Watermelon Wine

I had a strange white film on my Watermelon Wine. Think juice may have spoiled. Bad smell. I will try and get picks up later. Anyways, I racked 5 gallons down to three and added campden and potassium sorbate to kill anything bad. That was 2 years ago. The smell is gone. I will have my bro taste it and if he likes it I will bottle. Wondering if anyone knows if it was white mold?

Here is the white topping?

Beerbrothas said:

Here is the white topping?

Click to expand...

So this wine was sitting in that carboy, at the fill level we see when, two years ago, you racked and added k-meta/sorbate?

How old was wine when film developed? Assuming no film two years later?

Looks like flowers of wine to me...which if caught in time can be 'cured' by racking from bottom leaving the film behind and treating with standard dose k-meta. Flowers of wine is a classic development when you fail to top up properly and do not have adequate SO2 on board. Saw it develop in 14 hours when 250+ gallons of juice that supposedly had been dosed by seller at time of sale, and travel tank filled. Upon arrival 'home', an eight inch patch of flowers was seen. We just promptly transferred and checked SO2 level, far below normal, and treated accordingly.

The film had developed within the first week of fermentation.

Thanks for the input.

Beerbrothas said:

The film had developed within the first week of fermentation.

Thanks for the input.

Click to expand...

So, how does it taste? The fact that the film did not return and smell went away is a good sign. I have ready many posts about sweet melon wines and white films within two weeks, if not sooner. I suspect it is the nature of the sweet melon and the fact it can turn/spoil so quickly and successfully making a wine is iffy. I have yet to tackle watermelon...but I do have watermelon concentrate!

better bottles are worthless, and also you have way to much headspace

My watermelon wine never got that, but it tastes and smells funky. I have about two gallons that finally cleared, and I am hoping the "funk" will go away. I have been told, it is hard to make a good watermelon wine. So far, I am proving them right.