> "Negodki" > wrote:
> > Different yeasts have different (flavour and performance)
characteristics.
> > The one that comes with the kit has been selected because it has the
> > characteristics that go with the wine being made.
>
"JEP" > wrote:
> Sorry, but I disagree. EC-1118 is usually put in kits because it's
> hard for someone to kill. It has a wide temperature range, higher
> alcohol tolerance, is a killer strain. In short, it's used because
> it's about as fool proof as you can get, not because it matches the
> wine being made. It's one of the last I would pick for a Riesling.
>
> I used ICV D-47 on a Riesling with good results, but it's a more
> finicky yeast. 71B would probably also be a decent one to use.

What you say makes sense. I don't work with kits (or make Riesling), but had
assumed they would select the optimal yeast for the wine. Regardless, the
poster should have equal success with another yeast of similar
characteristics, or any yeast which was rated for the applicable temperature
and potential alcohol.

I also believe the performance characteristics of the yeast (e.g. alcohol
tolerance, foaming, flocculation, etc.) to be more important than the
flavour characteristics, because (in my experience) after a few years of
aging there is virtually no perceptible difference between yeasts. For
example, I made identical batches of Sangiovese with Montrachet, Pasteur
Red, and Premier Cuvee. Although each yeast performed quite differently,
there were only subtle flavour differences after a few months, and none that
I can detect after 4 years of bulk aging.