Where to Buy Wine Yeast in the UK — Why Supermarkets Don't Stock It
Quick answer: UK supermarkets don't sell wine yeast. They stock baking yeast, because that's what most shoppers buy. To get wine yeast, go to a home brew shop, either online or in person. At BrewCo we stock Lalvin, Gervin, Mangrove Jack's and Young's wine yeasts in single sachets, which we send anywhere in the UK, or you can collect from our shop in Sowerby Bridge, near Halifax.
If you've searched the baking aisle for wine yeast and come away empty-handed, you're not doing anything wrong. It just isn't there. Here's why, whether you can use bread yeast instead, and which wine yeast to buy.
Why supermarkets don't stock wine yeast
It comes down to demand. Supermarket shelf space goes to things lots of people buy every week. Baking yeast sells to everyone who makes bread, while wine yeast sells to a much smaller group of home winemakers. Specialist brewing supplies, such as wine yeast, Campden tablets, pectolase and hydrometers, are mostly sold through home brew shops instead.
That works in your favour. A home brew shop carries a range of strains for different wines, and the staff can tell you which one suits your recipe.
Can I use bread yeast to make wine?
It will ferment, but you won't get the wine you're after. Baking yeast and wine yeast are bred for different jobs:
| Baking yeast | Wine yeast | |
|---|---|---|
| Bred for | Making dough rise quickly | Fermenting fruit sugars cleanly and completely |
| Alcohol tolerance | Low. It tends to stop early, leaving a sweet, weak wine | High. Lalvin EC-1118, for example, tolerates up to 18% |
| Flavour | Often bready or yeasty | Clean, or chosen to bring out fruit and aroma |
| Settling | Stays cloudy for longer | Settles into a firm sediment, so the wine clears |
Wine yeast is inexpensive, so it's rarely worth the risk to a whole batch of fruit. We cover this in more detail in our guide to yeast nutrient and bread yeast.
Which wine yeast should I buy?
If you only buy one, buy an all-rounder. If you know what you're making, pick a strain for that style:
| You're making | A good choice |
|---|---|
| Almost anything (all-rounder) | Lalvin K1V-1116 |
| Strong wines, sparkling wine, or restarting a stuck ferment | Lalvin EC-1118 |
| Red wine | Gervin GV8 Red Table Wine |
| White wine | Gervin GV9 White Wine |
| White fruit wines (apple, gooseberry, elderflower) | Gervin GV5 White Fruit Wine |
| Red fruit wines (blackberry, damson, elderberry) | Gervin GV11 Red Fruit Wine |
| Cider | Gervin GV13 Cider Yeast |
| Fruit wines, with everything in one sachet | Young's Super Wine Yeast Compound (yeast, nutrient, pectolase and vitamin B1) |
Not sure? Our Wine Yeast Selector matches a strain to your recipe in a few clicks. You can also browse the whole yeast range, or go straight to Lalvin, Gervin or Mangrove Jack's wine yeasts.
Do I need wine yeast for a wine kit?
No. Wine kits come with their own yeast sachet, along with the additives you need. You only need to buy wine yeast if you're making wine from fruit, juice or a recipe, or if you want to replace the kit yeast with a particular strain.
What else to buy with your yeast
If you're making a country or fruit wine from scratch, these go hand in hand with the yeast:
- Yeast nutrient, because fruit musts often lack the nutrients yeast needs to finish the job.
- Campden tablets, to treat the must 24 hours before adding the yeast. See our Campden tablets guide.
- Pectolase, to break down pectin so fruit wines clear.
- A hydrometer, to check when fermentation has finished and to work out your ABV.
Buying and storing wine yeast
- Check the best-before date on the sachet, and use the freshest you can.
- Store unopened sachets somewhere cool, ideally the fridge.
- Check how much the sachet treats. The batch size is on the packet. It's usually enough for a gallon or more, so one sachet often covers a small batch with some to spare.
- Rehydrate if the packet says so. Some strains do best sprinkled into a little warm water for a few minutes before you pitch them.
Buy wine yeast in person
If you're near Calderdale, you can buy in person at our home brew shop in Sowerby Bridge. See Find Us for opening hours and directions. We're happy to talk you through which yeast to use. Everywhere else in the UK, order online and we'll post it to you.