I checked in on the wines in the shower to make sure the airlocks weren’t contaminated or dried out, and saw another white layer on our 6-gallon carboy of merlot.  This was the first time I saw this white layer in this container, I found it previously on a smaller bottle of this merlot as well as on a small bottle of petite sirah.  But, again, there were no off-odors when I checked it, so I decided to try to rack it away again and hope it was nothing major.

When I moved the carboy for racking, the layer broke up into yucky white clots:

Luckily, though, these clumps either floated at the top or stuck to the sides, so I racked the wine away from it pretty successfully.  I took a sample to taste, it was very clear and had no off-odors or strange flavors.  Hopefully this means whatever that is on top is not something that will harm the wine.

I also checked on the small bottle that had the white layer before.  There was a faint oily-looking layer on top, but nothing significant.  I also took a sample from this bottle, and again it smelled and tasted fine.

A close inspection of the other carboys revealed another layer forming on a 6-gallon carboy of the petite sirah.  This layer was not as thick as the one on the merlot, but I racked it off also to be safe.  This wine also smelled and tasted fine.  Now it’s time to wait and hope for the best!