A selected malolactically active Ln. oenos strain which is useful for inducing malolactic fermentation in wine or fruit juice by the direct inoculation of a concentrate of a starter culture containing the strain, the strain having a survival rate of at least 80% when inoculated directly into a wine having a pH of 3.2 or lower and containing at least 25 mg SO.sub.2 per l and at least 12 vol % ethanol, and capabl, of starting malolactic fermentation when added directly to the wine or fruit juice at a concentration of less than 10.sup.7 colony forming units per ml. There is also provided a method of isolating such a strain and a method for producing a culture of the strain.