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  1. Rice_Guy

    pH drift: Apple products

    Many of the wines I did in 2022 had a percentage of fresh/ unpasteurized apple juice in them. That seemed OK since juice would have more fruit impact than formulating country wines with water. BUT now that I am clearing out the carboys I am seeing all the pH numbers have drifted up...
  2. 1

    Malolactic Starter Smell

    (Hi. Just joined. Hope this is a good sub-forum to post in). I made a starter for my malolactic bacteria, and the smell I get from it is that of sour beer. Lactic acid is the main acid in sour beer, so that makes sense, but the few things I see around the internet are that the starter should...
  3. B

    Intro + Question on Headspace

    Hello All, I'm new to winemaking and have found this forum helpful in the learning process. I live in San Diego and have made a few batches of Cab and Petite the past few years. I pick grapes from local vineyards and de-stem/crush/press at home. I've picked ~150lbs of grapes each time so end up...
  4. N

    MLF Help/Suggestions!

    Hey all, love the great tips on here. Could use some help of my own. I pressed my Cab. Two days later, I carefully racked my carboys to the neck and I began MLF that day. it’s been just over 2 weeks since MLF has visibly been going on but some heavy sediment has accumulated...should I rack...
  5. Al Hatfield

    MLF with grape concentrate

    I read if you put a wine with citrus acid through MLF it will produce acidic acid and taste like vinegar. I did a 2nd run wine through some merlot skins and used water and grape concentrate to do it and I’m talking about standard frozen grocery store grape juice concentrate not a wine specific...
  6. F

    Infection during MLF

    My merlot got a sign of infection during MLF, so I racked and added sulfite. The MLF was only half way done when the infection occurred. I’m wondering if I can wait for sulfite to go down and restart MLF again. If not, can you advise in what to do as merlot is still pretty tart. Thanks!
  7. A

    Did I do MLF right??

    I just did my Chromatography test and it did not come out as expected. I tested 5 reds two of which I inoculated with CH16 two days after pitching the yeast. And the other 3 did not get the ML culture. I attached the pic of the test and it looks like all 5 wines are still strong in Malic Acid...
  8. tradowsk

    MLF and Racking

    I have a batch of pinot noir (from grapes). I pitched yeast on 9/30and co-inoculated with ML bacteria on 10/1. I've since pressed off the skins/seeds, SG is below 1.000, and the wine is still sitting on the gross lees. Question: can I rack off those lees now or will that mess with the MLF? Do...
  9. F

    Press, MLF and Sulfite

    I currently have petite Sirah wine grape fermenting and it’s almost done fermenting. Per my research, if I want to do MLF, I shouldn’t add any sulfite in my wine. However, with pressing, I’m concerned with infection and oxidation. Of course, I’ll sanitize my wine press but I’m still a bit...
  10. J

    MLF airlock level

    Hi all, I am a few weeks into MLF, in the beginning I noticed both my carboys airlock levels showed a positive pressure from inside the carboy, meaning there is some outgassing happening. Now one still shows positive pressure and one negative pressure which I thought was odd. Is there reason to...
  11. F

    Choosing 1 strain of MLB

    If you have to choose 1 malolactic bacteria strain to take up resident inside your only oak barrel, what strain would that be?
  12. DocDRB

    First go at California cabernet from grapes

    So I live in St. Louis Missouri. For the last few years I have been picking fresh Chambourcin grapes from a friends vineyard in Illinois. This year because of the odd weather his crop was pretty wrecked So we ordered some Kings River California Cabernet grapes. My first time making a Cabernet...
  13. DonnyDarko19

    Malolactic Fermentation Help

    I had a question about MLF. After a week of fermenting 100 lbs of merlot grapes with EC-1118, I pressed my grapes on Friday and racked off the gross lees on Sunday. I have not added any sulfites since the crush. When I racked on Sunday, I had to top off with a similar store bought wine. 3...
  14. A

    Has MLF started or just CO2?

    Hi, Crushed red grapes 6 days ago (1 pail of Syrah, 1 pail of Sangiovese), threw a bit of Sodium Meta then left on a cool garage for almost 24 hours. Next day I inoculated with yeast. Every day twice a day I punched the cap and aerated the must. Maceration went on for 5 1/2 days. Checked...
  15. Dom Lausic

    MLF for press run wine in carboy?

    Hello All, Just made a nice 50L batch of red blend (Cab Sav, Merlot, Syrah - 1:1:1), and racked it to my barrel over the weekend. I've put in the MLB yeast into the barrel yesterday. But i also ended up with about 12L (3 gal) of press run wine, currently sitting in a carboy. Should i run it...
  16. tradowsk

    Malolactic fermentation for kits

    I have an extended maceration going with a WineXpert Eclipse Lodi Ranch 11 Cab Sauv kit that will be finishing up in 2 weeks. I was interested in doing MLF on this batch once the EM is done since my preference for red wine is lower acid. But I read online in...
  17. Obelix

    MLF working - how does it show?

    Hi guys, With the primary going, I'm preparing for a sequential MLF (will add V41 int the tank once the primary has completed). The first batch ever, so grossly inexperienced :) I won't have any equpment to test the levels of components, so the progress will need to be tracked "mechanically"...
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