Yeast strains for wine and cider

In my experience, all the yeast will make alcohol. We use bread yeast when making moonshine since it’ll be distilled anyway.

To your question, yes, different strains impart their own flavors. We have made cider with both champagne yeast and ale yeast and they are distinctly different from the same base.

Brewery owner I know swears that yeast is the most important thing. Idk. I've not tested it, but it's his livelihood.

The attenuation level of your yeast indicates how much of the available sugars it will tend to consume, so you can get a drier final product by opting for higher attenuation yeasts, or vice versa if you want something sweeter.

Beyond that, specific strains will produce specific esters and phenols that impart flavors - a well known example is the banana flavor Belgian beers are known for, that comes from an ester created by Belgian yeast strains. That’s obviously an extreme example, most yeasts won’t have that profound of an impact on the flavor profile, but they do contribute.

As others said it makes a big difference.

I made cider with lager, ale, champaign, wine and yeast separated from live culture (some garden mix). Each had different character and some were bad.

I would suggest some wine or ale yeast but it is because they are easiest to come by for me.