Mastering Malolactic Fermentation: Essential Strategies
The accelerated harvest season poses unique challenges. To ensure quality and stability, effective malolactic fermentation management is crucial, especially with rapid tank turnover. Here's how our winemaking solutions can help you address these challenges:
Secure Successful MLF with OENO®1
OENO®1 is a freeze-dried Oenococcus oeni bacteria designed for direct inoculation, offering several key advantages:
Fast and Efficient Conversion: Short lag phase and rapid malic acid breakdown.
Enhanced Freshness: Promotes fruity, clean aromas while reducing green characters
Robust Performance: Resists challenging conditions with low production of volatile acidity (VA), biogenic amines, and diacetyl; also consumes ethyl acetate.way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Benefits of Co-Inoculation
Co-inoculation, where lactic acid bacteria is added shortly after yeast, offers a favorable environment for MLF:
Optimal Conditions: Lower alcohol concentration, better nutrient availability, and improved bacterial acclimation.
Risk Mitigation: Limits microbial contamination, oxidation, and acetaldehyde levels, leading to more efficient sulfiting and lower TSO2.
Quality and Efficiency: Produces fresher, fruitier wines with a balanced profile, saves time, reduces labor and barrel use, and allows earlier blending, stabilization, and aging.
The Excellence XR and Oeno 1 offer an excellent duo for co-inoculation. Learn more about OENO®1 here
Overcome Challenging Conditions with BACTERIA XTREM
BACTERIA XTREM is is a freeze-dried Oenococcus oeni bacteria designed for extreme MLF conditions:
Adaptability: Effective at low pH (~3) and high alcohol levels (up to 16%).
Reliable Conversion: Ensures fast malic acid breakdown, with low production of VA and biogenic amines. Note: it may produce diacetyl.
Preparation and Application:
Both OENO®1 and Bacteria XTREM can be freeze-dried and added directly to wine or rehydrated (20 times weight in mineral water). Recommended dosage: 0.5 - 1 g/hL.
Managing Stuck or Sluggish MLF with Optiflore-O
If you're experiencing issues with MLF, here’s a quick guide for restarting stuck fermentations:
Diagnosis and Treatment: Assess the cause of the arrest and degree of completion. Adjust pH and alcohol if necessary.
Use OPTIFLORE O (10 g/hL) to absorb toxins, and KILLBRETT (4 g/hL) to remove spoilage microbes. Rack off lees after 24 hours.
Inoculation: Add nutrients for LAB with OPTIFLORE O (10 g/hL). Inoculate with OENO®1 or Bacteria XTREM at 1 g/hL, maintain temperature at 65-75°F, and stir regularly.
These products are crucial in navigating this challenging vintage while enhancing the quality of your wines.
Tackling Low Tannin Content
With the rapid pace of this season, we are hearing concerns regarding lower tannin content than usual. To address this challenge, we’ve developed targeted winemaking solutions to help you build and stabilize your wine’s tannin profile, ensuring balance and longevity.
1- Protect Tannin Potential with Pro Tanin R
Pro Tanin R acts as a sacrificial tannin, preventing losses of phenolic compounds due to protein reaction and oxidation reactions. This product is especially useful for inhibiting oxidative enzymes like PPO and laccase, critical in protecting grape compounds, particularly in botrytized grapes. Additionally, Pro Tanin R improves clarification, ensuring a cleaner final product. For further details, click here.
2- Stabilize Tannin Potential with Softan Vinification
Softan Vinification combines grape tannins with plant polysaccharides to enhance both tannin reactivity and mouthfeel. Its catechin-rich tannins interact with anthocyanins, stabilizing color and promoting colloidal balance. The polysaccharides add structure, improving mid-palate depth and ensuring a stable, extended mouthfeel. Softan Vinification is highly efficient in stabilizing color and improves mouthfeel, wine length and mid palate structure. For additional information, please click here.
3- Compensate and Preserve Tannin Compounds with Vinitan Advance
To counteract low tannin potential, we recommend adding Vinitan Advance (5 g/hL) at draining. This tannin boosts phenolic content, strengthens color stability, and enhances aging potential, making it an ideal solution for wines with low tannin levels. For additional information, please click here.