Malolactic will "soften" acid how much?

[Dufresne11]

Hi All,

Just added MLF cultures to my Sangiovese. I did an Acid test and it reads at .70 which is a tad high but not to bad. I know MLF will soften the acid but does that mean reduce it or just blend it with the flavors in the wine reducing its ability to stand out?

Also why I'm at it why the heck does the acid level have these wild swings before during and after fermentation? I know there is a lot of magic being done by the yeast but it is hard to adjust prior to fermentation and know what is coming out of the end of fermentation...

 

[JohnT]

This is my understanding..

When you say .7, I assume that you are doing the standard titration tests.

ML Fermentation does not change the all over weight of the acid in the wine. I Believe that is simply converts malic acid (tart) to lactic acid (soft). I believe that the amount of acid will remain the same.

As far as I know, the acid level of wine is not altered by yeast fermentation. I believe that your titration sample (usually around 3cc) is thrown off by the presence of non acidic particulate mater. This may include pulp and/or yeast cells. Since these will represent a random amount of volume in your sample, you can get random results.

Be sure to strain you sample before performing your test. See if that has any effect on the test results.

 

[grapeman]

The readings are innacurate during fermentation unless you get rid of the C02 from the sample. You can do that by heating the sample in the microwave and cooling it again before testing.

 

[Dufresne11]

Going to have to give that a shot... how long do you heat?

 

[grapeman]

Bring the temp up to about 180 or so. It will only take about 30 seconds or so for a small sample in the microwave.

 

[JohnT]

I wil have to try that also. I am sure that you need to also alow time for the sample to cool down. I need to check on what the optimal temperature is for testing.