Wine No1 Yeast Variation

[koomber]

I've been thinking about trying to develop an understanding of the 'why' of wine making as well as the 'how' (theory of why things are done Vs. how to do them) and I've come up with the following plan of attack.

I've got a batch of wine No1 and Wine No2 on the go atm, and like most newbs I'm keen on trying my hand at experimentation. To that end, I want to have look at doing a 2 gallon batch of wine No1 (the GF will kill me if I go for much bigger) and split this between 4 2L Bottles. Each bottle will be fermented using a different yeast:
D47
K1-V1116
GV1 Green Label
GV2 Red Label

The batch I have on atm was started using generic young's white wine yeast. I plan to keep an eye on the fermentation progress (speed/duration), quality of the lees (ie how compact it is), how quick the wine is to clear after racking/degassing.

Once all is said and done, I'm thinking of bottling each of the 2L trials into Beer Bottles (heresy!) and this should give me about 7 bottles from each trial, and each bottle will give 1 hefty glass or 2 glasses which will be ideal for taste testing. I'll force the poor buggers who taste the stuff to give me a critque.

Does this seem like a reasonable plan of attack?
Is there anything else I can compare between the samples that I've forgotten about?
Should I try something else rather than yeast?
I'd like any/all advice so I can get some proper insight into whats going on. (I'm a bit fed up with the "Ah, It'll be fine" approach to wine making).

Sorry if this isn't the right location but I couldn't decide if it should be on it's own or in the "Thread for questions and discussion on new winemaker series " Thread.

[Duffbeer]

Experiment is good & fun at the same time, not so sure about the Gervin red as it's a red wine yeast, but it won't hurt to try it.
Other things to check for other than fermentation speed & style would be delicate flavour & bouquet differences.

[koomber]

Experiment is good & fun at the same time, not so sure about the Gervin red as it's a red wine yeast, but it won't hurt to try it.
Other things to check for other than fermentation speed & style would be delicate flavour & bouquet differences.

Thanks for the tips Karl, I'll do my best on the flavour and bouquet. Though my definition of subtle is usually 'was there cheese with that bacon sandwich or not' I'm sure I can find someone who knows what they are doing

I read on a homebrew shop website (not sure where) *ahem* That the Gervin red is for red wines. I've included this on my list so I can see why there is a difference. I'm guessing the flavour and bouquet will come into it.

Is there a guide to wine tasting? I'm becomming aware that alot of the people could identify the type of wine by looking at it on a dark night whilst it's still in a bottle behind a stack of telephone books. Is there a guide as such on describing wines?

[ms67]

amazing, only days ago i sent private messages to pete, bob and steve about this exact same thing and approach (i.e. using wine number 1 - asked their advice on yeasts). i'll be using different yeasts. doing my self-ed in late spring after some other stuff i have planned. i'll post my results here and we'll have a useful resource in its infancy hopefully.

[halfastory]

I think a lot of people here would be very interested in the results. Every time I go to the homebrew shop i'm tempted to try different yeasts but always chicken out and stick with the generic Youngs which i'm sure produces so-so results.

[ms67]

.... Every time I go to the homebrew shop i'm tempted to try different yeasts but always chicken out ....

i was the same, the choice is bewildering eh. eventually i spent ages comparing charts and info looking for a yeast that was user friendly and had some characteristics that i reckoned would suit my likes. i haven't looked back, but i have only tried 3 yeasts and have one firm favourite, one i wont try again (too messy a ferment for my liking) and one that i need to do a proper comparative brew with.

[lockwood1956]

I ran this experiment some time back, and we were to sample the wines at grapefest last year....unfortunately the wines ended up oxidised, (still don't know how, perhaps it was goldseals bottling technique )

I used Lalvin yeasts:
K1V-1116
EC-1118
D47
71B-1122
RC-212


The difference in the way the yeasts perform during fermentation is remarkable


I look forward to the results of your tests

regards
bob

[goldseal]

(still don't know how, perhaps it was goldseals bottling technique )

Yes, that must have been it. They oxidised completely in about 5 minutes, all 5 different DJs. I knew it was my fault

[koomber]

I'll get some pictures too then. I hadn't really thought about foam in the ferment. Certianly the Young's all-porpoise white wine yeast is a very low foam yeast.

