# oily sheen on top of wine



## LoveTheWine (Nov 12, 2013)

I'm doing a Fosh (fresh grapes), Blackberry and Sangiovese juice bucket.
50PPM KMETA added at crush
All three have been topped up in Carboys since SG 1.00 

All three were racked off gross lees 24-48 hrs after press and had MLB (Viniflora Oenos) and Leucofood added at that time.

If has now been a month. There is still some Co2 bubbles rising from MLF but wines taste good, smooth and smell nice.

Since a few days ago however I'm noticing a small amount of oily residue on top of all the wines. Should I be alarmed and take evasive action?


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## skipdonohue (Nov 14, 2013)

post a pic.. Could be mycoderma.. is the container fully topped up?


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## LoveTheWine (Nov 15, 2013)

skipdonohue said:


> post a pic.. Could be mycoderma.. is the container fully topped up?



Here are some pics. Can't get a very good shot though.
Carboys topped up, 2" below bung.
Can this just be sediment being brought to the top from Co2?
Substance looks a bit oily but clear not white and there isn't much of it


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## tingo (Nov 15, 2013)

LTW, I had the same thing happen to 15 gallons of fredonia. I used fresh grapes, fermented on the skins, and bulk aged for over a year. While I was doing a taste test one day, like I do every few months, I noticed the sheen. I had never seen or heard of this. Out of pure reaction I stuck my finger in it to see if it was as viscous as it appeared. On the contrary it was waterish and when I examined my finger closely I realized there was a distinct separation of liquids going on. It resembled the relationship between oil and vinegar. I used my wine thief and noticed the wine deeper down appeared fine. Thats when my research led me to surface yeast, well the beginning of it anyway. My pH was high and since I did not yet own my vinmetrica 300 my So2 levels were lower than I thought. I was surprised that topping up wasnt enough and this still could form. I do not know if it would have clovered like candida mycoderma does or if it was a different animal all together. I just removed the wine on top, racked, and sulfited. Problem solved and lesson learned.


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## skipdonohue (Nov 15, 2013)

remove the film with a turkey baster or paper towel, bump up your so2 and top all the way up.. it should resolve the issue in a couple weeks..


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## LoveTheWine (Nov 15, 2013)

Thanks for the replies.
PH of wine is about 3.4 BTW
If I rack and sulfite right now will MLF start up again in the bottle someday?
There is no film really. If I dip something in the wine it resembles the tiniest bit of oil swirl but no film covers the while surface.


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## tingo (Nov 15, 2013)

You should test to see if mlf is complete but since you are dealing with a red wine you could add lysozyme. It acts similar to potassium sorbate but is for lactic bacteria.


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## LoveTheWine (Nov 15, 2013)

tingo said:


> You should test to see if mlf is complete but since you are dealing with a red wine you could add lysozyme. It acts similar to potassium sorbate but is for lactic bacteria.



I decided to error on the side of caution. sucked up as much of the top 1/4' of wine on the top of each carboy, added 35 PPM So2 to each carboy and topped up to within 3/4".

Since I have a 20L oak barrel, this got filled with the first carboy.

I should test for MLF you are right but don't have the equipment to and no way of getting it quickly.

May end up adding lysozyme but do I need too if I bottle with, say 50 PPM So2?
I cellar bottles at 12-13 deg Celsius.


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## tingo (Nov 15, 2013)

I dont think any lactic bacteria can survive at 50ppm. But you never know.


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## LoveTheWine (Nov 15, 2013)

tingo said:


> I dont think any lactic bacteria can survive at 50ppm. But you never know.



If does then it should finish up in carboys/barrel over the next yr. I won't be bottling till at least sept/14
Also with the Fosh TA has gone from 1.1% down to 0.64% so I think MLF must be almost, if not complete.


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