Using 1 step MLB for first time, any advice?

[WI_Wino]

I had my Wyeast MLB poop out on my Chilean wine this spring so for the fall I am going with VP41. I got the 1 step version of it for $11 @ Ritebrew vs. $30+ for the direct innoculation version. Rehydration procedure seems pretty straight forward, I think my only question at this time is the instructions say the wine I'm using to grow up the culture should have a pH > 3.5. I don't have my grapes and juice yet but I think there is a likelihood that the pH will be lower than that. What's the best way to get the pH up? Cut the wine with some water? Add bicarbonate or the like to raise the pH?

Scott Labs instructions:
http://www.scottlab.com/uploads/documents/downloads/64/LallemandQuickBuild-Up.pdf

As always, advice or tips from folks who have done this before is appreciated!

 

[whynot]

You can raise the PH by blending, K-bicarbonate, ACIDEX/SIHADEX, water, and possibly via cold stabilization.. Of course the PH going up means the TA goes down. I'm dealing with the same problem now, but it's low PH & low TA..

you've done MLF before? it seems like a PITA to keep testing often and more chemicals, I don't even like testing for SO2, but I have to in my barrel... I'm considering it (MLF) for my juice, but not sure about dealing with it?

 

[WI_Wino]

I don't need to raise the pH of all the wine, just the ~1/2 gallon I'll use in the starter. I'm curious if there is any detrimental effect to the MLB if I dilute the wine w/ water vs. keeping the wine at the same strength and add in a chemical to get the pH up.

 

[WI_Wino]

As expected the pH was low. Wine is blend of one 6 gallon bucket of Cali syrah, one 6 gallon bucket of Cali grenache, and a 50 pound pail of frozen Cali merlot must (from winegrapesdirect, awesome customer service by the way. Email from a real person to ensure shipping timelines would work and the baggie that had the chemicals and oak in it had my name on it!). Before pitching the yeast pH was 3.40-3.45. After primary ferment and pressing, it had dropped to 3.25. The MLB says it'll work with a wine pH > 3.20 but during the rehydration/growth stages the wine should have a pH > 3.5. I took my 7 ounces of wine the directions called for and cut it with a couple ounces of tap water. pH rose to 3.30. I then added the tiniest bits of sodium bicarbonate (aka baking powder) until the pH rose to 3.56. Then added this mixture to the rehydrated MLB. Let it grow for 24 hours in covered mason jar. The MLB had reproduced significantly and I swirled up the mixture before innoculating two 7 gallon carboys this past weekend. I did a baseline chromography test before innoculation as well. Seeing some bubbles in one carboy but none in the other this mornning. Will do a another chromography test in two weekends. Carboys are being kept at 72 F via temperature controllers and heating belts.

 

[WI_Wino]

I measured pH of both carboys, "left carboy" was at 3.25 and "right carboy" was at 3.21. Neither shows much, if any, of the MLF bubbles. I did a chromography test and here are the results. The initial test I did before pitching MLB is on the left, most recent one is on the right. Can any experienced wine makers tell if MLF is progressing? It was about 12 days between tests. I did a taste test from each carboy and the wine is definitely tart. I'm not experienced enough to know if that is from lack of MLF or the low beginning pH.

I'm thinking about buying the direct innoculation version of MBR31. Scott labs says that MLB works down to a pH of 3.1. But it also claims to enhance the "fruitiness" of the wine. Not what I was shooting for but is probably better than no MLF.

 

[WI_Wino]

Figures the day I get the extra MLB both carboys are showing the typical mlf bubbles. So time to be patient and test again in 2 weeks.

 

[WI_Wino]

Did another chromo test and am seeing much progress. The fall wines are the two on the right. The middle two are spring Chilean wines I tested on a whim. As expected those two haven't done much.

 

[Fsim]

Had the same exact problem with our Chilean wines from the spring. I did find this from the University of Cornell about paper chromatography. So where do I go from here? Not sure. But I have to assume the MLF is complete.

Theory and Practice: While paper chromatography is the cheapest analytical method, it’s not very accurate and its lower limit of detection is rather high. Malolactic fermentation isn’t considered safely complete until the malic acid concentration is below 30 mg/L. Because chromatography has a lower detection limit of 100 mg/L, it should be considered only a rough qualitative test rather than an accurate quantitative measure (i.e., it can detect if malic acid is present, but it doesn’t measure the concentration of malic acid). Paper chromatography is generally more accurate than guessing, though, and coupled with careful observation, it can be a useful tool.

http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/shared/pdfs/MalolacticAcid3Ways.pdf

 

[WI_Wino]

I'm pretty sure mlf is not complete on my Chilean wine. It is still pretty tart tasting. I think it was because I used the wyeast mlb and it was right at its expiration date. I'm thinking about pitching the mbr31 I bought but didn't end up using into the Chilean wine in several months after the free so2 dissipates.

 

[WI_Wino]

Did a chromo test this week, all malic converted so I added some k-meta. Samples were still a little tart, will check pH after deer hunting.