Saccharomyces bayanus — a very good all-round strain and the best choice for high-alcohol and fortified wines, but also excellent for most country wines, sweet sparkling wines and ciders. If you only kept one wine yeast strain, this would be it: while relatively neutral in character, SN9 introduces excellent weight and structure whatever the must or fruit, and produces a congener profile that always complements the wine. It's particularly good for flower or low-fruit recipes that often lack vinosity, weight and depth.
SN9 is noted for its robustness — fermenting up to 18% ABV and tolerating high free SO2, organic acids, and less-than-ideal temperature and pH. Unlike CL23, it adds weight and high glycerol production, making it perfect for high-alcohol sweet wines, uncertain recipes where reliability matters, or low-temperature fermentation down to 10°C (50°F). It's a fermentation-friendly strain: zero foam, a rapid start that helps avoid bacterial contamination, and the ability to restart stuck fermentations. SN9 is also the most osmotolerant and fastest-clearing of all Vintner's Harvest strains.
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Yeast Specification