Most of our wines complete 100% MLF, save our Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Gris and stainless-steel Chardonnay. We add SO2 immediately after primary fermentation to block the MLF from occuring.
When the conversion is complete we can then add SO2 to our wines for protection (SO2 is inhibitory to the bacteria that perform the fermentation).
One of the ways we track the fermentation is by using paper chromatography. This is a relatively 'old school' technique for tracking the fermentation. It uses the principles of chromatography (essentially a substances affinity for a solvent) to separate the acids present in the wine. It's a bit convoluted but it is a pretty easy method for getting a basic idea of your MLF progress.
The rack above contains 60 test tubes, each representing a single barrel of wine. They are coded with a letter and number (A1-A10 though F1-F10) so each barrel is identified. Using special chromatography paper, I 'spot' 10 wines per page with a tiny capillary tube; the smaller the spot the better. After passing over each spot three times i leave the paper to dry.
When dry I roll the paper into a tube and staple it together. The tube is then placed into a sealed container that contains a small amount of chromatography solution. I leave the paper in over night.
Tomorrow I'll take the paper out, develop it and read the results. Ill post a pic of the results tomorrow afternoon and we'll see where we stand
6 comments:
That's fascinating. Is this a common technique used by many?
Definitely on a smaller scale. A more modern method using enzymatic analysis, which we also use, is probably more prevalent, especially at big wineries.
Nate - Love the Blog. Gave you a little link love on Anne Amie's blog and Craig appreciates the Wine Camp link as well. Hope to see you in Oregon down the road.
Tim
Tim,
Thanks for the kind words, I really appreciate it. I just realized that the Anne Amie blog was separate from the Wine Camp blog; I'm adding a link stat! Hope to get up your way soon, congrats on the little one!
Love the blog, its great to see this kind of behind the scenes detail on the web. My background is in lab work too so I can appreciated your chromatography demo. I'll have to add you to my links!
Amy,
Thanks for reading! Hopefully this blog will allow people a behind the scenes look into the day to day activities of a winery. I'm also learning a lot about other people's blogs. Thanks again and come by the next time you are in the bay area!
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