Toulouse, June, 2015 — On June 9 and 10, the fifth edition of the International ML School, created by Lallemand’s Oenology division, was held in Toulouse. The training brought together 60 researchers, technicians, oenologists, winemakers, and representatives from 17 different countries, including the United States, Japan, Canada, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Austria, Russia, Croatia, Ukraine, Hungary, Estonia, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. This initiative supports education and training in malolactic fermentation (MLF) management and the use of selected winemaking bacteria as part of the Lallemand Malolactic Fermentation Education training program.
Through presentations by experts, workshops, and tastings, the ML School program focused on showing that MLF is a crucial stage in winemaking and entails much more than just a simple step that reduces acidity and stabilizes wine. It was also demonstrated that commercially selected lactic acid bacteria should be considered genuine winemaking agents that have a significant impact on wine quality.
The ML School had the privilege of having as speakers experts in winemaking bacteria and malolactic fermentation, including professors Maret du Toit (Institute for Wine Biotechnology, Stellenbosch University) and Patrick Lucas (ISVV – Université de Bordeaux), as well as Dr. Sibylle Krieger, Magali Déléris-Bou, José Maria Heras, and Anthony Silvano from the Lallemand research team. Charlotte Rolland, who is in charge of developing bacteria production processes for Lallemand, presented on the organisation’s expertise in commercially producing winemaking bacteria. The talk was followed by a tour of Lallemand’s Blagnac laboratories.
Tasting workshops showed the importance of controlling MLF in order to limit contaminant development, as well as the positive impact of different Lallemand wine bacteria on the sensory profiles of red and white wines from five countries which include the United States, France, Spain, Germany, and South Africa.