HELP! Did I just contaminate my Wine

If you cleaned you arm well I wouldn't worry but not owning a carboy at this stage could be a much bigger problem! You wine should not be in contact with the amount of surface air your bucket is providing. THAT will ruin your wine if it's not already... Louise:o)

I agree with Louise. I would not worry about contamination from your arm. But you are way late in the process to be using a bucket, sealing or not. The big danger is oxidation. You need to get it into carboy immediately and hope it is not damaged too much.

Ray

Just relax! Some places thay still use their feets to crush the grapes for fermentation. And I can assure you they are not sterilised!!! Your wine will probably forgive you.

i think sterility is far more important in the beginning than half-way through. half-way through the yeast is going, it's killing off its competitors, its producing a good 5 or 6% alcohol, and between the alcohol and the relatively anaerobic environment, the must has a fighting chance.

but before the yeast is going, before its established, before the alcohol is made, that's when you've got to make sure you're clean and as sterile as possible.

i've just had to chuck a 3 gallon batch of coffee wine 20 days into the ferment because i discovered that my technique wasn't particularly sterile enough (i highly recommend not brewing at 3 am when you haven't had enough sleep anyways).

little white growths and a ring around the inside of the fermenter does qualify as bad, right?

pfft. time to get bleach, and not rely on vinegar, mildly soapy water, and a prayer, in that order.

Saul Sabia saul_sabia@yaho[o].com

No one mentioned that plastic ferments might impart a plastic taste into your wine after 180 days. I hope your containers are new and have not had pickles stored in them. BTW, I have stuck my arm in the wine with no ill after effects.

Regards,

KB

Sterility is never attainable and hence, never important. Sanitation is always important. At the beginning of a wine is when you stomp on them with your feet. You do, right? But I hope you wash your feet! If you do not, it will probably have no effect on your wine. They do not wash commercial grapes when they make wine they are covered with road dust and bird s*** and what ever. Wine, thanks to the alcohol, is really very forgiving of that sort of thing.

Ray

"Weez"

He'd better make a porto, but with Chard it won't be that easy...

Vilco