Flowers of wine

[Fred1]

Does anyone know of a chemical that can be used toeffectively clean glass wine containers that previously held wine infected with "Flowers of Wine"? This is the second year that some, but not all, of my wine has become infected I suspect the problem may be that washing the containers with potassium metabisulfite does not effectively remove the bacteria.
I previously read of a recommended chemical for this purpose but can no longer find the reference.

 

[PolishWineP]

What size containers? And please explain what flowers of wine is.

 

[masta]

What type of wine are you making? Could it be technique that is causing this problem?


I found this info on what causes it and how to prevent it. I would suggest using a chlorine based cleaner to help kill the bacteria.

Mycoderma aka Flowers of Wine
Mycoderma, known as Flowers of Wine, is a spoilage yeast like organism which forms a film on the surface of the wine exposed to air. It starts as small islets then coalaces to cover the surface of the wine. When disturbed , the islets bead up and drift down through the wine like snowflakes. Mycoderma oxidizes the alcohol to Co2 and water forming a by-product that includes acetic acid.

Mycoderma is aerobic meaning that oxygen is required for growth and development of the flowers or film on the surface of the wine. You can prevent its appearance by excluding air from your wine during secondary fermentation and aging. A common cause of this spoilage is poor seal from bungs. Screw caps are another culprit. Also, fermentation locks should be properly filled with sulphite solution and containers should be topped up.

At too high pH or too low acidity, So2 is much less effective. Therefore, such wines are much more prone to oxidation, acetic spoilage and mycoderma. Maintaining a So2 level of 30-50 ppm at all times is one of the best preventatives.

Once the mycoderma has completely covered the surface of the wine the resulting bad flavors cannot be removed or disguised. The only option is to throw it out.

If you detect mycoderma early enough by noticing the first few small islets and a trace of sour, vinegary smell, eliminate their access to air by filling up that space and keeping it filled, thus asphyxiating the spoilage micro-organism.

Didn't catch it in time? These suggestions may enable you to eliminate the bad flavor and save the wine:

1. Sterile filter.
2. Add 50-100 ppm of sulphite, that's 1-2 Campden Tablets per gallon.
3. Bottle immediately.
4. Thoroughly disinfect the fermentor in which the mycoderma appeared and anything else in which it came in contact.

 

[grapeman]

The following is from Jack Keller's Site taken from the problems page. According to him it can be caused either by yeast or the mycoderma bacteria.





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.

 

[masta]

Cleaning the glass containers should be fairly easy and using a strong chlorine solution of 2-3 tablespoons of unscented household bleach per a gallon of water should kill any bacteria. Follow with plenty of hot water to rinse any residual bleach from the surface of the glass.
The faucet mounted bottle washer works well to spray hot water up into a carboy. For larger vessel a faucet mounted spray wand can be used.

 

[Fred1]

I do not think it is the technique since the same technique was used on both red and white wine but only the red became infected.
I had previously found the article you mentioned and followed the advise given. I then bottled the wine leaving hardly any air space. The wine definitely changed taste, and contnues to do so, but it is safe to drink and not that bad tasting. I was thus lucky that i did not have to dump all of it but nonetheless disappointed.


The difficulty is this yeara 1 galloncontainer of white wine showed the same film on the top of the wine. To date the other larger containers of the same wine do not have the film but I suspect it may develop as the bulk agingprogress.


Thanks for your help.

 

[Fred1]

Thanks for the advise. I will give it a try.Where tdid you purchase the washing wand that connects to the faucet? (BTW I live in Westerly)

 

[Wade E]

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[masta]

I don't have a wand but you can find it here: http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=4794



Fred,


What is the source of your wine?

 

[Fred1]

We have been getting them for several years from the distributor A. T. Siravo in Providence, RI. The grapes come from Papagni Fruit Co. of Madera , Ca. They are in magniifcent condition, no leaves, mold, etc. but we wash them anyways before crushing.
I have been making wine the same way for about 10 years and last year was the first time we had the problem.

 

[Dean]

Maybe you need a new set of bungs for your carboys? I assume that you have glass carboys? If they are plastic, the insides may have become scratched and are harboring bacteria.

 

[laneygirl]

Can you post a picture of what the "flowers of wine" look like? I'd be interested to make sure I can watch for this problem and appreciate all the posts explaining what it is and how to prevent it.

 

[Fred1]

I addedCampden tablets to the glass container containing the Flowers of Wine and then racked the wine into a different so it is not possible for me to provide a picture at this time. However, it is very easy to spot. It starts with athin white film on top of the wine that eventually becomes thicker and starts to climb up the sides of the container. It can develope into clumps of the white substance, given enough time, that are large enough to be removed with a spoon. This was the situation the first time it happened. The second time it occurred I applied the Campden tablets as soon as I saw the white film.


I wish I did not know this much about this subject.

 

[Fred1]

Dean
That is a good thought. Usually we sanitize the rubber bungs before using them. Perhaps I got lazy.

 

[PeterZ]

I agree with masta that 3Tb unscented bleach in a gallon of water should be used to rinse down everything that might be harboring contamination. That includes the outside of primaries and glassware, counters, mixing utensils, etc.

 

[Hazelemere]

Does anyone know of a chemical that can be used toeffectively clean glass wine containers that previously held wine infected with "Flowers of Wine"? This is the second year that some, but not all, of my wine has become infected I suspect the problem may be that washing the containers with potassium metabisulfite does not effectively remove the bacteria.
I previously read of a recommended chemical for this purpose but can no longer find the reference.

bleach

 

[sour_grapes]

15 years is a long time on the internet!