I wanted to do more research on this. Is this because the wine kits/juice concentrates already are "balanced" out? I still haven't grabbed my book.....But, I know my little book has about 3 paragraphs on the topic and I don't recall it referencing kits at all - only refering to pressed juices.
And because I don't know what I am talking about, the question in my mind is what will it do to ruin/how will it go wrong in a juice concentrate &/or wine kit???
I think this is a good discussion....
What types of wine/juice would you put an MLF into and why it won't work in other situations
Which reds/whites
When/timing/how long to "leave" before moving to next steps.
The reason for MLF is to soften the wine, because of the acids in the wine. Kit wines have already had the acids manipulated to a great degree and will not benefit that much from MLF.
Most kits wines come with sorbate. If you add sorbate and an MLF bacteria can get to it, it produces a really bad off taste, that will render the wine pretty much undrinkable and unfixable.
Wines that benefit from MLF?
Chardonnay
Pinot Noir
Cab/Sav
Red Zin
Syrah.
... just to name a few. This may be over simplified but:
MLF seems more necessary on a grape grown in cooler regions, compared to the same grape grown in warmer regions, because of their higher acid, but that's not always true. (Cooler weather tends to produce more acid in the same grape variety compare to it being grown in warmer weather. Think of sugar developing during the heat of the day, acid developing during the cool of the night. Take away some of the warmth of the day and add more coolness overall, you can get more acid.)
Really, MLF can be a pain to get started and more pain to determine when/if it is (ever) finished. It can take well over a month to complete it; meanwhile, you can't add sulfites to protect the wine until MLF is completed.
The wine has to be tested regularly to determine if MLF ever started and when it is completed.
Last MLF I did was a challenge. It just didn't seem to want to start; I kept temperature at the recommended 68F. Nothing happened for 6 weeks. Finally, I raised the temperature to about 72F, and MLF started. 2 and a half months after I started malo had dropped about half, but I chickened out and added Kmeta to stop MLF and protect the wine. It was a very stressful time, I can assure you, as I was afraid the wine was going to ruin. (Wine has almost not free SO2 left in it by the time it comes out of fermentation, so it had no protection until after MLF was stopped.)
Something like a chardonnay, kit or not, can get a lot of benefit from lees aging and stirring without having to go through MLF. This alternative works wonders for any Chardonnay, IMO.
My advice, leave MLF's until you get experienced with fresh/frozen grape wine.
Me? I'll do MLF again next Fall... go figure!