RC-212 and Premier Cuvee

Almost all the kits I have done have been with EC-1118 or the

71b-1122.

What the most prominent differences that I will see with these two new yeasts?

They both have started fermenting within 18 hours and now are at 71F in a 68F room, so they seem to have started just right.

The RC-212 is in a Brew King limited edidtion Syrah/Mourverde from springtime that I finally got a chance to start and the Cuvee in a Brew King Italian Pinot Grigio also purchased in Feb/March with a Jan03 manufacture date.

So far I have been very impressed with the quality of these kits. I did two batches of their limited edition Chardonnay from Jan; I did one with the EC-1118 and the other with the 71B and both tasted great as I bottle from carboy last weekend.

Michael,

Very glad to hear that Brew King is continuing to use some different yeasts. The Premier Cuvee is actually quite similar to EC-1118, both of which are saccharomyces bayanus strains that some call "killer yeasts" -- they are very fool-proof but don't give the best flavour/aroma properties to the wine. I've found that the EC-1118 seems to be a little more neutral and better, while the Premier Cuvee leaves quite a noticeable character that masks a lot of the varietal difference. At least that was the case with the first several Brew King kits I did, all but one of which used this yeast. I did some experiments where I split the kits into 2 and did 1/2 with Pasteur Red, and found that to be much better especially for Chateauneuf-du-Pape style wines.

Most other yeasts available for winemaking, including RC-212 and 71B, are saccharomyces cerivisiae strains. There are quite a few different cerivisiae strains with quite different properties. The RC-212 would be a logical selection for an S/M blend.

If you haven't started these yet, I would not use the Premier Cuvee but instead use EC-1118, or better yet, a cerivisiae strain. Try this link for some general info on yeast

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or this one for info on specific strains

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Be sure to save some of your wine (especially the red) for a minimum of 18 months. My Brew King reds that are past 2 years in the bottle are easily 10 times more enjoyable than during the first 6 months, and much better than after even 18 months.

Enjoy your wines!

Richard