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Cool Kit Ferment

I am trying an experiment by comparing two Pinot Gris kits side by side. One in a Bolero Kit and the other is a Cellar Classic, both from Spagnols. I started them a week apart and have treated them the same. (I think I made a small mistake in the Cellar Classic kit. I didn't add enough water in the primary and I had to top up with quite a bit of wine when transferred to the secondary. Maybe that will be part of the experiment too!)

Anyway, each was fermented in pretty cool temperatures, around 13 - 15 degrees (55 - 60). The ferment was slow as expected, but now, the sugar ferment is over, SG ~ 0.95 or so. In each of them, I am still getting steady bubbles like it is under MLF. I thought that these kit juices were already balanced and there shouldn't be much malic acid present.

Is this MLF or maybe just excess CO2 escaping? According to my long ago chemistry education, I think CO2 is more soluble at lower temperatures, so my wine might be saturated with CO2, and thus the extended bubbles.

Any thoughts, comments?

Dan

Reply to
Dan Emerson
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Dan,

It's most likely CO2 - you're right that it's more soluble in wine at lower temperatures. Is the wine still in a cool place or have you put it in a warmer temperature? If it's in a warmer area you'll definitely see CO2 bubbles coming out of solution. As long as you followed the rest of the kit instructions, along with the appropriate sulfite additions, it's unlikely that you'll get a MLF.

Ed

Reply to
Ed Marks

Yes, there is CO2 in the wine at this stage, more at lower temperature. However, if you're seeing a steady stream of bubbles, it's more likely an ongoing fermentation. Are you sure your fermentation is over? I haven't done Spagnol's Pinot Gris, but the 2 Spagnol's wine kits I've done (Cru select Viognier and Aus Chardonnay) both were just under 0.990 when finished, so you might still have more than 1% residual sugar in the wine now. Do a Clinitest check for residual sugar to make sure.

MLF is extremely unlikely in kits, as well as not recommended. The juice is supposed to be balanced, but with the opposite result than you mentioned - it has much bigger ratio of malic acid vs tartaric than grapes, I think the reason is to prevent tartrate deposits in the bottle. Doing a ML on a kit wine would thus result in a flabby wine.

Pp

Reply to
pp

Hello Dan, I have the same problem when I ferment in my basement in the winter months. The temp is around 64 degrees and results in a lot of c02 in the wine. Needs a lot of stirring to release the gas (or a Fizz-x gizmo). Or you can store the wine for 1-2 months in a warmer place and the co2 should dissipate on its own without risking oxidation from stirring the wine. The bubble you see must be from fermentation unless you bumped or moved the carboy before looking. This could result in escaping co2 bubbles but should subside quickly. Hope this helps. Al

Reply to
Alfonse

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