71B
Metabolises up to a third of the malic acid during fermentation, which makes it the strain for anything too sharp to be pleasant. Also softens young country wine noticeably.
Alcohol tolerance
14%
10% - 14%
Temperature
15-30 C
15C - 30C
Highest must it will finish
24 Brix
about 1.103, giving 13.4 to 14.6% if it went all the way
Nitrogen demand
Low
Copes with a must short of nitrogen, which is what makes it safe for honey and fruit.
Sold as
Lalvin 71B-1122
An affiliate search link, scoped to this strain rather than to a guessed listing.
Where it belongs
- High acid whites
- Country wine
- Rose
Pitching it
Rehydrate at the temperature the packet says, acclimatise it to the must temperature in stages, and pitch. This strain copes with far more than most, which is why it ends up in every difficult ferment.
Other white and rose strains
EC-1118
18%The workhorse and the blunt instrument: ferments almost anything, almost anywhere, to almost dryness. Neutral to the point of stripping aroma, and it will out-compete anything else in the bucket.
QA23
16%A Portuguese strain with high beta-glucosidase, so it releases the bound thiols in Sauvignon Blanc and Albarino that would otherwise stay locked in the juice. Ferments cold and clean.
D47
15%Rich and round, producing a lot of polysaccharide on the lees, which is what makes it the standard choice for barrel-fermented Chardonnay and for mead.
R2
16%A very cold-tolerant strain that emphasises tropical and floral aromatics, and keeps fermenting at temperatures where others stop.
VIN 13
17%A South African strain that produces intense passionfruit and guava esters. Fast, hungry and capable of overwhelming a delicate variety.
CY3079
15%The white Burgundy strain: flinty, buttery and fresh-bread rather than fruity, and it works with malolactic instead of against it.