Wine re-bubbling after 9 months

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I made 2 x 23 litre carboys of Pinot noir, it fermented out , 28 days skins in, racked, a light add of p,so4 , then racked again 2 months ago, quite drinkable even then, but I’m intending to add wood chips to add depth to flavour, so haven’t bottled. This week with temps rising , the wine has risen in the carboy and some expansion evident. Even bubbling , should I be worried ? I assumed the malolactic would have already occurred. Almost zero lees on bottom.
How do I KNOW if the malolactic has occurred or finished?
How much so2 should I add?
I will bottle before new harvest in late March
 
I'm assuming by your mention of malo you added MLB? MLF might not have finished and with temp rise is continuing or it is degassing from the temp rise. If it's still going through MLF it's best to wait. If it's degassing you could rack onto chips and the racking will help degass further. And if it is CO2 degassing still at this point you might want to manually degass(with whip, etc) before march if you are going to bottle.

To test for MLF completion properly you would need a Chromatography test kit. There are test paper strips but they are tough to read accurately with reds but cheaper.

Not sure how much your dosage was, but being at 90 days or so once MLF is complete, the recommended dosage without testing for SO2 is 1/4 tsp per 5 gls.
 
Last edited:
Forgot you had 9 months in the title, chances of it still going through MLF are less likely.
 

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