Recent content by HangenOn

I agree with you. I have purchased frozen grape must from Michael and he was very helpful, respectful and professional.

My understanding is that Mycoderma requires Oxygen. If the wine is properly topped up, the CO2 from MLF should provide protection. I made the mistake once of calling it quits on a partial MLF and the tartness of the Malic Acid remained ever present. I ended up using the wine for Sangria.

If it were my wine, I would not throw in the towel yet and would try re-inoculating. I am not familiar with the MLB you chose but I have had good luck with Enoferm Alpha. I have seen others recommend VP41 when dealing with a stuck MLF.

Of course, it might depend on how you define "high end" but if he likes high end wines, I would certainly not recommend doing a kit. You can get high end frozen grape must.

I think any serious winemaker (making dry reds) that wants to move beyond kits needs to get comfortable with MLF. It is as much about stability as it is flavor profile. It really isn't any more challenging than alcohol fermentation if you select a good MLB. (Like many, I had a bad experience...

I took the same approach as Rocky and did not add the Potassium Sorbate since the wine was dry. The fake fruit taste was still there. I don't think the Sorbate is the source of the Kit Taste.

I didn't experience it as a chemical taste so much as odd fruit taste. The best description I could come up with was "fake fruit". It was pretty consistent across different varietals. The kit taste is the reason I switched to frozen grape must.

I would say based on personal experience you cannot use the presence or absence of bubbles as an indication of MLF activity. I had a carboy of Merlot this year that never showed any activity. The Cabernet sitting beside the Merlot showed all the classic signs (nice tiny bubbles). It stressed...

I am curious. If you are getting juice pails and then buying grape skin packs, why wouldn't you just buy frozen must buckets? Is it the pressing off the skins that is the challenge?