Can we discuss malolactic fermentation?

Hi Maria and all,
There is one aspect that has not been covered yet in this extensive discussion of ML and that is the Maceration Carbonique method. In this method, which is most famous for the production of Beaujolais Noveau, the grapes are kept whole after harvest, in an oxygen free surrounding. This is often achieved by filling the volume with the grapes with carbon dioxide. Under these conditions a kind of fermentation starts inside the grapes. Up to 2.5 % alcohol by volume can be created in this way. Eventually the grapes burst and/or are pressed and the alcoholic fermentation is completed in the normal way. The relevance of this process for this thread is that during the initial fermentation, the amount of malic acid decreases to about half the initial amount and the resulting wine is thus stable, without the need to go through ML before it is released. This is the key reason why Beaujolais Noveau can be bottled and relased already in November the same year as the harvest. I think most, or all, red wines that are bottled without going through the ML are produced in this way, or variations thereof.

Cheers, Anders

... my producers in Italy tend to encourage ML immediately after the primary by inoculating and heating the cellar, but some French producers believe a long, slow ML is best. Wine seems so simple until you really get into it...

MLF seems to much more of an issue to italian winemakers than to french. while many french winemakers don't seem to pay too much attention - except on volatility - and let it happen spontaneously, in Italy there seems to be much more of a intention to control it, at least in Piemonte and toscana.
still, there are quite a few "high"end wines to be tasted that suffer from mislead malos.

but then again, if you take an extracted over 15° barbera with ph around 3.2 you will have malo-issues for sure, especially in cool winters of the langhe. same for tuscany, where in the last years extraction and alcolho levels where high. but then again, you can of course not generalise in such a simple way.

i would just like to add that malo is one of the processes that is controlled the least, even if you inocculate or control temperature, you are just trying to create ideal environment for the bacterias but it remains an incertain issue. mostly, especially inocullating is just pure money making. or money spending, depending on which side you are.
just for the record, even if low ph may inhibitate mlf, it is easier to get malo through starting from low ph.

Hi Maria everyone here has given you excellent and very informative responses. There is really nothing to add, but I would like to bring one thing to your attention. As you probably already know malolactic fermentation is abbreviated simple as “malo” ML or MLF. In some wine circles MLF is also referred to as a “second fermentation”, (and no doubt is bacteria fermentation). All still red and white wines undergo a single alcoholic fermentation, and alcoholic fermentation is actually a two stage process (aerobic and anaerobic phase). Some people distinguish these two processes as primary and secondary (alcoholic) fermentation, others simple refers to these two stages as one (much less confusing). Sometimes these phases are related to the amount of fermentable sugars still present in the must or a measure of “fermentation activity”. The transition from the more vigorous primary fermentation to the lesser active secondary fermentation usually signals the winemaker to transfer the wine to another vessel or container. Second fermentation could also refer to the “bottle fermentation” process in the production of sparkling wines. (Hope I’m clear enough and didn’t confuse you).

Salute

[Jenise]

Maria,

I don't know what others' experience is, but among red wines I find ML flavors easier to detect in the wines that also exhibit more red fruit flavors, like pinot, merlot and beaujolais. Since those wines are also typically less tannic, it's very likely the tannins that affect my perceptions.

You'll probably notice it more often now that you've had this discussion, intellectually you've created a receptor for it. It's funny how many things we don't find just because we don't know how or where to look for them, but once we get that switch turned on in our brains, it's everywhere. [/img]