The titratable acidity (TA) of all musts was
adjusted to 7 g L1 with food-grade tartaric acid. After maceration
was completed, malolactic fermentation (MLF) was induced with a
commercial Oenococcus Oeni culture (VP-41, Lallemand Inc.,
Copenhagen, Denmark). After MLF (malic acid < 0.20 g L1
), the wines were racked off the lees, adjusted to 30 mg L1 of free SO2,
and stored at 1 C for 45 days to allow tartaric stabilization. After
this period, the wines were racked and brought to room temperature
for 48 h. Prior to bottling, free SO2 was adjusted to 0.5 mg L1
of molecular SO2. The bottles were stored horizontally in a cellar
(12 ± 1 C).