Bubbles stopped, MLF done?

[ryankelley]

My Chardonnay has almost stopped sending bubbles to the top. I don't have a test kit to tell me when MLF is complete. Time to rack off the fine lees, degas, kmeta, and bulk age for a while?

 

[cmason1957]

How long has your wine been undergoing MLF?? You really do need some way to test for MLF completion. The danger is you assume it is done and it isn't, then add some Kmeta, maybe even bulk age it and bottle it. Now the Kmeta drops off enough that the ML bacteria start back up. and you have a mess on your hands. If you choose not to test and just assume it is done, you may want to consider getting some Lysozyme and adding that. It can block the MLB from firing back up at a later date.

 

[ryankelley]

It's a $90 test kit right? If there's a cheaper way, let me know...

I can do it, but I've been spending soooo much money on this and other things I'd rather not. I understand the importance, I was just trying to avoid dropping another $100 into this.

It's been about 6 weeks. I could just let it go for 3 months and feel more confident it's over? My Sangiovese is still bubbling away in MLF.

 

[ryankelley]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064OFVUK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

This is good enough? I'll bite the bullet if so.

 

[Johnd]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064OFVUK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

This is good enough? I'll bite the bullet if so.

Yes, it's plenty good enough, though not as cost effective as the chromotography kit. You'll get 10 tests with the strips, so each wine you test costs $4.25. With the chromo kit, you get 25 sheets of paper, enough for 25 tests, and you can do 8 different wines on each sheet, so 200 wines could be tested, $.50 per test (if you have eight wines for every test). If you only do 2 wines per sheet, it's still 50 wine tests, $2 per wine test. I've been using the same chromo kit for 4 years running now and still have 10 - 12 sheets left, and have only replenished the developer solution once.

 

[Boatboy24]

I honestly feel it would be challenging to see the color change on those strips when dealing with a red wine. But some people use them. I've tested as many as 12 wines on a single sheet with my chromatography kit. It may be a little more up front, but in the long run, I think its worth it.

 

[cmason1957]

I have used the test strips. They are not hard to see in red wines, since you just use a very tiny drop. If you have one wine at a time, the stops almost make sense. If you have more than one going at a time chromatography is probably the way to go.

 

[mainshipfred]

I'm a little color blind especially with reds and blues so the test strips don't work for me. But the overall long term cost difference is pretty incredible. When doing one or two wines I've cut the paper and hung it with a paper clip and fishing line to keep it in place. Helps get more bang for your buck if testing fewer wines.

 

[Ajmassa]

Ok. Let’s test those skills!

Far right is control test from juice not inoculated. All others inoculated at same time. (This ones for you @porkchopmessiah [emoji6])

 

[mainshipfred]

Second from the left is darker, the others are the same color.

 

[Ajmassa]

How bout advice to the winemaker

 

[user 36973]

It's a $90 test kit right? If there's a cheaper way, let me know...

How about a $59 chromatography kit that comes with enough stuff for up to 30 tests? I use this kit and it works flawlessly in about 2 hrs. Let the paper dry for the night and read it in the morning. Then I always give it another week after the kit indicates it is done just to be sure. The dots are qualitative rather than quantitative, but an easy and inexpensive way to check on your MLF.

https://www.piwine.com/chromatography-test-kit-vertical-paper.html

 

[porkchopmessiah]

Soooooo, I think I'm gonna ask the wife for the vinmetrica malo tester for xmas.....anybody use one before?
In better news my peach wine is ready to bottle...tasted good, had to adjust the ph a little...which changed a bit from primary ferment to now...but all good, just gonna wait as few more months and test with better equipment, my experience with ph strips should have taught me the lesson before now

 

[mainshipfred]

Nice thing about this hobby is you never run out of ideas when people ask what you want for Christmas. I thought about the tester but for now I'm happy with the chromo.

 

[ryankelley]

Think they'll get mad at me if I split the test strips in half? Use each strip for two tests?

 

[montanarick]

Chromatography Test Kit from Presque Isle www.piwine.com at $59.99 well worth the investment. Easy to use and no more uncertainty as to whether MLF complete

 

[abrewkat]

How long has your wine been undergoing MLF?? You really do need some way to test for MLF completion. The danger is you assume it is done and it isn't, then add some Kmeta, maybe even bulk age it and bottle it. Now the Kmeta drops off enough that the ML bacteria start back up. and you have a mess on your hands. If you choose not to test and just assume it is done, you may want to consider getting some Lysozyme and adding that. It can block the MLB from firing back up at a later date.

Just a nerdy side note... First time I've seen Lysozyme referenced, but it warms my heart! My first job out of university was researching effect of lysozyme use in winemaking on acetic acid and lactic acid forming bacteria during fermentation, and its impact on yeast growth. So nice to see some of the work I've done has an actual impact in the real world!

 

[Ajmassa]

Just a nerdy side note... First time I've seen Lysozyme referenced, but it warms my heart! My first job out of university was researching effect of lysozyme use in winemaking on acetic acid and lactic acid forming bacteria during fermentation, and its impact on yeast growth. So nice to see some of the work I've done has an actual impact in the real world!

I probably read some of your stuff then! Dove into the lysozyme research last year— needing it for a restart attempt before MLF was finished. No doubt A great tool to have in certain situations.

 

[ryankelley]

Test results are in. MLF is complete on the chardonnay, but there's still in process with the sangiovese. I racked the chardonnay and added kmeta. I feel a lot better now that it's off those fine lees. I realize experts say it's okay, but I don't like it...

I'll degass later today when I get my drill to my wine making site. Top up and bulk age for a few months.