Malolactic fernentation

[shoebiedoo]

Has anybody done this before? I see great potential in using this as it will give certain red that "je ne sais quois", and My chardonnay's that buttery flavor I've been looking for. I'm wondering how long this process takes. and what the best product is. Anyone care to chime in???

Steve

 

[Lopez]

I have a chromatography test kit that measures the acids and a test prior to encouraging the MLF and several weeks later will let you know the drop in lactic acid.

White labs makes a pitchable liquid MLF thats good for 5 gallons of wine. Its not expensive $6-$7 per se. Some guys like it and some dont. It's all up to the maker I guess. Maybe someone else can chime in on the tastes that they impart. To me, they make it sound so beneficial. Smoother wines, lower acid, etc... But I've not made a bad tasting wine from CA juice yet, I dont want to fix anything that's not broke.

I will say that I tasted a wine that was innoculated with an ML culture. It definitely was smooth but almost seemed to lack the acidic bite that it needed. I would test your Lactic Acid before you decide on MLF. Even if it is high, give it several months of bulk age as this can improve the wine as well. If at that point you're not liking the amount of LA, it can be a good option. I had a red that was WAY high in acid 2 months into bulk age and I didnt pitch the MLF. A few months later the wine had gone through MLF on its own and turned out quite nice.

I'm not an expert by any means, but thats been my experience with it.

 

[naperwineguy]

Its unusual for a red wine NOT to go through MLF. On the whites, its very typical with Chardonnays, however most white wines are not put through MLF. That being said - if you are making a wine kit - DO NOT put it through MLF. They are manufactured specifically to not undergo MLF and if you put it through you will ruin the wine.

Here is a quote from Tim Vandergrift, a professional wine maker from Winexpert when asked if he had ever enduced MLF on a kit wine, "Yes, I have done it several times. It's extremely difficult to induce MLF, and the results are nasty. Wine kit manufacturers sell their products based on the idea that they are complete and balanced, so that even beginners can make a palatable wine with very little time and no need for an enology or chemistry background, so the kits definitely do not require MLF."



Morewine.com has a great manual describing the MLF process and its benefits - you can find it here:

http://www.morebeer.com/public/pdf/wmlfinfo.pdf

As for the timeframe - I've seen it take as little as a month - but some of mine have taken up to 3 months to complete

 

[grapeman]

I see you have kits listed, so I assume you are talking kits here. It is not adviseable to do malolactic with kits as they have been balanced to not have them done on. If you perform mlf on them, you could potentially mess up the acidic balance on them.

 

[PCharles]

Mlf

Hi Steve,

I'm going throught this fir the first time as well. I'm using the White Labs product. I have 12 gallons of Cab sauv. I bought two vials of their ML tubes. The process should take about 6 weeks, but the end should be determined by chromatography.

Here is a link to the White Labs. You can review their instructions there.

http://www.whitelabs.com/wine/malolactic.html

Good luck with your MLF.

Paul

 

[robie]

An mlf can make a very big difference for some non-kit, grape wines. Before you do an mlf, you need to know the important limitations, concerning temperature, alcohol, SO2 level, nutrients, and a few others.

Here is a very good (but technical) read on mlf.

http://accuvin.com/Malolactic%20Fermentation.pdf

I found this pdf for the first time yesterday. I would recommend you read it before considering an mlf.
The writer of this manual produces the Accuvin malo test kit, which The Winemaker's Toy Store sells.

Hope it helps.