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blending non-MLF'ed Merlot with MLF'ed Merlot

Hi everyone.

I've got my Merlot picked, cold soaked, and in the primary fermenter at the moment. I was talking to the grower about MLF and he suggested that I MLF only about 30% of the the wine and blend it with the remainder before bottling.

Up to now, I've always MLF'ed 100% of my wine (Cab or Cab/Merlot blends). This is the first I've heard of blending non MLF-ed with MLF-ed wine. According to the grower, this is the commercial norm for Merlot, or at least Long Island Merlot.

Does this sound right to you all? How do you stop the blended wine from MLF-ing in the bottle? I'd rather not nuke it with sulfite.

Thanks, Bill

Reply to
Bill Schell
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Bill,

I'd suggest that if you've made wine from the same grapes and done a full MLF and you were happy with it, then I'd do it that way again. I've never done a partial MLF, but know it is done to get some of the flavor characteristics produced by MLF, but to not lose all of the acidity. I think that your options after blending would be to add sufficient sulfite to inhibit further MLF, and you could also use Lysozyme.

Ed

Reply to
Ed Marks

It's not an uncommon commercial practise. Most wineries sterile filter afterwards, but you might try Lysozyme.

Ben

Reply to
Ben Rotter

Thanks Ed.

I haven't made wine from these grapes before (Long Island Merlot), just grapes shipped from CA (to NJ), so they're a very different beast. I did get to taste the growers own Merlot, which was tasty, so perhaps he knows what he is talking about. 30% MLF just seems very low to me. Thanks for the tip on Lysozyme. I didn't know about it. Looks like a good way to prevent spontaneous MLF in the secondary fermenter and the bottle.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Schell

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