# strawberry wine malolactic fermentation



## booboo (May 11, 2012)

Should I do a malolactic fermentation on my strawberry wine?


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## tonyandkory (May 11, 2012)

From what I have read I would say no. but on the other hand I have never done it before.
I think the shtick is the strawberry wine doesn't last long enough to benefit.


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## deboard (May 11, 2012)

I think that if you do a MLF on it, you will not be able to backsweeten it, because you can't add Potassium Sorbate to a wine that has undergone MLF. This will cause a wine fault that makes it taste like a geranium. And without sorbate it will likely start fermenting again when you sweeten it.

If you plan on a dry strawberry wine, then I guess you could try MLF. Not positive how much malic acid you'll find in a strawberry wine though, probably not enough to warrant it though. I could be wrong.


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## grapeman (May 11, 2012)

No do not do mlf on strawberry. There is no benefit to it.


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## sjo (May 11, 2012)

Please correct me if I am wrong. You can't do mlf on wine that has sorbate. But You can sorbate a wine that has been through mlf. It is the conversion from malo to lactic acid that causes the geranium smell.
SJO


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## Turock (May 12, 2012)

I agree with the others that say not to do it. Any of the MLF instructions, that you can find online, will tell you not to MLF fruits other than grapes because it destroys the distinct profile of a fruit wine. It reduces the fruit flavor.

It's interesting that an MLF can occur in a sorbated wine---some of us have seen this in a spontainious MLF on something like a blackberry wine. TECHNICALLY you could sorbate an MLF wine if there is NO malic left in the wine. BUT, it's still a dicey thing to contemplate because you can never be TOTALLY sure that all the malic has been metabolized. So the best advice is not to sorbate. The sorbate is what causes the geranium or fish smell--not the conversion from malic to lactic acid.


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## mmadmikes1 (May 12, 2012)

No you do not sorbate wine that has had MLF at all.


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## BobF (May 12, 2012)

sjo said:


> Please correct me if I am wrong. You can't do mlf on wine that has sorbate. But You can sorbate a wine that has been through mlf. It is the conversion from malo to lactic acid that causes the geranium smell.
> SJO



This not correct. It is the metabolism of sorbate by MLF bacteria that cause the geranium taste/smell.


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## seth8530 (May 12, 2012)

Let me make a slight addition to this conversation, you can nuetrilize and prevent any MLF fermentation with the use of lyzosomes which makes it possible to add sorbate to a wine that has been introduced to MLF bacteria.


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## winemaker_3352 (May 13, 2012)

I would not do an MLF on strawberries - there is not that much malic acid present.

There would really be no benefit - if the wine is high in TA - cold stabilize it and balance it with sugar additions..


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## gordini (May 22, 2012)

I've often wondered about MLF in strawberries. I don't use Sorbate, hate the stuff, because at times it has given off a distinct aroma. Perhaps the strawberries had already gone through an MLF. Here is the acid composition of my strawberries - commercial, Albion - done by certified laboratory analysis: Malic Acid 2.8grams/litre Citric Acid 8.6 grams/litre Tartaric Acid .04 grams/litre I didn't ask for any other acids to be tested. 
My question is: How do you retain the natural colour of stawberries through and after fermentation? I have found that the colour is retained right until the last "moments" of ferment, then it changes dramatically.


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## grapeman (May 22, 2012)

ascorbic acid might help retain the colors. k-meta turns it from red to brownish for a while and sometimes it will come back as the sulfite becomes bound.


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## gordini (May 23, 2012)

Thanks for the advice... I have tried Ascorbic, but I am wary of its reaction with citric during fermentation. But then, strawbs are high in vitamin C already.
The best colour retention I have had is when I have directly fortified the juice to 18% wv alcohol. It darkens, but still has the red tones.


