White Haze, ring, film

[burton167can]

6 week Vineco, amarone, grape skins kit

Followed the instructions as per normal, with the exception, I only added one of the Chitosan packs that came with the kit, I meant to add both but didn't.

After all steps were complete and the kit was ready for bottling on day 42, I decided to rack the wine, I was left with a white haze/film that was in a ring around the carboy, about 4-5 inches thick. This haze washed away very easily when I rinsed the carboy.

I consulted the dealer, he told me not to worry about it and that it would not return after my racking. I decided to rack it again last night and found that the same ring was there, maybe 1/2 thick this time. I am worried about what might be causing this, just checking if anyone has seen this before?

I also added the last pack of Chitosan last night as I thought it might help settle this materiel to the bottom of the carboy.

Any suggestions?

 

[shoelesst]

I'm not totally sure but I' can offer some guesses and see if it any of it makes sense.

What I notice first is the position of the ring, which pretty low on the carboy. If that much headspace was left for to long I can could see problems happening. Spoilage organisms, mold and the such. Any white floaters on top of the wine during bulk storage phase?

Another possible is if the wine was fermenting in that carboy, it could be residue of yeast. You know when the wine has some foam from fermenting, it might leave residue. If you've racked since that phase, you'd know it's not that.

Those are my best guesses. That amount of headspace could definitely be an issue. My guess is it is not the fining agent.

Make sure you stabilize with sulfites before bottling. Taste the wine, that's always the best test.

 

[wyntheef]

i've had moldy type growth in the early stages of a kit before, and it turned out fine.
i think if it still tastes ok then it just needs further clearing. remember if it hasn't been degassed
sufficiently, it will not clear as easily.
just noting however that your 'ring' is well below the neck. if that's where the top of your wine is at this late stage,
i would suggest topping up to within about 3 inches of the top.

 

[ibglowin]

Could be a protein ring. Did this kit come with an enzyme pack?

 

[gmillercaz]

White Film

I have Marquette wine from my vineyard and have a white film ring around the top of my Carboy. I have very little head space. Do I need to worry about this or just let it run its course? I am almost 2 weeks into MLF, but the white file was there prior to ML added.

Greg-

 

[biscmc]

I have had dealings with this situation before. It appears to be indicative of the protein haze. I tried many methods to deal with the occurrence. Adding both packs of Chitosan was the only way I managed to have the problem go away permanently.

If left untreated you wine will spoil. I tipped an LE Super Tuscan down the drain because it smelled of sauerkraut, and I did not deal with the issue in due time.