On Feb 8, 8:20 am, John LaBella > wrote:
> Do you blend the juice prior to fermentation or do you
> make each separate then blend?

Ray is absolutely correct. Commercial wineries and many home wine
makers blend finished wines. This may not always be practical,
however, if you are working with smaller batches. You shouldn't feel
constrained by this; if you want to try blending in advance of
fermentation, go for it. There's no significant downside.

> Second part how important is the strain of yeast in imparting flavour to
> the wine?

The flavors created by the yeast are going to be more apparent earlier
in the wine's life. As the wine ages, the differences between the
various yeast strains become less significant.

Greg G.