I have some bottles that I have been bulk ageing and they have developed a white ring of what looks like something growing at the top of the wine in the bottle. Is this normal? If not as I understand there should not be anything that will hurt you that will grow in the wine so, it should be safe to taste??
Roy
Roy, Are the corks OK and was the wine sulfited? White rings are usually an infection, probably mycoderma if it looks like a film. You need low sulfite and exposure to air for it to develop. Mycoderma eats alcohol so you need to get rid of it. The easiest way i know to do that is to overflow the container, wipe out any remaining residue with a sulfited paper towel and ensure the sulfite levels are correct. Sulfite can kill it if that is what it is.
Joe
If you are talking about wine that was 11% or higher, they are safe to taste. There are no known pathogens that can live in wine. There are things that can get in wine that will make it taste real bad and they may make you sick that your wine is ruined but they will not make you really physically sick.
Ray
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