Flowers of Wine?! Help needed ASAP

[agdodge4x4]

I racked my wine, two separate batches a few days ago. These are both 1 gallon batches. This is the first official racking after primary fermentation. SG was at 996 for both...a white and a red wine. Fermentation is pretty much complete.

So, I sterilized EVERYTHING, placed a single crushed campden into both carboys, and racked the wine into them. Then I topped up with the appropriate wine to within no more than 1" from the bottom of the stopper.

Within a few hours, there was some crystally white flecks around the top of the wine. Now there is more. I assumed it was undissolved campden tablet powder. When you jossled the wine, it would partially sink, then rise again to the top.

What is this? Is this flowers of wine? If so, how do I save it, but more importantly, how do I keep it from happening again?! I did everything by the book, no air space, campden, etc.

What gives?

This makes no sense, both carboys exhibit the exact same stuff. It looked like it stared on the edge, where the wine meets the glass, but now it looks like finer particles are in the center, only on the top. It will sink partially when shaken, but it again rises to the top.

I didnt do anything about it when I noticed it hours after racking, because I assumed it was undissolved campden. Plus, the alcohol level should be at 13.5 percent and there was little to no headspace at all, and with the carbonation of the wine, that air should be CO2.

 

[closetwine]

Sounds like this is probably the camden if you just crushed it and didn't desolve it well before adding it.

 

[djrockinsteve]

That would be the camden tablet pieces. They will disappear after awhile when they fully disolve.

This is why you want to make sure that your sulfite have disolved thoroughly in a small amount of water/wine before adding the rest of your wine. No harm.

 

[winemaker_3352]

IMO - i would switch to the powder form - it is much easier to measure and dissolve - and you won't have this issue.

 

[JohnT]

Agree with Winemaker... Switch to powder.

You certainly seem to have done everything as you should have.

Give it time and see if it goes away.

 

[agdodge4x4]

Thanks for the help guys. Last night, after thinking about it and realizing that at LEAST the red wine was fairly carbonated, there should be a layer of CO2 in that little airspace since the air lock has positive pressure....FoW can't grow like that.