# something floating



## linuxbgood (Feb 2, 2011)

My pear wine has something floating on the top of it in the carboy, this wine has been aging since fall. Im attaching a picture, but its whitish and like small spaghetti


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## Tom (Feb 2, 2011)

Hmm..
I would rack it and then taste it. How many times have you racked? Did you add stabilizer? Looks like zest?


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## ffemt128 (Feb 2, 2011)

Tom said:


> Hmm..
> Looks like zest?



Looks like Ramen Noodles to me. 

Never made pear wine, wish I could be more hlpful with this one.


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## linuxbgood (Feb 2, 2011)

Ive racked it 3 times


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## linuxbgood (Feb 2, 2011)

I re racked it and tried it, it seems to taste ok, but now I have white stuff floating in it, I hope it settles to the bottom and not the top.


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## Runningwolf (Feb 2, 2011)

If it all floats to the top is not all bad. Rack from the bottom until the floaties are close and then quit. Rack the rest of it into a smaller jug/bottle and rack that again in a few days.


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## winemaker_3352 (Feb 2, 2011)

Did you add the k-meta in as recommended?

That floaty stuff wasn't moving around was it?


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## Goodfella (Feb 7, 2011)

I have never seen anything that looks like that. Is it ONLY on the top? or is there something going on with the rest of the wine also?


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## AlFulchino (Feb 7, 2011)

easy solution...take a double barrel and fire right down the neck of the carboy
do this outside...wear safety glasses and gloves...jeans and boots because there will be some glass and shrapnel...the stuff will be all gone...you may lose some wine too


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## Sirs (Feb 7, 2011)

wouldn't it be easier well maybe not easier but wouldn't it be better to just dump it at least he'd save the carboy


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## AlFulchino (Feb 7, 2011)

once again Sirs  i stand corrected!!!!!


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## ffemt128 (Feb 7, 2011)

I still think it looks like Ramen Noodles.


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## winemaker_3352 (Feb 7, 2011)

ffemt128 said:


> I still think it looks like Ramen Noodles.



Yeah - it looks like some sort of worm!!

I would pitch it.


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## Sirs (Feb 7, 2011)

AlFulchino said:


> once again Sirs  i stand corrected!!!!!



I do gotta say your way would be more fun to watch


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## robie (Feb 7, 2011)

I can say I have NEVER seen anything like that before.


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## AlFulchino (Feb 7, 2011)

any chance a dog slobbered in it?


 sorry i couldnt resist!


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## tjbryner (Feb 7, 2011)

Sounds or should I say looks like lactic acid bacteria to me. It can be saved.

Pour the wine into a primary bucket and mix the wine into a frothiness. Add two crushed Campden tablets per gallon of wine and stir these. I use a degassing tool. Cover with a sterile cloth and stir the wine every hour or so for about four to six hours. Return it to a sterile secondary and fit it with an airlock. After four days, run the wine through a wine filter and return it to another sterile secondary. re rack in two weeks if see any oily film on top of it.


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## Runningwolf (Feb 7, 2011)

AlFulchino said:


> any chance a dog slobbered in it?
> 
> 
> sorry i couldnt resist!



Father Al, Please go to the confessional immediately. You will not be taking your usually booth, this time you'll be on the outside looking in!


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## tonyt (Feb 7, 2011)

linuxbgood said:


> I re racked it and tried it, it seems to taste ok, but now I have white stuff floating in it, I hope it settles to the bottom and not the top.



So now the little squiggly things are growing your stomach? Nice!


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## JasonH (Feb 7, 2011)

Did you use k-meta or campden and have you kept up with it while racking? What was the initial and final gravity? That looks nasty!


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## AlFulchino (Feb 8, 2011)

TJ, you caught my eye when you said it looked like lactic bacteria....i have never seen any images of it other than microscopic ones and i just googled it as well....please explain further because his picture did not look that way....


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## tjbryner (Feb 8, 2011)

I had this happen to my wine once before. I decided to take it to my local winery and they looked at it and told me what it was and how to fix it. 

The owner said it is kinda of rare to happen but does, Normally it starts out as a Oiliness on top of the wine. If not taken treated quick enough it will go to a "rope" look. 

That's about all I know about it. But as soon as I saw that photo that's what mine looked like. I did save it by following his methods.

I would compare it to water kefir, If it is what I had happen, But again it looks just like mine did.


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## AlFulchino (Feb 8, 2011)

interesting...thank you for sharing, i have never seen this during mlf


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## tonyt (Feb 8, 2011)

tjbryner said:


> Sounds or should I say looks like lactic acid bacteria to me. It can be saved.
> .



Do y"all think lactic acid bacteria is the oiliness that forms on top of our CC Rosso Fortissimo kits?


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## tjbryner (Feb 8, 2011)

AlFulchino said:


> interesting...thank you for sharing, i have never seen this during mlf



Basically he has made a Perry "Pear Cider" from what I'm seeing, More then like wild lactic bacteria has gotten in to it and soon he will have vinegar.

I called my friend at the winnery and he e-mailed a link to me So I could do a lot of reading 
http://www.cider.org.uk/part5.htm

Here is the photo from that site as a click able to enlarge http://www.cider.org.uk/filmyeast.jpg


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## AlFulchino (Feb 8, 2011)

maybe...just maybe then it was not a lactic bacteria but an aceto bacterium







or

how about vinegar eels


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## AlFulchino (Feb 8, 2011)

Tony are you talking about this?
from Jack Keller site
"Lactic Acid Bacteria Haze: If you inoculated your wine with a malo-lactic bacteria and it develops a haze that is revealed as a silky sheen when the secondary is swirled, you have a lactic acid bacteria haze. When you are sure the malo-lactic fermentation is complete, treat with 3 crushed Campden tablets per gallon of wine, wait 10 days, and rack".


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## tjbryner (Feb 8, 2011)

AlFulchino said:


> maybe...just maybe then it was not a lactic bacteria but an aceto bacterium
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Al good points but I'm still going with Latic .... Do to the fact he tasted it and did not note the taste of vinegar nor did he say anything about strong smell ....I'd rule that out for now,but you could be very much right and he is unsure what it should taste like.

My best guess with out more info from him, was he had low acid and low SO2 which allowed wild lactic bacteria to take over. 

Either way it seems as if it was not handled properly or O2 was allowed to get in over time.


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## AlFulchino (Feb 8, 2011)

good good good..i hate to see someones wine go bad


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