you but you as the global you)would be amazed what blending in things like multiple yeasts, different oaks, slight differences in any of the treatments.. and yes make notes. I have sheets for every ferment that enters my house and a separate book for anything i do in the lab, from tests to bench trials. if you do multiple trials at a time and maybe want them to sit for a bit so you can come back to them, mason jars are good because you can seal them and write on them (if you use simply a sharpie then use high proof alcohol to clean it off).

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Chef-Ryan,
I agree 100%, when doing bench trials you need to let some sit for a bit of time, especially for blends. I hadn't thought about using mason jars, that is a great idea, thanks for the tip.
Like you, I keep detailed notes, anything that I do I write down and keep in my cellar, I want to be able to recreate or come as close to recreating some wines and I also want to be able to see what might have gone wrong if that is the case.
Have you tried any Washington state grapes? They are amazing.