The Lavazza factor

Interesting. Since we've had the coffee-machine in the winery the roof guys started to show up almost every day and now... the roof is ready! I'd like to think that the coffee machine changed things here. Anyway, the roof guys were so nice. I'll miss them.

Our roof seems to have become quite well-known in Tollo. When people talk about the location of Vigneti Radica winery, then usually it goes something like this: "Have you seen that building with the big wooden roof? Ok, good. This is Vigneti Radica."

On a more vinuous note, we're currently "preparing the reds" as our enologist says. There's a nice aroma of wine in the air. Not as strong as during the harvest but a kind of delicate hint. Yep, these days we're doing the malolactic fermentation for the reds.

Below a few words to those of you who'd appreciate an overview of malolactic fermentation (a very simplified one).

What is malolactic fermentation?
To explain this we need to look at the acids that are present in wine. There are many different acids but right now we are interested in malic acid and lactic acid. Higher quantity of malic acid means that wine has more pungent taste, whereas higher quantity of lactic acid gives a softer and fuller taste. Malolactic fermentation means that malic acid is turned to lactic acid, in order to soften the taste of the wine.

How does it work?
Malolactic fermentation is something that can occur naturally during the fermentation process or can be triggered by introducing special bacteria. It's better to trigger it because spontaneous malolactic fermentation can produce weird results.
Also, malolactic fermentation is good for red wine, because this is where we look for more soft, round taste and therefore need to reduce malic acid. On the other hand, to white wine malolactic fermentation is a very bad enemy, because it makes the wine lose its freshness.