I seem to have film yeast in a few barrels of pinot. They have not been sulfured after fermentation and have not finished malos. Is there a treatment to reduce/eliminate this?
Film Yeast (part 2)
Nov 19, 2003
5 Replies
Top up until the barrel overflows slightly and floats the film out. Maintain the barrel as full as possible until ML is complete. Then hit it with SO2, top up and bung tight. Check weekly to taste and top up.
Tom S
Thanks. After overflowing the barrel, I also imagine spritzing through the bung hole with a bit of SO2 couldn't hurt?
I sometimes dust the end of the rubber bung with metabisulfite before jamming it into the topped up barrel. I do that if I smelled something funky at the bunghole.
No jokes, please! ;^D
Tom S
I've been spritzing the rubber bung with a sulfite solution. BTW, I seem to be losing a lot of wine. I'd say in a week I lose about 750ml per barrel. Humidity is low (50%?). Is that normal.
BTW, the single best thing about making wine is that you can say bunghole with impunity. BUNGHOLE!
...Michael
I don't find that as effective at dealing with a funky bunghole as dusting the bung with metabisulfite and grinding it into the wood when bunging tight. That really puts the SO2 where it needs to be, and at a fairly high concentration. One or two treatments and you won't have anything growing there.
BTW, I
50% humidity isn't particularly low. Do you have a leaker, or are you including your weekly tasting in that 750ml? Hint: If there's a puddle on the floor, surrounded by fruit flies, you have a leaker. :^)The single best thing about making wine is having your friends over for barrel tasting! Well, that's _one_ of the single best things anyway. :^)
Beavis and Butthead say "bunghole" all the time, but I'll bet they think it means something else. ;^D
Tom S
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