Malolactic acid

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Is adding malolactic acid a necessary step. I’ve never done it. Wondering how it might change the final product.

Thanks WV
 
???

You can either have malic acid, or lactic acid. There is no malolactic acid.

Malolactic fermentation is a process not an addition. And that process converts malic acid to lactic acid and releases CO2 in the process.

So you add malolactic acid bacteria to convert the malic acid to lactic acid. And if a red wine, it is a recommended step. If a white wine it's optional, but if you don't use Lysozyme or high levels of sulfite, it can still happen later. The bottom line:

There are 3 basic(ha) acids in wine. Tartaric, Malic, and Citric. The Malic is unstable and can be converted by bacteria that already exist in the wine to lactic acid. You want to manage that so it happens before you bottle. Otherwise you get fizzy wine and a sharper taste.
 
???

You can either have malic acid, or lactic acid. There is no malolactic acid.

Malolactic fermentation is a process not an addition. And that process converts malic acid to lactic acid and releases CO2 in the process.

So you add malolactic acid bacteria to convert the malic acid to lactic acid. And if a red wine, it is a recommended step. If a white wine it's optional, but if you don't use Lysozyme or high levels of sulfite, it can still happen later. The bottom line:

There are 3 basic(ha) acids in wine. Tartaric, Malic, and Citric. The Malic is unstable and can be converted by bacteria that already exist in the wine to lactic acid. You want to manage that so it happens before you bottle. Otherwise you get fizzy wine and a sharper taste.

Sorry about the spelling. Thanks for the reply.
 

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