Mike,

A lot of these questions really come down to personal preference, so
I'll try and present more than one perspective:

> "Popular cultured yeasts for Pinot include Assmanshausen and RC212
> Bourgovin. Some winemakers use D254, 71B (Narbonne) for enhanced fruitiness,
> or Rhône strains such as L-2056. "

> What would you guys use for a yeast?

All these strains are popular, particularly RC212 and D254 in
California and Oregon. But really the possibilities are endless.

> You also recommend a MLF. When and how would you do it?

Some would go after a few days into fermentation (taking advantage of
the low alcohol and higher nutrient and temperature levels, and
allowing for more security in being able to dose with SO2 sooner), and
others would go for MLF after the AF (avoiding potential sugar
metabolism by MLB, potentially avoiding higher VA production, and
possible yeast-MLB competition). In any case, the issues of SO2 use
and yeast-MLB compatability should be kept in mind. (See
http://members.tripod.com/~BRotter/MLF.htm for more.)

> When, what and how much Oak would you use for a 6 gallon batch?

If you are talking about chips for a US gallon, then ~2.5 oz (68 g, 3
g/l) would be the low end and 5-6.5 oz (136-182 g, 6-8 g/l) would be
considered the high end. If you add it *during* fermentation you will
get a softer oak character and better oak integration in the wine. I'd
use *French* oak (this is used more universally for Pinot, though
other oaks are used) and whilst toast level is fairly open I'd go for
light-medium.

> I am considering getting pure juice instead of the grapes. If I do that and
> not ferment with the skins, what will I miss?

Most likely that juice was heated to extract colour and tannins. The
character will be quite different to a wine that had aqueous/alcoholic
extraction. Some winemakers even claim such wines can possess a
"cooked" character, but that's debatable. The main things is that you
will miss being able to control the level of extraction - whatever
colour and tannin is there is what you get, and that might not be what
you want.

HTH,
Ben

Improved Winemaking
http://members.tripod.com/~BRotter/