Although it has fermentation in its name, don't believe it, this is actually a chemical process consisting of the transformation of one acid into another. If we know what fermentation is today, we owe this information to Louis Pasteur. Thanks to the studies he conducted approximately 150 years ago, we understood the role of yeast in fermentation, and with the developments made since then, wine producers have the conditions in which they can produce wine more safely. Scientists who followed the path opened by Pasteur were able to explain many other processes in this field in their advanced researches, both with the guidance of accumulated knowledge and with the developing technological equipment. Among these studies, today's topic is malolactic fermentation or, more correctly, malolactic transformation.
Let's try to understand this process for those of us whose chemistry education is limited to high school. Malic acid, which occurs as a natural result of wine production, has sharp acid properties. The process of reducing the sharpness in malic acid with an additional process and converting it to lactic acid in order to enable wine lovers to get closer to wine is called malolactic conversion, also known as malo or MLF. Since carbon dioxide gas is released while this conversion is taking place, an outsider may think it is similar to fermentation. Because of this illusion, it is actually called fermentation. But in fact, this is not fermentation but transformation.
Malolactic conversion has three contributions to wine. The first of these is the reduction of high acid levels. The second is the provision of the stability that the wine needs to have in order to survive. The third is the positive change it creates in the aroma and taste characteristics of the wine.
Malolactic conversion is provided by a microorganism called ‘lactic acid bacteria’. This bacteria already exists naturally within the ecosystems of wineries. Its introduction to newly opened production facilities requires careful implementation. Although the malolactic conversion process is completely independent of fermentation, it can also be seen that it is completed simultaneously with fermentation.
Malolactic transformation is now a part of the process in almost all quality red wines and sparkling wines. Among white wines, Chardonnay stands out as the wine that responds best to this transformation. In some regions and wineries, especially in the production of Riesling and Chenin Blanc, which are known for their high acid levels, malolactic transformation is not included, and the acidic structure of the wine is preferred.
The lactic acid bacteria that provide malolactic transformation prefer the acid structure to be weak in the environment it is in. It is beneficial for the temperature to be above 20o C to be effective. When these factors are considered, successful malolactic transformation requires a pH level greater than 3.1. A short reminder: The 7 point is the neutral point of acid and base. Lower values indicate an acidic environment, higher values indicate an alkaline environment.0 C’nin üzerine çıkmasında fayda var. Bu etkenlere bakıldığında başarılı malolaktik dönüşüm, PH seviyesinin 3,1’den daha büyük değere sahip olmasını gerektiriyor. Kısa bir hatırlatma: 7 noktası asit ve bazın nötr noktası. Daha düşük değerler asidik, daha yüksek değerler bazik ortamı ifade ediyor.
In his book “I Drink, Therefore I Am”, philosopher Roger Scruton writes that fermentation progresses in stages, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly, and each has its own by-products, and specifically mentions the malic and lactic acid stages in white wines. He states that the word malic comes from the Latin word malus, meaning apple, and indicates freshness, while the word lactic comes from the Greek word lactos, meaning milk, and adds an oily character to wine. In fact, this explanation also allows us to realize the advantages that etymological roots provide in describing flavors and aromas.
When we think of ‘winish’ as a new language and unravel its relational structure with language families, we actually gain an important power to understand and express wine. The price of centuries of alienation from a product like wine, which was born and developed in our lands, is that today we find ourselves learning a new language for these concepts. It should come as no surprise that the scientific climate that enabled Pasteur to grow up and the places where the world's most famous wines are produced are the same geography.
