Fresh Concord Grapes and MLF

[Dokki]

I have about 40 lbs of fresh concord grapes going through primary fermentation right now. This is my first time attempting a concord anything batch and am unsure if I need to put these grapes through MLF as well. Can anyone comment on if MLF is needed with Concord grapes? The grapes were free and I do not have the ability to measure acid, so I kind of winged the recipe based off of one of those generic "Here's giant list of various fruits and the amount of additives you need to add to make wine".

~40 lbs Fresh Concord Grapes
3/4 tsp Pectic Enzyme
1 tsp Acid Blend
1 tsp Tannin
5 cups sugar (S.G. ~1.084)
6 cans frozen grape juice concentrate (for more flavor)

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[rob]

MLF is a very complexed process, you might be better off not trying it with out a way to test the acid levels.

 

[novalou]

In the future DO NOT add acid to Concord grapes. They tend to be high in acid to begin with.

I have not MLFed Concord, but it wouldn't hurt. You can also chill the carboy in the garage, see if you can get any tartaric acid to precipitate out.

 

[Snafflebit]

If you are going to MLF your wine, then use tartaric acid to adjust the taste rather than an acid blend which contains tartaric, malic and citric. The MLF is going to remove the malic so it serves no purpose.