I'm new to this group and new to winemaking and I need some help. I
began a secondary fermentation on some white wine on Feb. 19th and it
seems to be getting small spots of mold on top. Is it ruined and what
did I do wrong? I washed everything with B-Brite and added potassium
metabisulfite prior to the primary fermentation. I started some red
wine last fall and it seems to be doing fine.

On Mar 26, 7:43*pm, JaeRae > wrote:
> I'm new to this group and new to winemaking and I need some help. *I
> began a secondary fermentation on some white wine on Feb. 19th and it
> seems to be getting small spots of mold on top. *Is it ruined and what
> did I do wrong? *I washed everything with B-Brite and added potassium
> metabisulfite prior to the primary fermentation. *I started some red
> wine last fall and it seems to be doing fine.

It sounds like it's been exposed to air, wipe out the spots with a
paper towel or overflow the carboy to get them out. Wipe everything
clean, top up and sulfite at 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of your sulfite to 5
gallons US. Make sure you have a good seal on the container.

Joe

On Mar 27, 6:13*am, Joe Sallustio > wrote:
> On Mar 26, 7:43*pm, JaeRae > wrote:
>
> > I'm new to this group and new to winemaking and I need some help. *I
> > began a secondary fermentation on some white wine on Feb. 19th and it
> > seems to be getting small spots of mold on top. *Is it ruined and what
> > did I do wrong? *I washed everything with B-Brite and added potassium
> > metabisulfite prior to the primary fermentation. *I started some red
> > wine last fall and it seems to be doing fine.
>
> It sounds like it's been exposed to air, wipe out the spots with a
> paper towel or overflow the carboy to get them out. *Wipe everything
> clean, top up and sulfite at 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon *of your sulfite to 5
> gallons US. * Make sure you have a good seal on the container.
>
> Joe

I followed your directions and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. The
wine still smelled good when I removed the airlock. Thanks so much
for the help!

Secondary fermentation is often problematical is the yeast in the
first fermentation removes nutrients leaving the wine depleted.
Industrially I have seen stuck fermentations due to deficiencies of
nitrogen, zinc, B vitamins, magnesium.
The most common problem is zinc deficiency corrected by 5gms of Zinc
sulphate per four thousand litres not much.
If the product is fermenting properly there is plenty of CO2 being
produced and there is no air on top of fermenter that would allow mold
growth.

Bob M
www.molab.co.nz

On Mar 27, 12:43*pm, JaeRae > wrote:
> I'm new to this group and new to winemaking and I need some help. *I
> began a secondary fermentation on some white wine on Feb. 19th and it
> seems to be getting small spots of mold on top. *Is it ruined and what
> did I do wrong? *I washed everything with B-Brite and added potassium
> metabisulfite prior to the primary fermentation. *I started some red
> wine last fall and it seems to be doing fine.