MLF-Green Apple Taste?

[pete1325]

Did I read somewhere that wine sometimes takes on a slight "green apple" taste when going through MLF? I just racked off gross lees this weekend (three weeks after pressing) and it has that after taste. The SG has been below 1.000 for a week or so.....thanks.

 

[cmason1957]

I've never heard that. And I find it kind of hard to believe, since Mlf is removing the malic acid and the malic has green apple taste.

 

[derekjames100]

It's not a green apple taste....it's a similar acidity to biting a green apple but not the taste of an apple

 

[Luse_Cellar]

Malic acid is the predominant acid in most apples, so the mouthfeel of an apple is similar to the mouthfeel of many wines before MLF. What do you mean by green apple taste, like as in it tastes like real green apples, or green apple candy? What kind of wine is it and how long has it been going through MLF? It's possible that you're actually just starting to perceive a flaw (maybe ethyl acetate, it can have a sweetness to it that could perhaps be perceived as green apple in certain settings). The Grenache I'm making currently has a fairly pronounced aroma of green apple jolly ranchers, but it's been there since about halfway through primary fermentation so I think it's just a flavor specific to this wine. It's possibly just a part of that wine that happened to be un-perceptible until recently. By the way, SG does not change during MLF unless primary is still finishing, so it doesn't give you any indication of MLF progress.

 

[Amanda660]

I don't taste my wine for mos. I go off smell & for a better term "swirl action" in a glass (I often photograph the wine in the glass). I've been very curious what do you get smell vs taste? It grosses me out to taste a wine not on its way into the aging process. Am I alone here?

 

[Luse_Cellar]

I don't taste my wine for mos. I go off smell & for a better term "swirl action" in a glass (I often photograph the wine in the glass). I've been very curious what do you get smell vs taste? It grosses me out to taste a wine not on its way into the aging process. Am I alone here?

I guess my question, with no offense intended, is what do you think aging does to a wine that makes it less gross? I pretty much taste my wines all the way through, unless I've just added SO2 or copper or something else like that. I just try to skim around the earwigs and spiders, and try not to get too many seeds in my glass haha. I find it very interesting to see (well, taste) the way it changes throughout the process. I have to say, the bubbly sweet must once the wine gets down to 12-10 brix is really good, it's like an alcoholic grape soda with maybe a bit of cloudiness. You may find yourself understanding your wines more if you see how they've "grown up" haha.

 

[pete1325]

Morning, crushed Merlot & Zin on 9/19, pressed on 9/25, racked off gross Lees on 10/16. Maybe it is acid I'm tasting......but it's very young and I haven't test the acid levels. Smells normal.

I'm with Luse on the subject of testing........I enjoy the process. I taste it when I press, when checking SG and each racking. No surprises later down the road.

 

[Amanda660]

No offense taken - I'm here for honest input (I did gag on the skim around earwigs section - ha). I tried to enjoy the complete process with my first batch (homemade peach) and gagged when I tasted it. It wasn't the taste it was what my mind was thinking was floating in it and I have been a smeller & looker for the first few mos ever since.

 

[pete1325]

There's no gagging in making wine!...LOL. This year the Bee's were out in force.....and they love swimming in fresh must! Not sure how many we scooped out after pressing, it's part of the process. Like being in a fancy restaurant.....nice and clean in the dinning area.....ever been in the kitchen?

 

[Luse_Cellar]

No offense taken - I'm here for honest input (I did gag on the skim around earwigs section - ha). I tried to enjoy the complete process with my first batch (homemade peach) and gagged when I tasted it. It wasn't the taste it was what my mind was thinking was floating in it and I have been a smeller & looker for the first few mos ever since.

The earwigs are one of the elements that form complex flavors! (I don't actually think this but there could be something there- I think clean grapes make boring wines but that could be me justifying dirty fruit). I think it sounds like a mental block you should try your best to move past if you enjoy making wine. Maybe it would help you to strain samples before tasting them? Some cheesecloth would get rid of almost all the solids in a sample. I just keep my lips closed when tasting during fermentation, and strain through a small tea strainer.

There's no gagging in making wine!...LOL. This year the Bee's were out in force.....and they love swimming in fresh must! Not sure how many we scooped out after pressing, it's part of the process. Like being in a fancy restaurant.....nice and clean in the dinning area.....ever been in the kitchen?

I've done my fair share of bee lifeguarding out of must. They love the sugar and smell. But the best food is made in places that many people would be grossed out in, wine is no different except that no human ailments of the microbial type would be able to survive the fermentation process and resulting alcohol level. The only problems I know of that are associated with insects in must is ladybug taint, or elevated levels of methoxypyrazine. It's just part of the game and working in a cellar will make you realize how many insects there really are in most wines. During harvest in the cellar, every time I would move a piece of equipment that had been sitting for more than a day, thousands of earwigs would go running for cover from underneath it. There were many nights I would go home and pull a few out of my hair or find them in my sock or pocket or something. Luckily never had one in my ear but hey, it's all part of the fun!