Chardonay still bubbling in secondary after 4+ months?

[Twerp129]

Hi all, I'm making Chardonnay. Obtained the juice from a local vineyard, 1.080 OG, siphoned into the secondary around 10/10. Been sitting in the basement since then. Temperature is 62, +/- about 3 degrees. It's been hanging around 0.990 for quite some time, the airlock still bubbles. Perhaps one bubble every 5 or so minutes. For fear of oxidation I topped up the secondary to within an inch of the stopper with some still Chardonnay I had on hand the first week of January.

I'm going for a big Chard in the French style, so I like the idea of unwinding on the lees. At the same time I've never had a wine decompress in the secondary for more than three months. What are the ramifications of letting the wine go for this long? Has anyone else had a secondary last this long?

 

[Alucard1983]

The bubbles are cause by the wine lettin off co2. If it is at .990 it's done fermenting. Because its not pressurized it's gonna keep letting off the co2 bubbles untill there is no more co2 in the wine.

 

[Twerp129]

Ok, I degassed with a whip in January. I've just never had it continue to bubble for so long afterwards. Makes sense, I guess I'll bulk age and let the wine decompress on it's own. Thanks.

 

[DoctorCAD]

Mlf?

 

[Yooper]

Mlf?

That's what I'm thinking. If there are some temperature changes, it could be just off gassing, but if you're getting regular airlock activity, it sounds like MLF. Did you sulfite well enough to prevent MLF?

 

[Twerp129]

Even better, never had it occur naturally. Didn't even think to check for the little bubbles, I bet this is most likely it. SO2 should be under 10 PPM, so perfectly plausible. I thought about inducing it but decided I'd rather be lazy. Procrastination really does pay off in winemaking and brewing. Will check this evening.

 

[Yooper]

Even better, never had it occur naturally. Didn't even think to check for the little bubbles, I bet this is most likely it. SO2 should be under 10 PPM, so perfectly plausible. I thought about inducing it but decided I'd rather be lazy. Procrastination really does pay off in winemaking and brewing. Will check this evening.

Oh, yeah, if your sulfites are under 10 ppm and you see activity and the wine was .990 before, I'd be willing to bet a dollar that it's MLF!

 

[Dicky]

Slightly off topic, what is MLF?

Dicky

 

[DoctorCAD]

If it did go into MLF all by itself, it should be a great chardonnay. It would have had all of the ingredients in their right concentrations at the right temperatures and the correct chemical make-up.

Keep us informed when it is drinkable!

 

[garnede]

Slightly off topic, what is MLF?

Dicky

I think they are talking about malolactic fermentation.

 

[Dicky]

I Googled that far, but what is the process? Why is it beneficial?

Dicky

 

[DoctorCAD]

It supposedly decreases the "acidic" mouthfeel of some grapes. Chardonnay is kind of sour, but it isn't supposed to taste that way. Sauvignon blanc is supposed to be sour, so it doesn't get MLF during processing.