Yeast suggestions please

Hi,

I've gotten hold of a bunch of demijohn/glass wine things and intend to try and make a few different kinds of wine over the next few weeks. I was hoping people here could help me out with suggestions for what types of dried yeast to buy. On eBay it seems like you can pick 'n' mix different Lalvin yeasts which seems to be a good bet.

I was thinking of making edwort's apfelwein to get me going and perhaps a skeeter pee at some point. I'll also give elderflower wine a go I think and probably what ever summer fruits I can get my hands on cheaply or for free (most likely cherries and different berries).

I'm in Germany and the selection of yeasts doesn't seem great and is quite a lot more expensive than in Britain or the US so I'll probably bulk-buy a few different varieties and store them in the fridge. Some that are relatively multi-purpose and that are maybe less susceptible to fluctuations in temperatures may also be good.

Thanks in advance!

I use mostly general purpose strains- EC-1118, K1-1116, and D47. They all work well for all of my wines. I haven't noticed a great deal of differences in the wines by the time they finish and age.

I use k1-116 pretty much exclusively. it has a wide temperature range, Lower nutrient requirement and is good up till approx 16-18% alcohol. It also is good at retaining flavor from fruits for country wines or meads

I've always used the 71B-1122. They suit me perfectly.
Nice temp range (15°- 30°) and good alcohol tolerance (14%). They're great for whites.
I also like their ability to ferement Malic acide pretty well.

My father uses ICV K1V-1116 and he's pretty happy with it. He mainly uses them because he prefer higher alcohol content (18%).

You can try something like this too.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Red-Star-WI...154?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41606313fa

or this...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LALVIN-EC-1...178?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item485403d362

All are great yeasts. The ec-1118 is a great "go too" yeast for a lot of wine styles..

Cheers
Jay

I always have 71-b1122, kv-1116, rc212 and EC1118 on hand...I use 1118 mostly for making soda. I've actually never used D47. I wish I could give you different reviews on all of them but honestly they have all worked well for me and I've never done a scientific comparison...I just follow the advice of the manufacturer.

D-47, K1-1116 (for whites and fruit wines). RC-212 (for Reds)

Each yeast strain does bring different flavors/characteristics, so try to have at least a few of each on hand!

Thanks very much for all the great suggestions!