Aromatic Higher Alcohols in Wine: Implication on Aroma and Palate Attributes during Chardonnay Aging.

Antonio G Cordente,Alex Schulkin,Damian Espinase Nandorfy,Ian Leigh Francis,Mark Solomon,Radka Kolouchova,Simon A Schmidt

doi:10.3390/molecules26164979

Antonio G Cordente, Alex Schulkin + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26164979

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Abstract

The higher alcohols 2-phenylethanol, tryptophol, and tyrosol are a group of yeast-derived compounds that have been shown to affect the aroma and flavour of fermented beverages. Five variants of the industrial wine strain AWRI796, previously isolated due to their elevated production of the ‘rose-like aroma’ compound 2-phenylethanol, were characterised during pilot-scale fermentation of a Chardonnay juice. We show that these variants not only increase the concentration of 2-phenylethanol but also modulate the formation of the higher alcohols tryptophol, tyrosol, and methionol, as well as other volatile sulfur compounds derived from methionine, highlighting the connections between yeast nitrogen and sulfur metabolism during fermentation. We also investigate the development of these compounds during wine storage, focusing on the sulfonation of tryptophol. Finally, the sensory properties of wines produced using these strains were quantified at two time points, unravelling differences produced by biologically modulating higher alcohols and the dynamic changes in wine flavour over aging.

Highlights

Saccharomyces cerevisiae performs a wide range of industrial fermentations that functionally depend upon its ability to convert sugars to ethanol and carbon dioxide efficiently
While the metabolism of aliphatic and aromatic amino acids via the Ehrlich pathway has been extensively studied in yeast, little is known about the branch of the pathway involved in methionine catabolism
We isolated a range of variants from the commercial wine yeast AWRI796 that were resistant to toxic fluorinated analogues of phenylalanine

Summary

Introduction

Saccharomyces cerevisiae performs a wide range of industrial fermentations that functionally depend upon its ability to convert sugars to ethanol and carbon dioxide efficiently While performing this primary function, S. cerevisiae produces a range of secondary metabolites, such as esters, volatile fatty acids, higher alcohols, and volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs), which contribute substantially to the flavour and aroma of wine [1], beer [2], and sake [3]. Known as fusel alcohols, are compounds with more than two carbon atoms These alcohols are derived from yeast amino acid metabolism via the Ehrlich pathway [4]. While the metabolism of aliphatic and aromatic amino acids via the Ehrlich pathway has been extensively studied in yeast, little is known about the branch of the pathway involved in methionine catabolism. The broad-substrate phenylpyruvate decarboxylase Aro10p is involved in the second step of the Ehrlich pathway for methionine [7,8]

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