# White Spots



## toddcato (Oct 6, 2006)

I'm completely a newbie. I noticed some white spots floating on the top of my Blackberry Wine. I was hoping and Hoping that it wasn't mold and that the whole batch wasn't ruined. It is still working--that's why I'm questioning myself


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## masta (Oct 6, 2006)

Welcome Todd,


What stage are you in the process? 


What recipe did you use? 


Without any other info I would guess you used campden tabs andthey didn't get completely dissolved and what you are seeing are the unknown fillers used to put it in tablet form.


Any chance ofposting a picture?


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## toddcato (Oct 6, 2006)

I'm in the secondary stage. It was started on 8/3/06. I used 
Water: 3 gal Fruit/Conc.: 8 lbs Fruit Sugar: 12 lb 1-1/2 tsp Acid Blend, 3 tsp Yeast Nutrient, 1-1/2 tsp Pectic Enzyme, 1 crushed Campden Tablet. Washed berries - Mixed all ingredient S.G 1.15 - Wait 24 hrs added yeast. I racked into secondary at 1.032 S.G. But I didn't top off my Secondary.


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## grapeman (Oct 6, 2006)

Todd
Like Masta says, can you post a picture showing the white spots. It would be easier to see if there is a problem or not. Probably nothing to worry about, but sometimes there are rare conditions in the wine which may be corrected if there is a real problem.


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## toddcato (Oct 9, 2006)

This is a picture of the white spots. I Don't know if you can tell anything from this or do I need to pour some out and get a close up?


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## toddcato (Oct 9, 2006)

Thanks, I still may have a chance. I have tasted it &amp; it still tastes OKAY. I'll run it through the filter and apply the Campden tonight.


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## masta (Oct 9, 2006)

I noticed you only used 1 campden tab in your 3 gal batch with fruit and this would yield a low amount of free SO2 (~25 ppm). Itis possible you did not have the proper amount of sulfite for protection. Normal dosing for campden tabs is 1 per gallon.


I found this info and it sounds like it could be what you are seeing: 





_Flowers of Wine_: Small flecks or blooms of white powder or film may appear on the surface of the wine. If left unchecked, they grow to cover the entire surface and can grow quite thick. They are caused by spoilage yeasts and/or mycoderma bacteria, and if not caught at first appearance will certainly spoil the wine. If caused by yeast, they consume alcohol and give off carbon dioxide gas. They eventually turn the wine into colored water. The wine must be filtered at once to remove the flecks of bloom and then treated with one crushed Campden tablet per gallon of wine. The saved wine will have suffered some loss of alcohol and may need to be fortified with added alcohol (brandy works well) or consumed quickly. If caused by the mycoderma bacteria, treat the same as for a yeast infection. The Campden will probably check it, but the taste may have been ruined. Taste the wine and then decide if you want to keep it. Bacterial infections usually spoil the wine permanently, but early treatment may save it.


Prevent the introduction of spoilage yeasts and mycoderma the same way you prevent the introduction of vinegar yeasts.


Flowers of wine are, of course, expected when using flor sherry yeast. In such a circumstance, there is no way to know if the flowers are from the flor sherry yeast or a harmful infection. Pre-treating the must with Campden, however, should eliminate a harmful infection.


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## Wade E (Oct 9, 2006)

Masta, when using concentrates that is sulfited such as welches, what is your opinion on adding sulfites per gallon.


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## masta (Oct 10, 2006)

Tough question Wade since I couldn't get a straight answer from Welches on the amount of sulfites in their white grape juice that is bottled and the frozen concentrate. All they would tell me is that the amount of sulfite would not be high enough to cause issues with making wine...which is already known by all those who have used it.






The only info I know of is when Hal Maulden posted he tested the level of his two batches of wine at ~100 ppm which I believe was made with bottled juice and no added sulfites.


I would think the sulfite level in the frozen concentrate should be less than the bottled juice.*Edited by: masta *


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## Wade E (Oct 10, 2006)

Any one ever use the concord cocentrate and how did that taste?


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