Conducting an MLF long after initial ferment

- Measure the SO2 to make sure it's down to decent levels

- Get the temp to between 22-25F

- Add good dose of ML nutrient

- Add good, strong ML culture - shop around, there are some that are more resistant to SO2 than others

- Spit 3 times in the direction of North pole while keeping your fingers crossed

Pp

Hi Berry

As long as the SO2 levels are less than 20-25 ppm you should be able to conduct a successful MLF. You will want to keep the temperature above

68F or it will be sluggish. I have one going now and am keeping the temp ~72F. It is nearing completion.

HTH

Frank

Thanks. What is "ML nutrient"? How is that different than yeast nutrient?

Berry

It's a nutrient specifically formulated for ML bacteria. It's very different from yeast nutrient - which makes sense because yeast and bacteria are very different animals. It actually reminds me of malt - brown, very sticky and hard to dissolve.

Lalvin site or Scott Labs should have all the details on this.

Especially if your wine was racked and has little or no sediment on the bottom, ML nutrient is a must.

Pp

So MLF going on after bottling could cause a lot of sediment to fall out of a brilliant wine?!

Bob - I think you've got this turned around. The point was, you especially need ML nutrient if you are doing MLF after you have racked off your sediment. Presumably this is because the ML bacteria could use nutrients from the sediment, if you still had some. If you no longer have sediment, the only nutrients the ML bacteria will have available are the ones you add.

I suppose if you bottled while MLF was active, the dead ML bacteria would eventually contribute to some amount of sediment in the bottle, but I have no idea whether it would be "a lot".

Doug

I'm occasionally troubled by a brilliant wine dropping major sediment after bottling. It makes me crazy. I think I'm going to begin cold stabilizing my wines, something I've never done. Bob<