Airlock Dried Out - Wine got cloudy?

No pics, but I hope that maybe someone has had this happen:

It seems the airlock dried out on one of our carboys of white wine sometime in the last week (it should have been bottled a while ago but schedules haven't allowed it). The wine has become cloudy and there seems to be a very thin film of said cloudy substance on top of it. In a nutshell: is a saveable? I assume it's some kind of infection. Could it be filtered and bottled still?

Searching the forum I've noticed that it might be a mould? If that's the case could we add some metabisulphite, filter and bottle?

It doesn't sound good. I wouldn't bottle it right away- if it's an infection that can keep eating alcohol, then you'd have some blown corks and/or blown bottles.

You could try racking it into a campden solution (1 tablet per gallon dissolved in some hot water) and then topping up to near the bung to reduce any chance of oxygen "feeding" it, and seeing if that stops it.

There are many types of infection, from "flowers of wine" to a lactobacillus infection, but most are susceptible to campden (sulfite) before it gets too bad. I'd definitely give it a try!

Thanks! We have metabisulphite in powder form. What measurement would be equal one of those tablets? Wikipedia says 10 tablets = 1 teaspoon but I always double-check wiki info before I put it to use!

How will we know if it works? Will the cloudiness clear up?

Hovercar said:

Thanks! We have metabisulphite in powder form. What measurement would be equal one of those tablets? Wikipedia says 10 tablets = 1 teaspoon but I always double-check wiki info before I put it to use!

How will we know if it works? Will the cloudiness clear up?

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Hmmmm, I don't know the "dosage" for sure. Probably about 1/4 teaspoon for 5 gallons, but I'd double check that with the k-meta manufacturer's website. I think that's what mine is.

The cloudiness may or may not clear right away. If it's lactobacillus or aceterobacter, it may never clear. If it's the beginnings of a rope infections or flowers of wine, it may well clear. There's only one way to tell, though! Just do it and see what happens. No guarantees, but if it's early in the infection process, the sulfite and racking may save it.

Thanks so much. Going to get this done tomorrow.

Good thing the reds are already bottled