film on surface

[drakes4moose]

Been making wine for several years now and have run into something i have not seen before in the above pic. Can anyone tell me what that film is and if the wine is still good. I got complacent on filling to the top some recently and I am hoping I have not ruined my wine. Thanks in advance for any help.

Cody

 

[Wade E]

Rack it carefully to say a 5 gallon carboy trying to leave as much of that film behind and give it a good dose of sulfite and you should be alright. Yes it is the start of a bacteria forming due to too much head space!

 

[Runningwolf]

I don't believe your wine is ruined. What kind is it? Do you have something to top it up with? If you do, I would very gently siphon it in with the hose in the lower part of your carboy. Continue to fill and over fill your carboy so the mould/film gently flows out of your carboy (you will have to place it in a sink or someplace ahead of time so you can do this). Next test your S02 level and adjust. If possible I would probably filter with a .45 filter if possible before bottling.

 

[Runningwolf]

LOL Wade is saying the same thing I just said with just a different procedure. Again if you rack down to a 5 gallon carboy, keep your siphon hose low in the carboy to avoid picking up any of the bacteria.

 

[drakes4moose]

Thanks for the advice. I will be following your reccomendations directly. The wine is a rose blend that i got the juice from Walkers in New York. I also have a merlot that is starting to do the same thing embarrisingly with too much head space also. In the beginning i was very adamant about no headspace and after not having any problems i guess got lazy with it. We have used glass marbles in the past (well sanitized). Is this an ok solution to headspace? I have never really liked using water to top up and no matter how i plan, i frequently don't seem to have the right size combination of vessels.

Glad I found this forum.

Cody

 

[robie]

Thanks for the advice. I will be following your reccomendations directly. The wine is a rose blend that i got the juice from Walkers in New York. I also have a merlot that is starting to do the same thing embarrisingly with too much head space also. In the beginning i was very adamant about no headspace and after not having any problems i guess got lazy with it. We have used glass marbles in the past (well sanitized). Is this an ok solution to headspace? I have never really liked using water to top up and no matter how i plan, i frequently don't seem to have the right size combination of vessels.
Cody

Welcome to the forum.

Sanitized, unpainted glass marbles work OK, just a lot of trouble to use. When I used them, I would put them in a sanitized mesh bag, so they were not rolling around in the carboy.

I top off with a like wine. The top off wine is not going to waste, since you will be drinking it, anyway.

Another method is to rack down to a smaller container each time. I, personally, don't like this method, but it works well and many home wine makers use this.

When you rack, save the sediment/lees and place it in a small, sealed glass container. In about a week, after it settles, use a turkey baster to suck off the clean wine from the top of the sediment container. Put this wine back into your carboy. Using this method, you can save close to 750ml of wine every time you rack.