Good morning, Winemakers!
I thought I would pass on the experience I recently had with CH16 malolactic bacteria. For you who use CH16, you know that the smallest package (1.5 g) of bacteria is enough for 66 gallons of finished wine. Of course, this quantity represents more than we need for normal home winemaking situations.
I recently crushed some Mourvèdre, Tempranillo, and Carménère, pitching the yeast (Renaissance Muse) on October 14. I typically pitch the bacteria (without MLF nutrients) at the formation of the first cap as a co-inoculation and ALWAYS have great results. When I pitched the bacteria I was surprised by the amount of bacteria in the package. Although I didn't measure, it was well over 2 tablespoons. For years, a normal quantity has been a little more than a teaspoon. I immediately thought, "I guess they sent me the 660 package by mistake". Keeping that premise, I divided the package across six full 300L stainless steel fermenters. Of course, this means I now have five packages left in my freezer. I checked the open package and all remaining packages and they have the same quantity and are all labeled for 66 gallons. Did Hansen make a mistake by filling the wrong labeled packages? From experience, I know the packaging for 66 and 660 is the same size. The only difference is the quantity printed on the package.
I emailed MoreWine on October 20: "Has the formula for Hansen CH16 changed? I recently purchased six pouches to accommodate 66 gallons each of finished wine. I was surprised to find approximately 2 tablespoons of bacteria in each package. In previous pouches, the quantity was much less, more like ~1 teaspoon.
Here is the reply I received on October 21:
"Hey George,
Thanks for reaching out. You aren't the first to reach out to us about this issue.
To give you a bit of background, the manufacturer of CH16 fills the pouches by viable cell count, not by weight or volume. In this case, it's likely that the batch they made had much less viable cells per measure of volume or weight. As such, they increased the quantity to make sure there were enough viable cells for 60 gallons of wine.
I hope this makes sense and sets you at ease. Let me know if you have any further questions or need anything else. Thanks!"
My first internal response was: "Dang, I guess I'll have to deal with a conventional MLF". At the same time, I decided to stay the course and run the test the following weekend.
Yesterday loaded the paper for the MLF test to gauge completion. This morning, I got this result:
Only the first Tempranillo is not complete (far left). The one in the middle is the Viognier (from this post) with Beta pitched.
For perspective and the timeline, I crushed the grapes on October 14 and pitched the Muse yeast. On October 15, I pitched the bacteria. On October 22, I pressed the wine. On October 28, I loaded the paper and on October 29 noted the results of the test.
My conclusions: 1) I remain a big fan of co-inoculation of bacteria. 2) I hit bacteria gold. The 66 gallon packages cost about $30, while the 660 gallon packages cost over $100. I was able to mostly complete MLF on nearly 2 tons of grapes using one package of bacteria. 3) All in, it took 15 days. 4). The wine tastes amazing...
I thought I would pass on the experience I recently had with CH16 malolactic bacteria. For you who use CH16, you know that the smallest package (1.5 g) of bacteria is enough for 66 gallons of finished wine. Of course, this quantity represents more than we need for normal home winemaking situations.
I recently crushed some Mourvèdre, Tempranillo, and Carménère, pitching the yeast (Renaissance Muse) on October 14. I typically pitch the bacteria (without MLF nutrients) at the formation of the first cap as a co-inoculation and ALWAYS have great results. When I pitched the bacteria I was surprised by the amount of bacteria in the package. Although I didn't measure, it was well over 2 tablespoons. For years, a normal quantity has been a little more than a teaspoon. I immediately thought, "I guess they sent me the 660 package by mistake". Keeping that premise, I divided the package across six full 300L stainless steel fermenters. Of course, this means I now have five packages left in my freezer. I checked the open package and all remaining packages and they have the same quantity and are all labeled for 66 gallons. Did Hansen make a mistake by filling the wrong labeled packages? From experience, I know the packaging for 66 and 660 is the same size. The only difference is the quantity printed on the package.
I emailed MoreWine on October 20: "Has the formula for Hansen CH16 changed? I recently purchased six pouches to accommodate 66 gallons each of finished wine. I was surprised to find approximately 2 tablespoons of bacteria in each package. In previous pouches, the quantity was much less, more like ~1 teaspoon.
Here is the reply I received on October 21:
"Hey George,
Thanks for reaching out. You aren't the first to reach out to us about this issue.
To give you a bit of background, the manufacturer of CH16 fills the pouches by viable cell count, not by weight or volume. In this case, it's likely that the batch they made had much less viable cells per measure of volume or weight. As such, they increased the quantity to make sure there were enough viable cells for 60 gallons of wine.
I hope this makes sense and sets you at ease. Let me know if you have any further questions or need anything else. Thanks!"
My first internal response was: "Dang, I guess I'll have to deal with a conventional MLF". At the same time, I decided to stay the course and run the test the following weekend.
Yesterday loaded the paper for the MLF test to gauge completion. This morning, I got this result:
Only the first Tempranillo is not complete (far left). The one in the middle is the Viognier (from this post) with Beta pitched.
For perspective and the timeline, I crushed the grapes on October 14 and pitched the Muse yeast. On October 15, I pitched the bacteria. On October 22, I pressed the wine. On October 28, I loaded the paper and on October 29 noted the results of the test.
My conclusions: 1) I remain a big fan of co-inoculation of bacteria. 2) I hit bacteria gold. The 66 gallon packages cost about $30, while the 660 gallon packages cost over $100. I was able to mostly complete MLF on nearly 2 tons of grapes using one package of bacteria. 3) All in, it took 15 days. 4). The wine tastes amazing...
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