Is secondary fermintation malolactic

[wzazdzez]

Is secondary fermintation, when the fermintation apears to slow down, the same as malolactic fermintaion? I know that malolactic fermintation is caused by a bacteria that eats malic acid and turns it into lactic acid. But is this whats happening when the bubbling slows down in fermintation or is the slowing down just the yeast slowing down and ending?-----"There's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip."

 

[robie]

Some professional wine makers refer to malolatic fermentation as secondary fermentation. But, from a home wine makers standpoint, secondary fermentation is the second phase of alcoholic fermentation, not malolactic fermentation.

During primary, the fermentation starts and gets very active. The temperature of the liquid goes up some. As the fermentation slows, the temperature drops back closer to room temperature. The bubbling typically will be much less, compared to when primary fermentation is at its highestt. This is the start of secondary fermentation, when the wine should be kept from oxygen. Most wine makers rack the wine into a carboy, so it can easily be sealed off from the air by adding an air lock.

Malolactic fermentation (MLF) generally does not even take place unless the wine in purposely inoculated with the special MLF bacteria.

 

[ibglowin]

If you are making kits etc. they consider primary fermentation when you are in the bucket. When you move it over to the carboy to finish out they call it secondary fermentation. It is all the same fermentation. That fermentation is aerobic (requiring oxygen).

Some circles of winemakers do call malolactic fermentation "secondary fermentation". It actually is another fermentation of sorts and a very different type of one that does not require any oxygen.

Unless you have added malo lactic culture to your wine what you are seeing is simply the finishing up of normal aerobic fermentation. Visual signs of malo lactic fermentation are much harder to see. Very tiny bubbles and quite often you will only see a tiny ring of bubbles around the top of the wine.