I'd agree with Pp - get some EC1118 in right away. I'd not worry about
MLF just now - focus on getting the suigars fermented. Once that is
done, then make some decisions. If it were me, depending on total acid
(by titration) and which acids (based on a paper chrom test) I might
consider suppressing MLF completely with lysozyme and get some SO2 on
the wine, or I might pitch some ML bacteria and try to get it done at
those alcohol levels.



On 2007-11-06 11:03:36 -0800, pp said:

On Nov 6, 9:37 am, Rob wrote:
We've had a very late harvest in my neck of the Northwest, so I've
jsut pressed my Syrah grapes. I'm using Wyeast Bordeaux yeast, which
claims it will survive to 14% ABV, but I just redid my calculation and
realized that I should end up with about 15.5% ABV (I started with
27.2 Brix).

So, now that I'm at about 5 Brix remaining (by hydrometer) and I want
it to go dry, do I start a batch of yeast that can survive up to 18%
ABV and pitch it on now, or wait until the current yeast dies off and
pitch then? And I'm going to do ML on it - any comments on timing
that?

It's so much easier when you're used to 22-23 Brix..

Rob

I'd do the first - start a strong batch of EC1118 or something similar
and pitch at this stage. It might not take off if you wait until the
wine is dry.

ML might be hard at those alcohol levels - there is a Hansen strain
CH-16 that has alcohol tolerance up to 16%, so that might be your best
option. If you use EC1118, make sure to add ML nutrients because that
yeast isn't friendly to ML bacteria.

Pp