Problem with Wine?

[Wildjonno33]

Going through a few recipes from Andy's book "Booze for Free" and all's been going well until now. I have a Dandelion and a Sloe Wine in secondary and have noticed some yellow bits floating about in the top of my DJ's. At first, I thought it was dandelion leaves that have escaped when I syphoned to a DJ but my Sloe Wine has them now. I presume this isn't good. I've only used Campden tablets as instructed in the book, during initial fermentation and not during racking. Can anyone advise what this may be and whether I should be concerned? Thanks.

[MKG]

Hi Wildjonno

First things - don't panic. Lots of things can end up floating on top of a fermenting wine, and not all of them (very few, in fact) are harmful. Point 1 is that you're using sloes (a kind of plum). Plums of all kinds often exude a waxy substance (actually pectin) which, if it gets into your wine, will tend to either make it cloudy or, if it clumps, float on the top. Point 2 is that you're using dandelions, the ideal material to dye anything yellow. As long as you've been reasonably careful, those are more likely to happen than any bacterial/fungal infection.

I'd leave it alone but keep my eyes on it. If it doesn't grow appreciably and if it doesn't turn fuzzy, you're more than likely to be OK. Wait for the fermentaion to complete and then rack carefully. I assume the 'no sulphite after the initial stages' means that you're trying to achieve a sherry-type flavour (I have the book, but it's in the bedroom - so I'll look it up tomorrow to avoid the warlike results of waking my OH).

Mike