Mold on wine: causes and what to do with white film, how to prevent

When making homemade alcoholic beverages, mold often appears on wine, which can spoil the product of winemaking if not taken in time. It is always better to prevent a problem than to deal with it later. But if this happened, and the mold nevertheless appeared on the surface, it should be got rid of, correct the situation and save the future wine.

Can grape mold be noble

If homemade wine is moldy, then it must be de alt with, because it cannot be useful in any way, but only harmful, which will spoil the finished product. But noble mold still exists.It appears on mature grapes under certain environmental conditions. This occurs in areas where morning fogs give way to warm, dry afternoon weather.

Under the influence of noble mold, the concentration of sugar increases and the acidity in the grapes decreases. The aroma from the skin of the berries passes into the juice and is subsequently preserved in the wine product. Obtaining such a drink is a complex and time-consuming process.

Berries covered with the fungus Botrytis cinerea must be undamaged to prevent contact of the grape pulp with oxygen. Otherwise, noble mold quickly turns into gray rot.

Which can harm

If the technology of making wine is violated, a coating may appear on its surface in the form of a thin, almost transparent film.If you do not notice in time and do not take measures to eliminate it, then in the future the neoplasm becomes moldy, becomes denser, darkens. The drink takes on an unpleasant odor.

When the resulting fungus sinks to the bottom of the container, the wine cannot be saved, and the wine product will be irretrievably damaged.

Mold can appear not only on the finished product, but also during fermentation.

Reasons for appearance

There are several factors that can cause fungus to enter wine.

Poorly washed containers are one of the reasons for the occurrence of blooms in the drink. A visually clean container or tools can be contaminated with fungus, which will subsequently lead to the appearance of mold on the surface of the wine.
Oxygen entering the wort tank. Most often, wine bloom appears under a glove or cotton plug.For example, if a medical glove is not hermetically fixed on the neck of the jar, air enters during the fermentation process, which leads to undesirable consequences.
Also bloom appears due to lack of sugar and strength. The percentage of alcohol in the drink should not fall below 12 degrees.
If the wine is moldy, it means that the temperature regime has been violated. The temperature in the room where the drink is located during the fermentation stage should not fall below 22 degrees and rise above 27. The finished product is stored in a basement or a cool room.
Formation of mold in young wine can provoke high humidity, over 85%.

Knowing the reasons why the fungus appears, you can avoid this trouble.

How to recognize fungus when making homemade wine

To recognize the fungus in time, you need to carefully monitor the wort.At this stage of preparation, the wine can still be saved. If winemakers notice that a white film has appeared on the surface of the must or the finished product, they definitely have mold in front of them. The reproduction of the fungus is just beginning at the top, and the mold has not had time to sink to the bottom.

At the second stage of development of the fungus, you can see the thickening of the white film and the appearance of moldy centers. Having found the wine in this state, you can still try to save it, but if the particles of the fungus have had time to sink to the bottom, the taste of the drink will be spoiled.

The final stage is the loss of colonies of the fungus in the wort. The wine turns into a mixture of water and mold with an unpleasant odor. It remains only to pour such a drink.

What to do about mold on wine

There are several effective methods for fighting mold, but in any case, if a white film appears on the wine, it must be carefully removed with a spoon.If mold has formed in a bottle with a narrow neck, you can resort to using a tube with which you need to pour its contents, leaving sediment and a little drink at the bottom of the container.

The wine cleared of mold is poured into a container for further heat treatment. The juice is heated to 70 degrees, but not higher. At high temperatures, degrees evaporate, the drink loses its taste.
Vodka or alcohol will help get rid of mold. A strong drink is poured into young wine, raising the degrees to 15, which leads to the death of the fungus.
You can also correct the situation by starting the fermentation process a second time. To do this, sugar or fresh grape juice is added to the wine.

Particular attention in the manufacture of the drink should be given to dry, dessert and semi-dry wines. They are at risk.

How to prevent fungus

In order not to try to save the wine from the fungus in the future, it is better to prevent its occurrence. To do this, follow simple rules that will help you easily make a grape drink at home.

The first mistake a winemaker can make is putting rotten berries into the must. Therefore, in order not to spoil all the wine, you need to carefully sort out the grapes before pressing the juice.
The container where the fermentation process will take place must be thoroughly washed and treated with boiling water.
To prevent the appearance of mold on the pulp in the first three days, it must be stirred twice a day with a dry cutlery.
A hermetically sealed water seal prevents fungus spores from entering the container.
Wort diluted with a lot of water can lead to mold due to reduced yeast concentration.
To prevent the fungus from getting into the finished product, it must be stored in a cool place, after closing the lid.

When mold appears at the initial stage, the wine can still be saved, but it is better to resort to tips that will help avoid the development of fungus in the drink.