We ran tests at WineWise on the Viognier in preperation for bottling. SO2 is at 8ppm and Malic acid is 1.70 g/L.
White wines require a higher level of SO2 than red wines and our low SO2 levels are likely contributing to our loosing the "freshness" and flavor in our white wines come Spring. We need to discuss increasing our SO2 levels for whites when we rack them off the gross lees. Our Sulfites notes page gives a target of 35ppm for white wines.
The lab report shows a significant level of Malic acid in the Viognier. We didn't measure Malic acid on the must so we don't know if the amount of Malic acid has changed since primary fermentation.
The Viognier was fermented in a wood barrel and sat in that barrel for 4 weeks after fermentation was complete. So if it was exposed to ML cultures from the barrel I think it would have gone through MLF at that point as temperatures were warm enough. The only thing that would have inhibited it from going through ML would have been high SO2 levels. But given our current level of 8ppm SO2 I would estimate that the SO2 was around 20ppm when we racked it out of the barrel--not too high for MLF to occur.
We should taste the Viognier to determine if we want it to go through MLF. If it has a very tart-apple taste then going through MLF will soften the wine. Going through MLF will also reduce the overall fruitiness.
If we decide we like the taste of the wine we can proceed with bottling it, with the addition of SO2 prior to racking it out of containers to protect it (we'll loose approx 10ppm from bottling). The risk of bottling before MLF is that it could happen in the bottles which will result in corks-a-poppin.
Troy
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