So are you saying that it was floating on the surface such as a film? Did it
look like soap scum? If so then it sounds like a film yeast such as
Mycodermia (sp?). Usually not fatal so long as you remove as much as
possible as soon as you see it, and keep your sulphite levels up. It
requires Oxygen to propagate so the less head space the better. When racking
over try to remove the film first so it does not get mixed into the wine.
HTH


John Dixon
"J F" > wrote in message
...
>
> "alien" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I have some Elderberry wine that I started early september. I maxed the
> > alcohol out on the yeast (about 18%) and it's turning into quite a nice
> > port style wine.
> >
> > A few days ago I noticed that something large was floating on the
> > surface. I sulphited it and left it, but it didn't go away. So today I
> > racked it. The large something was left behind and looked like sediment
> > that had clumped together (about half of it). When I rinsed the
> > demijohn it dissolved under the water pressure very quickly.
> >
> > Only one demijohn has done this, the other hasn't. Any ideas as to why?
> > Is it something simple such as gasses getting trapped and lifting it up?
> Solid, flakey, kind of ash white/grey?
>
>
>