As a rule of thumb, malolactic bacteria cultures are added to wine must or wine in order to convert the harsher malic acid to softer lactic acid. This process is known as Malolactic Fermentation or MLF. This addition into the wine (aka inoculation) can be performed at the same time as alcoholic fermentation or sometimes once alcoholic fermentation has been completed.
Additionally, you can also add it with the yeast and this will complete approximately one week after alcoholic fermentation. Concurrent MLF is recommended when there is almost no chance of “Stuck” alcoholic fermentations, please consult us for help if you are unsure. Concurrent MLF is a much quicker process also but it can also get you stuck with a bad mix if you don’t follow instructions or guess the additives incorrectly.
Ingredient Checklist:
- Lots and lots of wine grapes (preferably our frozen wine must pails)
- Granulated sugar
- Filtered water
- Wine yeast kit
If MLF is performed after alcoholic fermentation, this will usually take 6-8 weeks and must have a minimum temperature of 62°F during the entire process.
The four parameters to keep in mind when choosing the correct ML strain are SO2 levels, pH, alcohol level, and temperature. For this reason, if you do not know which strain to choose, please call or email us. We recommend getting your must or wine tested (which we provide in house) prior to choosing your MLF strain.
Our customers come from all over looking for wine grape juice for sale in states like Washington, California, Oregon, and all the way to the midwest, states like Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island. Don’t let the weather and lack of vineyards around you discourage you. We can ship machine picked, hand-picked and also frozen in any quantity you would like.
