Forgot sulphide before bottling

[Weaves]

Made 6 week wine kit, sulphites and sorbate added 4 weeks before bottling. Forgot to add more sulphites before bottling. Wine is at 16%. What timeline am I lookin at here before spoilage

 

[Blacksmith1]

If I had to guess? A few years. 16% is going to keep it from spoiling. The cork should keep it from oxidizing for quite awhile. Mind you I could be way off as none of mine has made it past 6 months yet.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Oxidation occurs within a day if the sulfite (not sulfide) level is depleted.
Oxidized wine isn't necessarily "spoiled", just different (and well, not in a good way in my opinion, but it's drinkable).

Corks let in plenty of oxygen. Artificial corks continuously let in oxygen, so those wines have a limited shelf life (1-3 years). Natural corks allow oxygen only for a limited time, which gives those wines a longer shelf life (10-20 years).

The ABV will keep most unwanted microbial activity to a minimum even without sulfite, but that's entirely unpredictable and depends on a combination of your sanitation practices and luck.
Bacteria in the presence of sorbate without sulfite can produce a geranium off-flavor.

You can just ride it out and it may be OK or you could open the bottles and add sulfite and cork again.

 

[Weaves]

I used thicker composite natural corks

 

[RPh_Guy]

Agglomerated? Whatever the enclosure type, oxygen still gets in, so depending on the sulfite level the wine can oxidize or wild microbes can contribute oxygen-derived flavors. It's hard to predict the likelihood of those outcomes.

 

[DoctorCAD]

How did you get 16%.

Most yeast will never get that high without a whole lot of work.

 

[Weaves]

I have no issue getting to that abv. I double pitch yeast and give it nutrient then let it go...

 

[Seamonkey84]

How did you get 16%.

Most yeast will never get that high without a whole lot of work.

If you call staggering nutrients and daily degassing a lot of work then sure. Even though wyeast 1388 is advertised to go to 12%, I use the bomm protocol and my batches always finish out at 16% so I can have residual sugars without stabilizing with chemicals. That said, so far none of my batches have lasted very long once bottled, so I can’t say anything about shelf life.

 

[lukebuz]

also, don't forget that a less than 1.000 SG means higher alcohol. Mine usually finish .990, which is another 1.33% of ABV!