Hi everyone.

I've got my Merlot picked, cold soaked, and in the primary fermenter
at the moment. I was talking to the grower about MLF and he suggested
that I MLF only about 30% of the the wine and blend it with the remainder
before bottling.

Up to now, I've always MLF'ed 100% of my wine (Cab or
Cab/Merlot blends). This is the first I've heard of blending
non MLF-ed with MLF-ed wine. According to the grower, this
is the commercial norm for Merlot, or at least Long Island Merlot.

Does this sound right to you all? How do you stop the blended
wine from MLF-ing in the bottle? I'd rather not nuke it with
sulfite.

Thanks,
Bill

Bill,

I'd suggest that if you've made wine from the same grapes and done a full
MLF and you were happy with it, then I'd do it that way again. I've never
done a partial MLF, but know it is done to get some of the flavor
characteristics produced by MLF, but to not lose all of the acidity. I
think that your options after blending would be to add sufficient sulfite to
inhibit further MLF, and you could also use Lysozyme.

Ed

"Bill Schell" > wrote in message
om...
> Hi everyone.
>
> I've got my Merlot picked, cold soaked, and in the primary fermenter
> at the moment. I was talking to the grower about MLF and he suggested
> that I MLF only about 30% of the the wine and blend it with the remainder
> before bottling.
>
> Up to now, I've always MLF'ed 100% of my wine (Cab or
> Cab/Merlot blends). This is the first I've heard of blending
> non MLF-ed with MLF-ed wine. According to the grower, this
> is the commercial norm for Merlot, or at least Long Island Merlot.
>
> Does this sound right to you all? How do you stop the blended
> wine from MLF-ing in the bottle? I'd rather not nuke it with
> sulfite.
>
> Thanks,
> Bill

Bill,

I'd suggest that if you've made wine from the same grapes and done a full
MLF and you were happy with it, then I'd do it that way again. I've never
done a partial MLF, but know it is done to get some of the flavor
characteristics produced by MLF, but to not lose all of the acidity. I
think that your options after blending would be to add sufficient sulfite to
inhibit further MLF, and you could also use Lysozyme.

Ed

"Bill Schell" > wrote in message
om...
> Hi everyone.
>
> I've got my Merlot picked, cold soaked, and in the primary fermenter
> at the moment. I was talking to the grower about MLF and he suggested
> that I MLF only about 30% of the the wine and blend it with the remainder
> before bottling.
>
> Up to now, I've always MLF'ed 100% of my wine (Cab or
> Cab/Merlot blends). This is the first I've heard of blending
> non MLF-ed with MLF-ed wine. According to the grower, this
> is the commercial norm for Merlot, or at least Long Island Merlot.
>
> Does this sound right to you all? How do you stop the blended
> wine from MLF-ing in the bottle? I'd rather not nuke it with
> sulfite.
>
> Thanks,
> Bill

(Bill Schell) wrote:
> Does this sound right to you all? How do you stop the blended
> wine from MLF-ing in the bottle? I'd rather not nuke it with
> sulfite.

It's not an uncommon commercial practise. Most wineries sterile filter
afterwards, but you might try Lysozyme.

Ben

(Bill Schell) wrote:
> Does this sound right to you all? How do you stop the blended
> wine from MLF-ing in the bottle? I'd rather not nuke it with
> sulfite.

It's not an uncommon commercial practise. Most wineries sterile filter
afterwards, but you might try Lysozyme.

Ben

Thanks Ed.

I haven't made wine from these grapes before (Long Island Merlot),
just grapes shipped from CA (to NJ), so they're a very different beast.
I did get to taste the growers own Merlot, which was tasty, so perhaps
he knows what he is talking about. 30% MLF just seems very low to me.
Thanks for the tip on Lysozyme. I didn't know about it. Looks like
a good way to prevent spontaneous MLF in the secondary fermenter and the
bottle.

Bill

"Ed Marks" > wrote in message >...
> Bill,
>
> I'd suggest that if you've made wine from the same grapes and done a full
> MLF and you were happy with it, then I'd do it that way again. I've never
> done a partial MLF, but know it is done to get some of the flavor
> characteristics produced by MLF, but to not lose all of the acidity. I
> think that your options after blending would be to add sufficient sulfite to
> inhibit further MLF, and you could also use Lysozyme.
>
> Ed
>
> "Bill Schell" > wrote in message
> om...
> > Hi everyone.
> >
> > I've got my Merlot picked, cold soaked, and in the primary fermenter
> > at the moment. I was talking to the grower about MLF and he suggested
> > that I MLF only about 30% of the the wine and blend it with the remainder
> > before bottling.
> >
> > Up to now, I've always MLF'ed 100% of my wine (Cab or
> > Cab/Merlot blends). This is the first I've heard of blending
> > non MLF-ed with MLF-ed wine. According to the grower, this
> > is the commercial norm for Merlot, or at least Long Island Merlot.
> >
> > Does this sound right to you all? How do you stop the blended
> > wine from MLF-ing in the bottle? I'd rather not nuke it with
> > sulfite.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Bill

Thanks Ed.

I haven't made wine from these grapes before (Long Island Merlot),
just grapes shipped from CA (to NJ), so they're a very different beast.
I did get to taste the growers own Merlot, which was tasty, so perhaps
he knows what he is talking about. 30% MLF just seems very low to me.
Thanks for the tip on Lysozyme. I didn't know about it. Looks like
a good way to prevent spontaneous MLF in the secondary fermenter and the
bottle.

Bill

"Ed Marks" > wrote in message >...
> Bill,
>
> I'd suggest that if you've made wine from the same grapes and done a full
> MLF and you were happy with it, then I'd do it that way again. I've never
> done a partial MLF, but know it is done to get some of the flavor
> characteristics produced by MLF, but to not lose all of the acidity. I
> think that your options after blending would be to add sufficient sulfite to
> inhibit further MLF, and you could also use Lysozyme.
>
> Ed
>
> "Bill Schell" > wrote in message
> om...
> > Hi everyone.
> >
> > I've got my Merlot picked, cold soaked, and in the primary fermenter
> > at the moment. I was talking to the grower about MLF and he suggested
> > that I MLF only about 30% of the the wine and blend it with the remainder
> > before bottling.
> >
> > Up to now, I've always MLF'ed 100% of my wine (Cab or
> > Cab/Merlot blends). This is the first I've heard of blending
> > non MLF-ed with MLF-ed wine. According to the grower, this
> > is the commercial norm for Merlot, or at least Long Island Merlot.
> >
> > Does this sound right to you all? How do you stop the blended
> > wine from MLF-ing in the bottle? I'd rather not nuke it with
> > sulfite.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Bill