Strains of Wine Yeast
Think of wine yeast the way a sound engineer thinks about microphones — every one technically does the job, but each one colors the signal differently. A Champagne strain chasing bubbles in a cold cellar behaves nothing like a Burgundy strain coaxing dark cherry out of a Pinot Noir must. Temperature tolerance, alcohol ceiling, foam behavior, flavor compounds, malic acid metabolism — these variables change the wine in your glass far more than most beginners expect. Picking the right strain is not a finishing touch; it is a foundational decision.
The beginner trap: Grabbing whatever yeast packet is on the shelf and assuming all wine yeasts are interchangeable — they are not, and the wrong match can strip color, stall fermentation, or flatten the exact aromas you were trying to build.
Ingredients
This page is a reference guide, not a single recipe. No must or fruit ingredients are listed here. Use this guide alongside any wine recipe on this site to choose the best yeast strain for your batch.
Method
How to Use This Guide
- Identify your wine style first — white, red, rosé, sparkling, dessert, or country fruit — then scan the strain descriptions below for the best match.
- Check the alcohol ceiling against your target finished ABV; pitching a 13%-tolerance yeast into a high-sugar must is a reliable way to end up with a stuck fermentation.
- Rehydrate dry yeast properly — stir the packet into water at about 104°F (40°C), wait 15 minutes, then temper it toward must temperature before pitching; skipping this step kills a significant portion of the cells before they even start.
- Pitch liquid cultures (White Labs, Wyeast) after letting the sealed package warm to within 10°F of your must temperature; these are ready to pitch without a starter, but cold-shocking them is wasteful.
- For Vierka dry yeasts specifically, build a starter with ½ tsp sugar and a pinch of yeast nutrient in ½ cup of 104°F water, add the culture, cover loosely, and allow up to four days for a healthy colony to develop before adding must.
- Store all unused yeast — dry or liquid — in the refrigerator; heat degrades viability fast.
Strain Reference Tables
Red Star Active Dry Yeasts
| Strain | Best For | Temp Range | Alcohol Ceiling | Key Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assmannshausen | Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon | Standard | Standard | Deepens color, adds spice; struggles in high-solids musts |
| Côte des Blancs (formerly Epernay 2) | Fruity whites, peach, raspberry | Cool | 12–14% | Slow, low-foam; highlights floral and fruit aromas |
| Epernay | Sparkling wines, still whites | Cool | Moderate | Slow ferment, cold-tolerant, moderate foam |
| Flor Sherry | Sherry, Port, Madeira, sweet styles | 59–86°F | 18–20% | Develops flor aerobically; also works anaerobically |
| Montrachet | Chardonnay, general red and white | 59–86°F | 13% | Very popular all-purpose strain; avoid musts above 23.5° Brix or expect stuck ferments |
| Pasteur Champagne | Sparkling wines, secondary fermentation | 59–86°F | 13–15% | Mixed-population culture; fast starter, cold-tolerant |
| Pasteur Red (French Red) | Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel | 64–86°F | 16% | Heat- and SO₂-tolerant; rarely sticks |
| Pasteur White (French White) | White wines | Cool | Moderate | Slow, cold-tolerant; produces noticeable yeasty aroma; foams heavily — avoid wooden barrels |
| Premier Cuvée (Prise de Mousse) | Reds, whites, sparkling, stuck ferment restarts | 45–95°F | 18% | Strong, low-foam; good for barrel fermentation and secondary |
| Steinberg | Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Chenin Blanc, Muscat | Cool | Moderate | Cold-tolerant, tropical fruit aroma; best in stainless steel |
Lalvin Active Dry Yeasts
Note on availability: Several Lalvin strains are sold only in 500 g commercial quantities. Home winemakers can often split a purchase through a local winemaking club, or ask a nearby commercial winery whether they will sell a small amount.
