Alcoholic fermentations are completed in most cellars, thus leaving room for bacteria to carry out the MLF of red wines, and white wines when the latter is desired.

The 2024 vintage is characterized in certain regions by wines at the end of AF which present particular physicochemical parameters and quite unusual in recent years.

Indeed, even if the alcoholic degrees are low compared to what we are used to knowing, other parameters will prove to be limiting for the triggering and the smooth running of MLF:

• Total SO2 (<30 mg/ _L ): The health of the harvest required higher doses of sulfiting.
• _{pH and AT: the maturity of the grapes was sometimes insufficient at harvest, leading to} high acidity (pH often lower than 3.4 and AT higher than 4.5 g/L expressed as H2SO4 ₎ .
• High malic acid concentration.

When these factors accumulate, they can become limiting and act as a brake on the onset of MLF, whether expected with indigenous bacteria or with selected bacteria that are poorly adapted to these conditions. LAFFORT® research work on the LACTOENOS® B7 Direct bacteria has made it possible to develop a protocol (with acclimatization) adapted to these difficult conditions.

BENEFITS OF ACCLIMATIZATION

Acclimatization of bacteria promotes better cell viability and allows:

• A rapid onset of FML.
• A reduced FML duration.
• Microbiological security.

Merlot wine with two extreme conditions: TAV = 15.5% vol.; pH = 3.3 – (L-malic acid = 0.5 g/L).

IMPLEMENTATION OF ACCLIMATIZATION

FOR ONE TANK TO BE TREATED – 100 hL (i.e. 4 doses of 25 hL) :

• Add 20 g/hL of MALOBOOST® to the wine 24 hours before inoculation or at the latest at inoculation.
• Remove the bacteria sachets 30 minutes before preparing the sourdough and leave them at room temperature. Weigh 100 g of LACTOENOS® B7 Direct (i.e. 1 g/hL relative to the final volume of the tank).
• Mix 2 L of non-chlorinated water and 2 L of wine to be treated (i.e. 20 times the weight of the bacteria).
• Add 500 g of MALOBOOST® (i.e. 5 times the quantity of bacteria).
• Add 100 g of LACTOENOS® B7 Direct (previously weighed).
• Acclimatization for 12 to 18 hours before incorporating into the final volume of wine maintained at 18-20°C
• Store the sourdough at room temperature ± 20°C.