How long at most can a wine last without SO2?

It is my understanding that wines made without SO2 cannot last more than, at most, two years (otherwise many more would be making them). I think Radikon or Gravner make them, but I'm not sure how long they can last... Does anyone know?

A producer here is announcing, with fanfare, a wine without SO2 as if it/he were the embodiment of virtue. It is my understanding that wines made without SO2 cannot last more than, at most, two years (otherwise many more would be making them). I think Radikon or Gravner make them, but I'm not sure how long they can last... Does anyone know?

Oswaldo,
SO2's purpose is anti-oxidative and antiseptic. If a wine were bottled without SO2 but had no bad bacteria and sufficient structure (acid and/or tannin) there is no reason it would not last as long as any similar wine bottled with SO2.
For instance, I understand that some folks in CA are now bottling with Velcorin which, if populations of bad bacteria are low enough, essentially destroys them. Thereafter, it breaks down into CO2 and formaldehyde, neither of which in sufficient quantities to be harmful or to have an effect on the wine.
So if I did the chemistry before bottling and found very little bad bacteria and then I bottled with Velcorin, I would feel confident that I had the bacteria problem controlled. If, in addition, I had a tannic red wine or an acidic white, I'd feel that I had the makings of an ageable wine (this is of course, an over-simplification, but it gives a general idea).
Of course, there are other ways to reach the same result and SO2 is one of them.
As for Radikon and Gravner's wines, they will outlast me - so I suspect they are getting it right.
Best, Jim

[David M. Bueker]

Impeccable provenance & great storage will help low/no SO2 wines last a lot longer.

Besides what Jim and David contributed, I would just add pH of the finished wine and alcohol content will also contribute to how long a wine lasts.

Salute

What Florida Jim Said.

SO2 is an antiseptic. Of course you don't need it if your equipment is sterile and the fruit is completely clean. One bit of bird doo on one grape and that goes completely out the window.

For commercial wine production, in all but exceptional cases one must employ some antiseptic agents during the winemaking process or the resulting wine will be faulty. Sulfites are the antiseptic agents of choice because yeast is tolerant of SO2 whereas bacteria don't like it. Employed correctly, sulfites are the wine consumers' friend.

There are some major French winemakers who say in the strongest possible terms that any winemaker who doesn't use sulfites is subjecting the public to an unnecessary health risk. I won't go anywhere near that far, but I do think the anti-SO2 brigade has a long way to go to prove its case against this particular additive.

-Paul W.

There is also flash pasteurization. I believe some Beaujolais producers do this, but I don't know if it is done without SO2. I've also wondered about UV sterilization, which is used to preserve fresh cider and household water systems, but I've never heard of it being used in wine.

I visited a small winery in southwest Michigan last year and got talking with the owner. He said he didn't use SO2 in any part of the operation. I asked how he was able to keep the wine from oxidizing and he said he had a secret process. I bought 2 bottles of Niagara, his specialty, and was told not to store them on the side; straight up and down only. This was important for the secret process. I got around to opening a bottle recently. It was badly oxidized.

Important to note that many people purchase wines said to be made without sulfur dioxide(SO2) having been added, believing that the wine is thus free of this chemical. That is simply not true as without exception all wines contain SO2 which is a natural product of the metabolic reaction of the yeast that takes place during the fermentation and winemaking process. Even organic and bio-dynamic wines contain sulfites.

As far as I can understand it, an issue of major importance to that very small percentage of the population with a specific sulfite allergy (those incluidng primarily asthmatics and those allergic to aspirin)

Best
Rogov

Thanks, all, for the very enlightening comments. I dug up the WS article that had left me with the impression that adding SO2 could not be avoided, but the article is more nuanced than what my memory distilled from it:

http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Archi ... 44,00.html

Steve (Edmunds), if you're reading this, I'd love to hear your take.

] I won't go anywhere near that far, but I do think the anti-SO2 brigade has a long way to go to prove its case against this particular additive.

In '01, during a visit to Marcel Lapierre's cellar in Morgon, he gave us two glasses of wine to compare, the same wine with and without added sulfites. Of the 5 of us participating (3 in our group and two English importers), all found the sans souffre sample to be fruitier and more fresh. Having said that, Mr. Lapierre was very adamant in his insistence that no one purchase the unsulfured wine unless they could guarantee transport and storage temperatures below 20°C at all times. For my part, I treat all low-to-no sulfite wines as potential bacteriological time bombs.

Mark Lipton

In terms of ageing (i.e. the organoleptic changes that wine undergoes in bottle), it's the antioxidant properties of SO2 which are significant. The presence and quantity of SO2 influences the way a wine ages in bottle. Whether or not a wine will "last" depends on (1) your preferences with regard to a wine's development (e.g. maybe you like to drink certain styles younger, before they develop certain characteristics, anyway), and (2) the synergy between the SO2 present and all the factors that influence ageing (like O2 transmission during storage, temperature, pH, tannnins, alcohol, etc). It's hard to make generalised statements.

The reason why wines like Gravner can "get away" without so much SO2 is because there're made in a more oxidative way (i.e., before bottling the wines undergo a lot of oxidative reactions), and the characteristics resulting from this are associated with the style itself. Not adding SO2 to a fruit driven white that's been made with more reductive handling would result in a wine that develops more rapidly (within a few years, but it depends) into something that's not so fresh or fruity (some might call it "dead", but again it depends on your preferences) - the lack of SO2 means it develops that way (at least more rapidly).