| Strain | Best For | Temp Range | Alcohol Ceiling | Key Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | Stuck fermentation restarts, high-sugar musts | 55–95°F | 18%+ | Outperformed 33 other isolates in restart trials; fast fermenter |
| 71B-1122 (Narbonne) | Fruity reds, rosé, country fruit wines, high-acid grapes | 60–85°F | 14% | Metabolizes significant malic acid; softens high-acid wines quickly; great for berries and fruit wines |
| AC | Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadet, high-acid fruits | To 85°F | 14% | Lowers acidity perception while preserving fresh fruit and floral character |
| AMH (Assmannshausen) | Pinot Noir, Zinfandel | 68–86°F | 15% | Color-friendly; slow starter — pre-develop in 10% of must for 8 hours before full pitch |
| BA11 | White wines, rosé | 68–86°F | 16% | Strong ester production; promotes orange blossom, pineapple, apricot aromas; requires high-nitrogen nutrient |
| BDX | Dry reds, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon | 64–86°F | 16% | Moderate heat production; excellent color retention; requires high-nitrogen nutrient |
| BGY (Burgundy) | Pinot Noir (primarily commercial use) | 75–86°F | 15% | Slow ferment; not easy to use; follow Lallemand rehydration recommendations closely |
| BM45 | Sangiovese, Chardonnay (blending for mouthfeel) | 64–82°F | 16% | High polysaccharide production; fruit jam, rose, cherry, spice, licorice aromas; requires high nitrogen or risks H₂S |
| BRL97 (Barolo) | Zinfandel, Barbera, Merlot, Nebbiolo | 63–84°F | 16% | Fast starter; excellent color stability; MLF-compatible; good for wines meant for long aging |
| CSM | Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot | 59–89°F | 14% | Red fruit forward; reduces vegetal notes; promotes MLF; requires high nitrogen |
| CY3079 | Chardonnay, barrel and sur lie aging | 60–86°F | 15% | Slow and steady; releases peptides that develop butter, honey, white flowers, pineapple; requires high nitrogen |
| DV10 | Whites, reds, mead, cider, fruit wines | 50–96°F | 18% | Original Champagne isolate (Epernay); clean, fast, versatile; tolerates low pH and high SO₂ |
| EC-1118 (Prise de Mousse) | Champagne, secondary fermentation, fruit wines, stuck restarts | 39–95°F | 18% | One of the most widely used yeasts in the world; extremely reliable; not MLF-compatible |
| ICV-D21 (Languedoc) | Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah | 64–96°F | 16% | Preserves fresh fruit character; inhibits cooked jam and hot alcohol sensations in overripe fruit |
| ICV-D47 (Côtes-du-Rhône) | Chardonnay, rosé, peach, mango, mead | 50–86°F | 14% | High polysaccharide production; excellent mouthfeel; MLF-compatible; low foam |
| ICV-D80 (Côte Rôtie) | Zinfandel, Syrah, Petite Sirah | 64–96°F | 15% | Handles low-nitrogen, high-sugar musts; blend finished wine with ICV-D254 for added complexity |
| ICV-D254 | Syrah, Chardonnay (barrel) | 53–82°F | 16% | Ripe fruit, jam, cedar in reds; butterscotch, hazelnut, cream in barrel whites; low foamer |
| ICV-GRE | Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rhône whites and rosés | 64–96°F | 15% | Short skin contact (3–5 days) recommended; melon and apricot in whites; requires high nitrogen |
| K1-V1116 (Montpellier) | Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, peach, strawberry, ice wine | 50–107°F | 18–20% | The “killer yeast” — dominates nearly any fermentation; retains fresh fruit aromatics; not MLF-compatible |
| L2056 | Forward-fruit style reds (Côtes du Rhône varieties) | 59–89°F | 16% | Good color stability; moderate-to-fast speed; relatively high nutrient requirement |
| L2226 | High-sugar reds, late harvest wines | 59–89°F | 18% | Black cherry, berry, cherry cola aromas with high-nitrogen nutrients |
| MO5 | Low-maturity white grapes, cool-climate whites | 59–90°F | 14% | Slow; requires oxygen and adequate nutrients; produces floral esters even from lower-quality fruit |
| M1 | Aromatic rosé, semi-sweet whites | To 68°F optimal | 16% | High ester production; “fruit punch” character at cooler temps; limited ester production above 68°F |
| M2 | Rosé, whites, reds | 59–86°F | 15% | Neutral to low ester; citrus and blossom notes; requires balanced high-nitrogen nutrients |
