# Flowers of wine? Please say no!



## Wiccan_Lager (Mar 25, 2014)

Hey guys,

so I went into my basement to see how my babies are doing and I found this ugly monster on top of one my sangiovese carboys. Did a little research on jack kellers site and some google images of "mycoderma" and "flowers of wine" and none of the photos really look like my problem here. 

Have you seen this before.

Mind you I am already passed second fermentation. It was racked into a clean carboy back in January with sulfites added. The airlock has been placed tight and the water levels are still good.

I would be miffed if my wine is ruined!


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## Pumpkinman (Mar 25, 2014)

How does it smell and taste? Any off odors or smells?
I'd rack it to a clean carboy and test the SO2 level again.


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## Wiccan_Lager (Mar 25, 2014)

I didn't smell or taste it yet. I wasn't about to get myself in a frenzy so late at night. I will go home tonight and rack it out, maybe even through a filter. I will report on the taste later. 

The worst part is that I have no clue how long ago this formed. If it IS mycoderma and is has been there since just after I racked in early January, then I am willing to say that I have purple water in that carboy.


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## vernsgal (Mar 25, 2014)

Pumpkinman said:


> How does it smell and taste? Any off odors or smells?
> I'd rack it to a clean carboy and test the SO2 level again.



I would do as Tom suggests and if there's no off smells or taste and SO2 is good I would try de-gassing it some and see if it reforms. It doesn't look like
any pics I've seen of mycoderma so I wouldn't panic.


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## Deezil (Mar 25, 2014)

That just looks like gross lees that managed to float..

When mycoderma gets carried away, it almost looks like Sorbate that was sprinkled on top of the wine and never dissolved - you can see these cylindrical growths, that just managed to make an entire film.. It starts off as white spots, and progresses towards cylindrical bodies..

Edit: there' a few different types of mycoderma now that I think on it some more, it's not fair to say they all end up as cylindrical growths but I've seen a type that does.. I seen another type that just looked like a bunch of white dots, that ended up gathering in bunches, on the surface of the wine... Just wanted to clarify a bit..

That just looks like sludge, to me..


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## Wiccan_Lager (Mar 26, 2014)

Hey everyone,

I went down to my secret underground layer last night to investigate the zombie wine. Took a whiff of it and it smelled like good wine to me. I think deezil may be right. I moved the carboy a little bit so I can reach over and give it a sniff and as soon as I did, I saw little particles of lees float to the top.

I will be racking again real soon. I will pass it through a filter and maybe add a smidgen of extra K Meta just to be on the safe side.


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## GreginND (Mar 26, 2014)

The floating would suggest there's still gas in it or gas being produced. Is MLF completed or going on unintended?


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## salcoco (Mar 26, 2014)

flower of wine are normally a white film. it is an airborne bacteria that attacks wine with a high ph or lack of so2. it can start as white spots that combine to a white film. it only affects the top layer of wine and if caught early enough you can rack wine out from under it.


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## dangerdave (Mar 26, 2014)

I agree with Greg. If those are lees floating to the top (which is what it looks like in the picture), then it's being carried up there by gas bubbles. It either still contains residual gas, or it's still fermenting. I had a blackberry wine which I started this past fall (still in carboy) that looked very similar. I let it sit for a while after seeing this (a couple of weeks), then racked under vacuum. The layer never recurred, and the wine is clear and progressing towards excellent.


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## Wiccan_Lager (Mar 26, 2014)

GreginND said:


> The floating would suggest there's still gas in it or gas being produced. Is MLF completed or going on unintended?



I have never done anythg wth MLF so I have no clue. I just pitched some LLelamand (spelling?) yeast with yeast nutrient and called it a day.




dangerdave said:


> I agree with Greg. If those are lees floating to the top (which is what it looks like in the picture), then it's being carried up there by gas bubbles. It either still contains residual gas, or it's still fermenting. I had a blackberry wine which I started this past fall (still in carboy) that looked very similar. I let it sit for a while after seeing this (a couple of weeks), then racked under vacuum. The layer never recurred, and the wine is clear and progressing towards excellent.



I kinda doubt it's still fermenting. I started this wine back in October. Final gravity is about .994. As a matter of fact this years wine was one vigorous fermentation. In the primary, I had foam spewing out my pails. It was wild.

When I rack this into a clean carboy I am going to let it hit the bottom hard to see if that lets off some of the gas if gas is an issue. My GF says everything in my life is revolves around gas. She may be onto something. LOL


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## GreginND (Mar 26, 2014)

Is this a kit wine?

It looks like you added sulfites in January. It's possible the SO2 levels have dropped and spontaneous MLF has started. Either that or you just have a lot of gas left in the wine.

If you do not intend MLF, then I would kick the SO2 levels up, rack and degas.


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