Making an Apple & Elderberry Wine per Jack Keller's Recipe & I've got mold

[maureengo2]

I have a small organic farm. Apple & Pear & Grape harvesting has begun. I used my 1910 apple grinder and press to squeeze 7 gallons of juice and was attempting to make an Apple & Elderberry Wine per Jack Keller's Recipe & I've got mold. It said to add all ingredients except yeast. Stir well to dissolve sugar, then cover with sanitized cloth for 18-24 hours at room temperature. Add yeast. When fermentation is vigorous, ferment for about 9 days or until s.g. is 1.020. Press pulp and add juice to liquid, discarding pomace. Transfer to secondary and attach airlock. Rack after 30 days, top up, and refit airlock. Thereafter, rack every month until wine is clear, still and no new sediment forms. Add crushed Campden tablet and 1/4 teaspoon ascorbic acid at 2nd and 4th racking. Stabilize, sweeten to taste if desired, and set aside 3 weeks. Bottle and age 6 months before tasting.

Well, I left it in a cold room from Friday till Tuesday and missed the add yeast part. Can I skim the mold off now and add yeast now or is it ruined?

 

[Hazelemere]

I have a small organic farm. Apple & Pear & Grape harvesting has begun. I used my 1910 apple grinder and press to squeeze 7 gallons of juice and was attempting to make an Apple & Elderberry Wine per Jack Keller's Recipe & I've got mold. It said to add all ingredients except yeast. Stir well to dissolve sugar, then cover with sanitized cloth for 18-24 hours at room temperature. Add yeast. When fermentation is vigorous, ferment for about 9 days or until s.g. is 1.020. Press pulp and add juice to liquid, discarding pomace. Transfer to secondary and attach airlock. Rack after 30 days, top up, and refit airlock. Thereafter, rack every month until wine is clear, still and no new sediment forms. Add crushed Campden tablet and 1/4 teaspoon ascorbic acid at 2nd and 4th racking. Stabilize, sweeten to taste if desired, and set aside 3 weeks. Bottle and age 6 months before tasting.

Well, I left it in a cold room from Friday till Tuesday and missed the add yeast part. Can I skim the mold off now and add yeast now or is it ruined?

yes skim the mold

 

[maureengo2]

yes skim the mold

And then I can still add yeast and use it?

 

[ChuckD]

And then I can still add yeast and use it?

Most molds only grow on the surface where they can get oxygen. Yes. Skim it off then add a yeast starter. It will likely be OK. Especially if you have an aggressive fermentation

 

[Hazelemere]

And then I can still add yeast and use it?

If you sulphiite it first yes 1/4 tsp potassium metabisulphite for 4.5 to 5 Imperial gallons

 

[Rice_Guy]

* How does it taste? If the taste is clean you will not have lost anything. As Bryan said the mold family requires oxygen to grow. The damage will be on the surface so you can remove the surface. A normal recipe will tell you to mix the stuff floating on the surface of a bucket twice a day which wets the pulp and creates a inhospitable environment for mold growth. Yes the organism is there but numbers are low enough that you don’t see colonies.
* mold growth in part of a week suggests that your cooler is above 40F. It would be worth while having a read out in the cooler or one of the outdoor probe through the window type sensors so you can monitor it.