ML ferntation

[TCPT18]

Red wines from juice completed alcoholic fermentation at .998-1.0. Cab sav, Shiraz, amerone. Should I pitch ML and start that fermentation now. Any reason to start or wait?

 

[Boatboy24]

The sooner that MLF is finished, the sooner you can get some sulfite on there for protection. Start now.

Welcome to WMT, by the way.

 

[TCPT18]

Thanks boatboy. If the ambient temp is sustained around 65-70. Any idea about timing for completion of ML?

 

[acorn]

The progress of MLF depends on multiple different factors, such as ML bacteria strain, acidity (pH), temperature, alcohol concentration, and free SO2, nutrient environment. Therefore the amount of time malolactic fermentation can take from start to finish can range from a couple of weeks to over 4-6 months, in extreme cases. Assuming your wine has very low SO2, 12%-13% alcohol, moderate acidity, 68*F room temperature, and you added extra nutrients for MLF, it shouldn't take too long (I would say about 3-5 weeks). But again, you can never tell exactly. If you wish to monitor the progression of MLF you may get a MLF chromatography kit, or if you want more definitive results, there are electronic tools like Vinmetrica that can give you a more precise estimate (although these are not very cheap).