r/winemaking • u/Suitable_Roll_5904 • 5d ago

First Timer- Is this mold?

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Does this picture resemble mold or could it just be yeast? First time making wine and definitely made some mistakes along the way. See below for details (also I tried to use the vocab to the best of my ability to be as accurate as possible).

My hydrometer read a stable reading (.992 SG) for days before the second racking so I didn’t expect there to be yeast / fermentation left. Equipment was sanitized thoroughly with Star San and I also added a campden tablet at this moment.

For context, I ended up topping my wine jug (with a dry 12% box wine) after the second racking because there was a lot of headspace. Completely changed the color from the original wine but I was worried about the carboy air gap or introducing a lot of oxygen when fermentation had stopped.

Picture 1: Present day, photo of concern
Picture 2: Few days after second racking
Picture 3: Original wine before topping up headspace

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4

u/salamander_salad 5d ago

That looks like yeast to me. Mold would be floating on top, not suspended in the must.

1

u/Suitable_Roll_5904 5d ago

Should I be concerned about yeast growing at this stage? Or do I have to watch out for / alter anything in the future?

2

u/salamander_salad 5d ago

Yeast is what turns sugar into alcohol. You want yeast.

1

u/Suitable_Roll_5904 2d ago

Since the SG readings stabilized I thought fermentation was over for the most part (hence the racking). That’s y I ask if I should be concerned about yeast clumping or growing at this stage, especially after topping the carboy with another wine

1

u/im_aiba 5d ago

Yeast floats weirdly sometimes, especially if it's clumping. That campden tablet was a smart move.