| QA23 | Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Colombard, Semillon | 50–90°F | 16% | Fast; low nutrient demand; enhances terpene aromas through enzyme activity |
| R2 | Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Vidal, country fruit wines | 42–86°F | 16% | Cold-tolerant; ester-building; rarely sticks; good restart option at lower alcohol levels |
| RA17 | Pinot Noir, Gamay, Zinfandel, black fruit wines | Standard | 15% | Early-release red wine strain; MLF-tolerant; blend with RC212, BRL97, or AMH for more structure; requires high nitrogen |
| RC212 (Bourgovin) | Pinot Noir, full reds, blackberries, plums, pomegranates | 68–86°F | 14–16% | Favorite for big home winemaking reds; excellent color stability; MLF-tolerant; requires high nitrogen |
| R-HST | Riesling, premium aging whites | 50–86°F | 15% | Short lag phase; dominates over spoilage yeasts; neutral — preserves varietal character |
| S6U | Cool-climate whites, low-solids musts | Cool | Lower conversion | Higher glycerol and titratable acidity than most strains; adds mouthfeel |
| Simi-White | Chardonnay, fruity whites, rosé | 59–86°F | 14% | Ester-forward; “creamy fruit” descriptor; sensitive to juice handling; heavy foam |
| Syrah | Syrah, Merlot, Carignane | 50–90°F | 16% | High glycerol; stable color extraction; violet, raspberry, cassis, black pepper aromas; requires high nutrients |
| T73 | Red wines from warm climates, Black Spanish, Lenoir | Standard | 16% | Opens up difficult-to-express reds; good glycerol production; moderate speed |
| T306 | Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Semillon, Chenin Blanc | 59–86°F | 14% | Elegant light white fruit in barrel Chardonnay; requires high-nitrogen nutrients |
| W15 | Dry whites, rosés, light reds | 50–81°F | 16% | High glycerol and succinic acid, especially above 77°F; produces heavy mouthfeel |
| W27 | Whites and reds | 39–85°F | 14% | Slow, low-foam, low heat; reds retain color well; MLF-tolerant |
| W46 | Whites, Riesling, Sylvaner, Pinot Noir | 39–85°F | 14% | Fast to start; dominates wild yeast; clean fruit aromas; low nitrogen demand |
Vintner’s Harvest Active Dry Yeasts
Note: The Vintner’s Harvest range was developed through 3,000 individual fermentations over two years, screening only strains already in commercial use in Europe.
| Strain | Best For | Temp Range | Alcohol Ceiling | Key Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AW4 | Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon | 57–86°F | 14.5% | Go-to strain for aromatic Germanic whites; low foam; medium-to-high glycerol; keep pH above 3.0 |
| BV7 | Full-bodied dry and sweet whites | 59–86°F (best below 72°F) | 13% | Amplifies fruit concentration dramatically; high glycerol; not especially alcohol-tolerant — don’t push it |
| CL23 | Crisp dry whites, sparkling, high-alcohol wines, stuck fermentation restarts | 46–86°F | 18% | Neutral and clean; zero foam; highly robust; can strip color and fruit from reds — adjust accordingly |
| CR51 | Light fruity reds, Beaujolais-style, Valpolicella | 72–86°F | 13.5% | “Silky” texture specialist; best for early-drinking young reds; medium foam |
| CY17 | Dessert wines, sweet whites, country fruits and flowers | 72–78°F (constant) | 15% | Slow — up to 35 days for dessert wine; dropping temp below 59°F arrests fermentation for natural sweetness; delicate strain — keep SO₂ below 50 ppm and pH above 3.2 |
| MA33 | Fruity white and blush country wines, high-acid fruits | 64–80°F | 14% | Metabolizes 30–35% of malic acid; softens wine naturally; killer-sensitive; may need aeration after 10–12 days |
| R56 | Rich, full-bodied complex reds | 72–86°F | 13.5% | Old-world complexity from a pure culture; high glycerol; medium speed |
| SN9 | High-alcohol wines, fortified wines, country wines, flower wines | 50–86°F | 18% | Best all-around single strain if you can only keep one; adds weight and glycerol unlike the neutral CL23; fastest-clearing Vintner’s Harvest strain |
| VR21 | Full-fruit varietal and country red wines | Standard | 15% | Preserves and amplifies natural fruit color and character rather than stripping it; neutral in aroma contribution; low foam; killer strain |
Wyeast Vintner’s Choice Liquid Yeast Cultures
Note: These are liquid cultures. Aerate a pint of diluted juice, add the culture, agitate over
