"Brad B." > wrote in message
om...
> Here's my situation: I have a small (about 10 gal.) batch of Merlot
> that has finished sugar fermentation and has been pressed and racked
> off the gross lees. There is still some lees in the bottom of the
> carboys. I inoculated with MLF culture (Chr. Hansen) and warmed up
> the wine to about 70 deg.F. So far, after about 4 days there is no
> activity and I suspect it is due to the SO2 I added at crush (about 50
> ppm). I initially added this amount due to some rot in the grapes I
> had, and completely forgot about the MLF I would need later.
>
> In any case, I checked free SO2 with a titret and I get about 35 ppm
> (which seems high following fermentation but I know those things
> aren't the most accurate). So, what should I do now? Did the high
> SO2 kill the ML culture or will they spring to life once the free SO2
> levels decrease to their liking?

Depends on the pH. Have you done an ML check? Sometimes ML will go
spontaneously and you won't even know it because it finished with the sugar.

Tom S