ML Bacteria
Fermentation & Maturation - ML Bacteria for malolactic fermentations
During busy harvest days, direct-add ML bacteria are the way to go for malo-lactic fermentations. However a little "extra kindness" toward these organisms can dramatically improve their performances:
Optimizing the performance of a direct add inoculum with propagation
Development of direct add ML is sophisticated and expensive. ML colonies are difficult to isolate and grow because they are slow growing and are easily dominated by unwanted organisms. It is worthwhile to optimize this expensive product by propagating the bacteria before addition to build a stronger and bigger population.
Direct Add Procedure:
If frozen, take packet out of freezer 30 min. before addition. Open packet and rehydrate in 50% chlorine free water and 50% wine for 15 minutes before adding it to the tank. Use 10 ml of this solution for each gram of bacteria to be rehydrated.
Propagation Procedure:
- Draw a small amount of the wine to be inoculated. Use 100 liters (26 Gal) for 250 Hl (6600 Gal).
- Add 6g/Hl (1/2 lb/1000 Gal) of Fermoplus Malolactique.
- Adjust pH to 3,5 – 4 and inoculate with Biolact of choice. Maintain a constant temperature of 24°C (75°F) for 24 hrs.
ML bacteria and oxygen:
Wine's redox potential, which during ML often goes down to 300 mV or lower, can be an obstacle to achieving a regular malolactic fermentation.
In fact Oenococcus species suffer major issues when growing in a strongly reductive environment. Racking and a brief oxygenation will benefit sluggish ML fermentations.
