Lalvin EC-1118 Wine Yeast, 5 grams - 100-Pack Review (2026)

Who this yeast pack is for

This listing is a bulk 100 pack of Lalvin EC-1118, a well known Champagne yeast strain used across wine, cider, mead and sparkling wine production. Each sachet weighs 5 grams and is portioned for a single batch, so the 100 pack is built for buyers who ferment often enough to use up a large stock before it loses vigor, such as small commercial wineries, cideries, meaderies, or hobbyists who run several batches at once across a season. A casual winemaker who makes one or two batches a year will find this quantity far beyond what they need and should consider a smaller pack size instead.

What EC-1118 is and how it performs

EC-1118 was originally selected from Champagne region fermentations and is prized for a very wide fermentation temperature range, working from about 45 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, and for a high alcohol tolerance around 18 percent, which lets it finish fermentations that would stall out weaker strains. It ferments with low foam production, low volatile acidity and low hydrogen sulfide output, traits that make it a dependable, low drama choice across still wine, sparkling wine, mead and cider. It also flocculates well, meaning the yeast tends to settle out cleanly at the end of fermentation, which helps with clarity before racking or filtering. Its flavor and aroma contribution is neutral, so it lets the base fruit or juice character come through rather than adding its own character.

Using and storing a bulk pack

Each 5 gram sachet is dosed at roughly 0.2 to 0.4 grams per liter, which works out to one packet covering about 12.5 to 25 liters, or roughly 3.3 to 6.6 US gallons, matching typical carboy and small batch fermenter sizes. The sachets are individually nitrogen purged and foil sealed, which protects unopened packets reasonably well, but buying 100 at once means most of the stock will sit in storage for months before use. Keeping the bulk supply in a cool, dry place, ideally refrigerated, helps preserve viability for as long as possible, and buyers should plan to rotate through the stock steadily rather than let packets sit for years.

Trade-offs and how it compares

Against smaller Lalvin EC-1118 packs of 10 or 20 sachets, this 100 pack drives the price per packet down considerably, which is the entire appeal for high volume users, but it commits the buyer to a large quantity upfront rather than testing the strain in smaller amounts first. Compared with buying single 5 gram packets, the savings scale with how much wine or cider a buyer actually produces; for anyone under a dozen batches a year, a mid sized pack of 10 to 20 will likely be used up faster relative to its shelf life. The yeast strain itself does not change between pack sizes, so the choice here is purely about matching quantity to actual fermentation volume.

Verdict and who should choose a smaller pack

At our score of 8.4 out of 10, this 100 pack of Lalvin EC-1118 is an excellent value for anyone fermenting regularly enough to use it within a reasonable window, offering a dependable, wide range strain at a very low cost per batch. It is the right call for small wineries, cideries, and hobbyists running multiple batches in parallel. Occasional home winemakers who ferment once or twice a year should choose a 5, 10 or 20 pack instead, since buying 100 sachets only pays off if the stock gets used before its viability declines in storage.

Frequently asked questions