Editing Malolactic fermentation (section)

==="Ferocious" ''Lactobacillus''===
In the late 20th century, among American winemakers, seemingly healthy fermentation were reported becoming rapidly inundated with high levels of acetic acid that overcame wine yeasts and led to stuck fermentations. While a novel species of ''Acetobacter'' or wine spoilage yeast was initially thought to be the culprit, it was eventually discovered to be several species of ''Lactobacillus'', ''L. kunkeei'', ''L. nagelii'', and ''L. hilgardii'', collectively nicknamed "ferocious" ''Lactobacillus'' for their aggressive acetic acid production, how quickly [[Bacterial growth|they multiply]], and their high tolerance to sulfur dioxides and other microbiological controls.<ref name="Boulton"/>

Ferments of high-pH wines (greater than 3.5) that spent time [[cold soak]]ing prior to yeast inoculations and received little to no sulfur dioxide during [[crushing (wine)|crushing]] seem to be at the most risk for "ferocious" ''Lactobacillus''. While infection seems to be vineyard-specific, currently, none of any of the implicated lactobacilli has been reported as being found on the surface of freshly [[harvested (wine)|harvested]] wine grapes.<ref name="Boulton"/>