Chardonnay Sulfur and MLF

[Millzy64]

Last year my Chardonnay put me through the wringer. Why I decided to try it again is beyond me....but I did. This year I was careful. Added SO2 and pectic enzyme to the crush. Cold macerated for 24 hours, pressed and fermented. All went well. The temp was a little on the high side but it still took about 5 days to get to 1.00 when I racked it into my carboy. At that time I pitched my MLF. That was 2 weeks ago. I opened it yesterday to test the MLF progress and was hit by a fairly strong sulfur smell. Not the rotten egg H2S smell...believe me, I know that one well from last year's batch, but a sulfury burnt match smell. I tested the free SO2 and found it was still at 30ppm. I'm worried that my MLF strain might be dead, or at least sleeping and I'm wondering if the high SO2 is where my smell is coming from. I think I'm going to rack back into the primary to aerate it a bit to lower the SO2 and then put it back into the carboy. I'm wondering if I should give it a swirl with some copper just for good measure as well. Any suggestions???

 

[Wade E]

I dont know a heck of a lot about what you can do or not do during MLF but 30 ppm is not enough to give off odors. Did you add sulfites before adding Your MLB?

 

[Millzy64]

I only added it at crush @50ppm. I guess it only burned off 20ppm during fermentation. The wine is very cloudy so I don't think the MLF is dead, it's just not very active. My Cabernet is still throwing off plenty of CO2 from it's dose of MLF but the Chard is not. I'll run another Malic Acid test this weekend and check the progress on each of them. I'm just a little concerned with the burnt match odor. It's not overpowering, but it is there. I'm just not sure if I should try and drive off some more SO2 to help out the MLF. Decisions, decisions......

 

[grapeman]

I would definitely rack it to reduce the S02 level and to get a bit of oxygen in there to energize the malo. 30ppm is enough to supress a health mlf. Make sure the temps are adequate for the strain also.

 

[Millzy64]

I racked it back into the primary and it's a good thing I did. The lees smelled of rotten egg so bad it stunk up my whole kitchen. Once in the primary I aerated the daylights out of it and gave it about a 10 minute swish with my magic copper plate. Not sure if the MLF survived or if I really saved it but I guess only time will tell. If it smells and tastes ok in another week I'll toss a new batch of Malo and get it going again. Thanks for the advice and please, if I even mention the word Chardonnay next fall, somebody kick me! I think next year I'll stick to the reds....

 

[ashton Hammar]

hey guys I was just about to induce MLF for the first time. I have a few quick questions. My Asian Pear wine is just about done with its primary ferment and I was curious if I should rack the wine off the leese and the inoculate with the MLB? Should I be concerned about possible oxidation of the wine at this point or is it helpful to expose it to some oxygen to reduce the possible SO2 levels? I haven't tested it. Any thoughts would be helpful... I am a bit apprehensive for the MLF

 

[grapeman]

Have you checked the juice beforehand for pH or TA? If not I would NOT innoculate with malolactic bacteria. If it isn't in the right ranges, you have no idea if it will improve the wine or just make it very bland, or worse, bad. Unless the TA is very high, it won't benefit from it.

 

[Millzy64]

Hey folks, here's an update. After aerating the SO2 was still around 25ppm and there was no activity. I waited another week and then pitched a new batch of MLF and added a little heat with a small space heater. Within a week it was bubbling away again and I'm happy to report the MLF was finally a success. It's since been racked and oaked and it's tasting quite good. Hmmmm....maybe another batch next year after all. I think the H2S problem was from the fermentation being too hot. Next year some frozen water bottles in the must to keep it down.

Ashton, I'm no expert, but I agree with Appleman. I just finished a batch of Pear wine myself and I don't think you need to introduce MLF at all. I actually had to add quite a bit of acid to my pear must prior to fermentation just to bring it into normal range. Low SO2 in a fruit wine is risky since too much O2 and it will oxidize and turn brown pretty fast. You should rack and get it under air lock if the primary is near completion though, no question there.

 

[ashton Hammar]

When I started my Pear it was pretty low in acid content and I actually had to add a bit of acid blend to raise it to .6% tarctic. I just titrated and the wine must is measuring in at .8% tarctic. Not sure how it increased by .2 unless the pear gives off some acid as it ferments?

Anyways, I ran out of PH paper so I am not sure what its PH is measuring. I am still considering MLF because I have had 2 other light fruit wines that came out pretty crips, sharp, and a little metalicy what I attribute to malic acid.

 

[Millzy64]

I'm not convinced that you can nail down all the sharpness to just malic acid. The MLF might help, but then again, it might ruin it too. It's a gamble and don't forget the risk in exposing it to such low SO2 levels while the MLF is doing it's thing. Why not just back-sweeten a bit if you have the same issue with this batch? That will help soften it out a bit if it comes out too sharp. Keep in mind too if you do the MLF, you will not be able to use any wine conditioner afterward. MLF and Pot Sorbate don't play well together.