I was invited to chime in on this, so I will.
I totally agree with Daniel Pambianchi's explanation. When he said, "...it is common to refer to primary and secondary fermentations..." within the context of a single, continuing fermentation,he didn't say it is correct. He simply said it is common. But he alsopoints outthere is another way to use these terms, one that avoids confusion.
When presented a choice between precision and confusion, I vote for precision and against confusion almost every time. The purpose of lanuage is to communicate and words have accepted meanings.
It is common to call a certain variety of grape "Concord grapes" rather than the absolutely correct Vitis labrusca var. 'Concord'. Calling them either is okaybecauseeveryone understands that the one is shorthand for the other. The same idea is communicated.
The same thing does not occur when one says "secondary fermentation." To me and a whole lot of folks who are serious about winemaking, that means either (1) a fermentation induced inthe bottleso as tocreate a sparkling wine, or (2) a malolactic fermentation performed by malolactic bacteria. In both cases, the fermentation being discussed is secondary to the one that created the wine. All the secondary fermentation does is change the wine in some way. Some authoritiesconsider a restarted stuck fermentationas a"secondary fermentation," but most do not -- they consider it a continuation of the "primary" or "main" or "original" fermentation.
When I read "secondary fermentation" out of context,I automatically assume the person is talking about one of these two types of fermentation, not simplythe original fermentation ina secondary fermentation vessel (carboy, jug, dimijohn). But, if whilereading in context I see a reference to "primary fermentation" in a primary and "secondary fermentation" in a carboy,I assume the person simply does not know the correct terminology and really is talking about the original("primary" fermentationin both instances.
In my life I have used a lot of terminology incorrectly, but because I wish to communicate precisely I usually adopt the correct terminology as soon as I learn ofit.
Digging up quotes where people misuse one term or another does not in itself prove orwin an argument. A lot of people can be wrong, and since ordinary people write Wiki entries, you should not consider them authoritative. It is better to seek out a recognizedauthority than just search for examples of a term's use or misuse. Daniel Pambianchi is, in my world at least, a recognized and respectedauthority.