Gross lees and MLF

[NCHSA]

Hi there, I am new to all this, making Shiraz in South Africa, 2 1/2 weeks in.

So I have gone through primary fermentation. I then pressed the grapes (although really only used the weight of the grapes, so think it’s mostly free run). I added the lactic acid bacteria immediately and bottled into carboys - one 20l, one 5l and half a 3 litre. I now wonder whether I should have let the wine settle for a day or two and racked off the gross lees before initiating MLF?

- should I rack now, meaning I need to put into a new vessels, rinse and sanitise my carboys and put it back? Will this disturb MLF?

- or should I just leave it to finish MLF and rack then?

Concerned about bad odours coming from gross lees.

- also, with regards to carboy size. Obviously, having a vessel only half full at this stage is less than ideal. I pressed 36 hours ago, will that batch already be spoilt? I was hoping I could use it for testing and topping up later on.

Thanks
Natasha

 

[joeswine]

Your on the wrong thread….this is for kits
Go bad you’ll find what your looking for

 

[BarrelMonkey]

Hi there, I am new to all this, making Shiraz in South Africa, 2 1/2 weeks in.

Welcome!

So I have gone through primary fermentation. I then pressed the grapes (although really only used the weight of the grapes, so think it’s mostly free run). I added the lactic acid bacteria immediately and bottled into carboys - one 20l, one 5l and half a 3 litre. I now wonder whether I should have let the wine settle for a day or two and racked off the gross lees before initiating MLF?

Yes, ideally I would let the gross lees settle out before adding ML bacteria. But if as you say it's mostly free run, there may not be a lot of gross lees... Since it's been a couple of days since you pressed, is there a clear layer of gross lees in the bottom of the vessels? If so, I might be inclined to rack out into new vessels. A 'dirty' rack is fine - some lees are beneficial for feeding the ML bugs, but as you noted leaving wine on gross lees for too long can lead to off aromas and flavors.

- also, with regards to carboy size. Obviously, having a vessel only half full at this stage is less than ideal. I pressed 36 hours ago, will that batch already be spoilt? I was hoping I could use it for testing and topping up later on.

A day or two in partially empty vessels won't hurt you - particularly since there will be some CO2 generated from the ML fermentation. But ideally you should minimize the headspace as soon as feasible, and certainly before ML is complete.

Your on the wrong thread….this is for kits
Go bad you’ll find what your looking for

Unless the post was moved, this is the 'Beginners winemaking forum' - so I think just the right place for this question...

 

[winemaker81]

Unless the post was moved, this is the 'Beginners winemaking forum' - so I think just the right place for this question...

It was in the announcements forum, and I moved it here this morning. It's not been in the kits forum, AFAIK.