I have seen much written about how long Malolactic Fermentation takes to complete, but very little written about how long after inoculation it takes to begin. I am making Zinfandel/Petite Syrah blend. It was a high brix (which I know may be part of the problem). I did primary fermentation down to -1.5 brix (it took almost 3 weeks). I pressed and then racked off the gross lees 24 hours later. A few days later I added White Labs WLP675. The wine is in a carboy at about 68-70 degrees. It's been 2 weeks now after inoculation and I see no visible or audible signs of ML happening. Should it have begun? When do I become concerned? If it is due to high alcolohol that it is not starting, is there anything I can do?
How long after inoculation should ML begin?
- Thread starter BilosWine
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It should start within a few days to a week of inoculation. I have never read of anyone having successc with the WLP675 mlb, I belive it has a very low tolerance to so2, like 15 ppm or less. It is time to consider not doing mlf, Eric, in my opinion, means adding lysozyme to make sure it doesn't kick off later. Or a different bacteria. I would probably let taste help me decide which way to go.
