Advice on Sulphite / Malo

[marcovin]

Hi,
I have recently pressed and racked my first batch of wine and I am currently a little confused as to when I add my next Sulphite dose? I have about a 2/3rds full 5 gallon carboy that is sitting on the post press Lees and I am concerned that if I add Sulphite now and the Malo fermentation has not finished it will stop it completely. I have read:

Malolactic fermentation can last a long time-weeks or even months-and it can take a while to get rolling as the bacteria slowly multiply. Don't worry if soon after pressing your wine goes still. Chances are good-especially if you added freeze-dried malolactic bacteria-that during the primary fermentation the bugs finished their job alongside the yeasts.
Sheridan Warrick. The Way to Make Wine: How to Craft Superb Table Wines at Home (p. 71). Kindle Edition.

So, basically there is a chance Malo finished during primary but that is not clear but it could take a few weeks, what are the chances that my wine gets ruined by some invasive O2 loving bug?

Help is very much appreciated

[Cellar_Rat]

Get it in an appropriate vessel right up to the neck with litte/no airspace under an airlock. Keep it at 20° C. Do not panic about adding sulphite

Malolactic fermentation has two signs that are easily detectable, one is it smells vaguely of cheese.
The second (my favourite) is that if you've got in an open bucket and stir it gently, it almost looks sort of 'pearly' -- imagine chocolate ripple ice cream with milk chocolate and dark chocolate swirled together. That is malolactic fermentation.

Alternatively there is some colour chromatography new can do which has a hideous smell.

But really, don't panic give it a good 4 to 6 weeks, time makes fantastic wine.

[marcovin]

Thanks.
I will take a look, I don't recall the vague aroma of cheese but I can detect, very faintly, a buttery type smell but its a very slight aroma. I had read about the chromatography in that book but I can't find anywhere that supplies it.
With regard to the appropriate sized vessel, I have obtained 3x 1 gallon DJ's this morning which should about do it, should I rack it off the Lees or transfer some sediment with it into each DJ?

[Cellar_Rat]

Chromatography - I have tried it that was not that enthralled.

Really don't worry about the lee's. I rack twice a year once about six weeks after pressing - at a point when I think the Malo is done/ oak needs removing/sulphite needs adding. All in one go.

I then rack again in March (which have not done yet) to clear off the cream of tartar crystals after cold stabilisation.

Don't watch the Demi John's too hard. You need to keep an eye on it, but it won't need something every day.

[koomber]

It was a long time ago, but did anyone try the chromatography kits I made? I suspect they were guff lol.

[marcovin]

I'll try one