White Specs on Primary

[buckhorn]

Hey all -- I am a total newbie here so please bear with me...

Last week I took the plunge and started my first wine - a WinExpert Kit.
I am watching it in my primary and trying to take notes of what I see -- today when I looked in the primary, I noticed that there are a few small white specs floating on top of the juice. The juice smelled good (a fruity, "winey" smell to my untrained nose)

I made sure I washed all equipment and sanitized it before I started. I have also kept the primary covered with the lid and a few days ago I observed good bubbling that reminded me of alka-seltzer....

Should I be concerned with the white float-ees, or is that normal as the fermentation deminishes and the yeast starts to die off?

Thank You

 

[jamesngalveston]

Last week I took the plunge and started my first wine - a WinExpert Kit.
I am watching it in my primary and trying to take notes of what I see -- today when I looked in the primary, I noticed that there are a few small white specs floating on top of the juice. The juice smelled good (a fruity, "winey" smell to my untrained nose)


remove the lid and air lock...give it some air, cover with a towek,pillowcase, etc.
after a week it should be a full blown ferment....

 

[cpfan]

One week in, if the temperature has been decent, I would expect the ferment to be almost complete, definitely slowing down. I'm not sure what the white specks might be, but there are usually bubbles that can appear white on the surface of a wine at this point.

Steve

 

[buckhorn]

Thanks guys.

Steve - I had a brew belt on the primary to help keep the temp consistent and you are correct that it was in a good ferment and has slowed down - according to the directions for the kit, based on time I should be able to rack it into my carboy secondary now.

It could be bubbles, I did not mess with it too much as I didn't want to contaminate the batch. I was just taking my daily peek to see what it looked/smelled like so I could make notes and learn how this whole process works.

I will proceed to the next step and see where I go -- can't wait to taste the juice I make myself.....

 

[cimbaliw]

Any chance of a picture?

 

[buckhorn]

Update: I checked my SG this evening (.994) and racked to secondary. It would appear the white I was seeing may well have been bubbles that had gathered into small "packs" as they floated around - possibly attaching themselves to some floating solid in the juice.

I will keep an eye on the process and try and keep you updated if I find anything abnormal as I proceed (just remember as a newbie I may not recognize some things as the more experienced on this board would...)