Stopping MLF on its track

[sjjan]

I have a rosé in the stainless steel tank that finished its first fermentation a couple of days ago. The SG is - 996 and I do not notice any fermentation activity anymore. I moved the sliding lid down to sit less than an inch above the service of the wine, took out the cooling hoses. Also, the waterlock is not showing any activity anymore.

A wine farmer living just about 3 miles from my wine cellar is not using any Lysozyme, Sulphite or Sorbate to stop the wine from going into MLF. He says that he keeps his wine cellar below 16 degrees Celsius and lets it sit a while on the lees telling me that there is still quite a bit of CO2 in the wine leaving the wine (in the first few days that it) and that if I have the lid down to just above the surface, I should not worry about the wine being spoiled.

However, if I read books on winemaking, go through the posts here or on Winemaking Magazine, I hear all about adding SO2 and/or Sorbate to stop the wine from going into malolactic fermentation and to preserve it from going bad. So, I bought this set to test for SO2 and will test (free) SO2 tomorrow together with the pH, TA and residual sugar (Clarivit).

What is the advise here on how to proceed. Lysozyme seems a nice product but seems to be out of stock in my area at the moment. I do have Sorbate and Sulphite stuff. I can’t keep the wine under 16 degrees Celsius in my cellar without actively cooling it. The cellar temperature is about 17,8 degrees C. Please advise. Thanks.

 

[sour_grapes]

At 0.996, your fermentation is finished. I doubt you will have any detectable residual sugar.

You do not need to use sorbate. This is used only when you want to add more sugar for sweetening, as it inhibits yeast from reproducing.

I would recommend adding a proper dose of sulfite. This will protect the wine from oxidation, and from microbial spoilage.

 

[sjjan]

At 0.996, your fermentation is finished. I doubt you will have any detectable residual sugar.

You do not need to use sorbate. This is used only when you want to add more sugar for sweetening, as it inhibits yeast from reproducing.

I would recommend adding a proper dose of sulfite. This will protect the wine from oxidation, and from microbial spoilage.

Thanks. It seems that I could get a small dose of Malostop (lysozyme). Would you advise to combine that with sulfite? Or only to use sulfite?

 

[mainshipfred]

I use Lysozyme but often wondered what the SO2 tolerance of wild MLB is. Example: if the wine has a pH of 3.6 and using a recommended 8 ppm molecular the free SO2 required would be 50 ppm which is higher than any MLB I'm aware of.

 

[cmason1957]

The main concern with mlf starting wild, is after you bottle and then age for years. During aging the free so2 drops (and I know most folks know this).

 

[sjjan]

I use Lysozyme but often wondered what the SO2 tolerance of wild MLB is. Example: if the wine has a pH of 3.6 and using a recommended 8 ppm molecular the free SO2 required would be 50 ppm which is higher than any MLB I'm aware of.

The wine farmer that lives around the corner is seemingly in no hurry (if it were up to him) to take the Rosé that stopped fermenting off the dead lees. He said that he will come by one of these days to taste the result, then to take it off the yeast (in his words). So, leaving it on the dead yeast (gross lees? Or fine lees?) for a bit (few days longer): will that hurt? I don't want to step on the toes of someone that is offering me his help and expertise, but at the same time want to understand what is going on (one of the reasons for participating here at WMT).

So, I got a hold of Lysozyme as well as that I got this SO2 metering kit (Vinmetrica). I am about to receive the Clinitest stuff, but agree that with a SG of 0.996 there will be no residual sugar left. Just want to learn and try stuff out. I even got a Bentonite Test kit. Have no clue yet when to use it. Probably at the end before bottling to test?

So the question is what would you do now. It has been sitting idle on the dead yeast for 5-6 days, the floating lid has been brought down to less than an inch of the wine surface in the stainless steel tank and nothing has been added such as sulphite or anything else. I can rack it off the dead lees, wait a few more days ("sur lie" aging?) and rack it off to another tank and add just sulphite or Lysozyme or a combination of them. I get the message that sulphite would probably be enough to keep MLB away, but then what is the use of a product such as Lysozyme then anyways?

The wine farmer (who makes fantastic price winning wines) that lives around the corner does not add a layer of CO2 or Argon to the receiving tank when he moves the wine over. He said that he never had a problem with it. Just places the lid of the floating lid on the surface after the racking. I have one of those CO2 tanks, so could add some to the receiving tank or not.

I am reading all I can (more or less "day and night") on what to do, but would appreciate any additional recommendations from those that have been making wine from WMT. Thanks!

 

[montanarick]

Lysozyme kills MLB

 

[sjjan]

Lysozyme kills MLB

That is true. So does Sulphite... So why/when use one or the other or both?

 

[cmason1957]

Sulphite more inhibits mlb than kills it. It also provides anti oxidation properties to your wine. It also dissipates over time and the malolactic could fire up. Lysozyme does effectively kill the mlb but doesn't provide the anti oxidation protection

If mlf has completed lysozyme is not necessary.

 

[Ajmassa]

That is true. So does Sulphite... So why/when use one or the other or both?

FWIW I just checked a rosé from May, which was initially sulphited at .6 molecular with a ph of 3.52. Never added lysozyme. Test in July showed no mlf. Test yesterday- completed mlf.

 

[sjjan]

FWIW I just checked a rosé from May, which was initially sulphited at .6 molecular with a ph of 3.52. Never added lysozyme. Test in July showed no mlf. Test yesterday- completed mlf.

interesting

 

[Johnd]

Magic!!!!!!!