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## booboo (May 24, 2012)

Now I am worried about the color of this wine. I want it to be red not brown. How can I avoid this or should I not worry about it. This is what I did so far. Took 18 Lbs of frozen strawberries and thawed them. Took about ½ gallon of the juice and froze it, to later unfreeze and back sweeten. I gently heated the sugar in some water to dissolve. After it was cool I added the fruit and additional water to get to 4 gallons. I did not add hot water. Added 4 campden tabs waited 12 hours. Added pectic enzyme and waited another 12 hours. Re-hydrated yeast with go firm and pitched the yeast. After 6 hours I added DAP and Fermaid K. I also added DAP and Fermaid K every 24 hours for three days stirring well.


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## gordini (May 27, 2012)

Go easy with the nutrients..... and with the colour, I cannot suggest anything, because that's what happens with some strawberry varieties. It might come back when all the sulphur is bound (it is quite a bleaching agent ), but the best you can hope for is a light brick red. The back sweetening with juice will definitely help. A huge tip with strawberry wine is to make sure you keep an eye on levels of sulphur - camden tablets - and make sure you add them after ferment is finished and then a few weeks later. The active preservative - free sulphur - is absorbed ( bound) very quickly after ferment, and you must replace it. Strawberry will go aldehydic very quickly if not cared for.


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## SarahRides (May 27, 2012)

My strawberry peach started going through MLF after bottling, I had adjusted the acid levels (added a small amount of acid blend right before bottling). It must have triggered something because 2 months later it had started to almost blow some their corks. It is the 3rd wine that this happened to in the past few months. I had even sulfited as well right before bottling. Will adding more sulfite now stop the MLF?


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## gordini (May 29, 2012)

It is difficult to say whether an MLF has occurred after bottling. Only analysis would determine that. Did you test your pH before bottling? If so any increase in pH could indicate an MLF. However, most post secondary re fermentation issues are caused by residual sugar. Was there much of a residue? If there was, it was yeast. If there wasn't it might have been MLF, in which case you should increase your sulphur addition at bottling. Any addition of sulphur now must be done in bulk, ie/ empty all your bottles, cold stabilize and re sulphur. That way you will know you've got the same amount in each bottle. Sterile filtration would always help, if you've got it.


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## winemaker_3352 (May 29, 2012)

Are you sure it wasn't degassing in the bottle and blew the cork - this is very common if the wine is not degassed properly..


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## booboo (May 30, 2012)

gordini said:


> Go easy with the nutrients..... and with the colour, I cannot suggest anything, because that's what happens with some strawberry varieties. It might come back when all the sulphur is bound (it is quite a bleaching agent ), but the best you can hope for is a light brick red. The back sweetening with juice will definitely help. A huge tip with strawberry wine is to make sure you keep an eye on levels of sulphur - camden tablets - and make sure you add them after ferment is finished and then a few weeks later. The active preservative - free sulphur - is absorbed ( bound) very quickly after ferment, and you must replace it. Strawberry will go aldehydic very quickly if not cared for.



I used 1/4 tsp Fermaid K and 1/2 tsp DAP 6 hours after pitching and ever 24 hours for three days. Does that sound like too much nutrients for Strawberry? It is just about done fermenting and the color is a nice red. My plan is after it is done fermenting and settles out. Rack it to a secondary. Adjust the PH to 3.4 and add 4 campden tabs. Wait a couple weeks then add campden again with sorbate and back sweeten. Wait a few weeks then filter and bottle.


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## SarahRides (May 30, 2012)

winemaker_3352 said:


> Are you sure it wasn't degassing in the bottle and blew the cork - this is very common if the wine is not degassed properly..



I know it was de-gassed, there was no fizz to it when I bottled it, so I don't think it was a de-gassing issue. The SG is the same as what it was when I bottled it as well, so I don't think it was the yeast. I had a few other wines do the same thing around the same time, (all non-fizzy when bottled, no changes in SG, etc.). It's still bubbling, I'll probably add some more sulfite, rack it and see what happens.


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## gordini (May 31, 2012)

I am at a bit of a loss to understand why you've got this CO2 problem. If the wine is clear and bright and there is no residue dropped in the bottle, then it might be microbial. Or else there was considerable dissolved CO2 in the wine at bottling, especially if it was particularly cold, the wine would have retained more CO2.


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