I'm working on a spreadsheet for documenting everything. I'm going to break it down into two distinct parts: fermentation and drinking. Since this is a wine to be drunk immediately, I'll leave out ageing.

Fermentation: This will cover Fermentation speed (bps-burps per second), and foamyness. I'm not sure how I'll measure the foamyness but I'm guessing foam height.

Clarity: How cloudy is the ferment? How consistent is the cloudyness in the ferment? How is it beginning to clear? I think this will be more important once the fermentation has died down, but it might be interesting before as well. Once clearing becomes a major effect then I'll try and measure it's progress and any fining agents added.

Etcetera: This will cover unexpected stuff and the temperature of the ferment. Any other unforseen circumstances will be jotted down here.

I've checked with my work and they have a thermocouple+datalogger I can borrow to track room temperature variations during the ferment. I may or may not do that. I'm not sure if thats a bit ott

[lockwood1956]

I'll get some pictures too then. I hadn't really thought about foam in the ferment. Certianly the Young's all-porpoise white wine yeast is a very low foam yeast.

Experience (and ceiling splatters) have taught me to always just fill the DJ to the sahoulder for the first couple of days, till the ferment subsides and then top up

I'm working on a spreadsheet for documenting everything. I'm going to break it down into two distinct parts: fermentation and drinking. Since this is a wine to be drunk immediately, I'll leave out ageing.

You can (and indeed this is why the recipe is posted) drink it immediately, but you might want to save a little for ageing, as it does improve, perhaps think about bottling in smaller bottles to give you more samples?

Fermentation: This will cover Fermentation speed (bps-burps per second), and foamyness. I'm not sure how I'll measure the foamyness but I'm guessing foam height.

The differences are quite marked

Clarity: How cloudy is the ferment? How consistent is the cloudyness in the ferment? How is it beginning to clear? I think this will be more important once the fermentation has died down, but it might be interesting before as well. Once clearing becomes a major effect then I'll try and measure it's progress and any fining agents added.

again marked differences will be observed here

Etcetera: This will cover unexpected stuff and the temperature of the ferment. Any other unforseen circumstances will be jotted down here.

Fab!

I've checked with my work and they have a thermocouple+datalogger I can borrow to track room temperature variations during the ferment. I may or may not do that. I'm not sure if thats a bit ott

it is OTT....but I love it

when you have all the info collated I would love to have a copy, it sounds like it will be a useful resource and I would gladly upload it to the server and place it in the resources section if thats ok with you.

regards
Bob

[lockwood1956]

Is there a guide as such on describing wines?

This may help you a bit

!TastingSheet VWC.pdf

[lockwood1956]

Yes, that must have been it. They oxidised completely in about 5 minutes, all 5 different DJs. I knew it was my fault

Just for clarification......

I was only pulling Pete's leg.

The wines ended up oxidised because they got stuck at the back of the winery during my house move last year, and the airlocks dried out (only for a few days but that's all it takes).....lesson learned for me?...... don't get slack

regards
Bob

[Rich]

Just for clarification......

I was only pulling Pete's leg.

Nah, stick with it's Pete's fault story.. way funnier.

[lockwood1956]

[lockwood1956]

Is there a guide to wine tasting? I'm becomming aware that alot of the people could identify the type of wine by looking at it on a dark night whilst it's still in a bottle behind a stack of telephone books.

If you PM me your address I will send you some 250ml PET bottles, and if you send them back and I will evaluate them here, and we can compare notes. I will see if Richard_s and Karl will come over (they dont need much tempting to taste wine) It will give you feedback from 3 national judges, and will give you help in training your palate perhaps?