hist-brewing: Wine yeasts in Mead

[SCOTSWMMN at aol.com]

(big snip)

<< I recently read an article comparing several different yeasts and their
 use in the making of mead. The author reported favorably on the use of
 white-wine yeasts except to say that a possible problem is that they
 like to flocculate prematurely, which can cause a slow secondary
 fermentation and/or maturing process. At that I decided to stick with
 ale yeast for small meads and champagne or Mead yeasts for the stronger
 stuff. If there is one thing I hate it's premature yeast flocculation.>>

Okay - if you could please define the term "flocculation" for those out there
not knowing what that means (like me), I'd appreciate it.  I'd also like more
detail on why a slow secondary fermentation and/or maturing process isn't a
Good Thing - if you are doing a traditional mead (instead of a quick mead)
with a one-month primary fermentation, and several months of racking before
bottling, would it matter? Some of the sources/recipes that I am using
specifically call for wine yeast, and don't mention this as a possible
problem.....  

Margaret C.

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