VINIFLORA® NOVA™ is a Lactobacillus plantarum strain to be used in a completely new way of malolactic fermentation. With VINIFLORA® NOVA™, malolactic fermentation will take place before and during the alcoholic fermentation. VINIFLORA® NOVA™ is inoculated in the must, and 24 hours later the yeast can be inoculated. We call this approach “reverse malolactic fermentation”.
VINIFLORA® NOVA™ is homofermentative in wine conditions, meaning it cannot produce acetic acid from sugar. Therefore, NOVA™ can be added to the must without any risk of producing volatile acidity (VA).
VINIFLORA® NOVA™ is ideal for low-malic-acid must, where there is a high risk of spontaneous lactic-acid bacteria contamination and high VA production. VINIFLORA® NOVA™ will finish the malolactic fermentation in 2 to 4 days without the production of VA (figure 1).
Reverse inoculation with VINIFLORA® NOVA™ also speeds up the overall winemaking process, and the wine will be ready for stabilization immediately after alcoholic fermentation. Remember that the alcoholic will finish after the malolactic fermentation, without any risk of VA.
Conventional malolactic fermentation gives a small pH increase. However, this is not the case with VINIFLORA® NOVA™, which will complete the malolactic fermentation in the must without increasing the pH, which aids the winemaker in keeping the pH down in warm regions, where high pH is often an issue.
An addition contribution of VINIFLORA® NOVA™ is an increase in fruity aroma and flavor, especially red and blackberry attributes. This means that VINIFLORA® NOVA™ will not only give the winemaker an amazingly fast malolactic fermentation, but also an more aromatic wine overall.
