Abstract
One of the most prominent consequences of global climate warming for the wine industry is a clear increase of the sugar content in grapes, and thus the alcohol level in wines. Among the several approaches to address this important issue, this review focuses on biotechnological solutions, mostly relying on the selection and improvement of wine yeast strains for reduced ethanol yields. Other possibilities are also presented. Researchers are resorting to both S. cerevisiae and alternative wine yeast species for the lowering of alcohol yields. In addition to the use of selected strains under more or less standard fermentation conditions, aerobic fermentation is increasingly being explored for this purpose. Genetic improvement is also playing a role in the development of biotechnological tools to counter the increase in the wine alcohol levels. The use of recombinant wine yeasts is restricted to research, but its contribution to the advancement of the field is still relevant. Furthermore, genetic improvement by non-GMO approaches is providing some interesting results, and will probably result in the development of commercial yeast strains with a lower alcohol yield in the near future. The optimization of fermentation processes using natural isolates is, anyway, the most probable source of advancement in the short term for the production of wines with lower alcohol contents.
Highlights
Commercial wines have been experiencing a steady increase in alcohol levels since the1980s
Quality grapes today tend to be richer in sugar content, leading to the observed increase in wine alcohol levels when all this sugar is fermented by yeasts [1]
The general trend for S. cerevisiae strains is the production of high volatile acidity under aerated wine fermentation conditions, we recently found rare isolates showing acceptable acetic acid yields under aerobic conditions [77]
Summary
Commercial wines have been experiencing a steady increase in alcohol levels since the. There has been a collective effort by researchers, engineers, and winemakers to develop approaches to limit the ethanol content of wines [2] This community is targeting almost every stage of the production cycle, including, among other examples, grapevine clonal selection, vineyard management, winemaking practices adapted to unripe grapes, the use of yeast strains with a lower ethanol yield (often recombinant) or metabolic inhibitors, and partial dealcoholisation by physical means. Straightforward solutions, such as early harvesting or post-fermentation treatments, often have a negative impact on the wine quality (e.g., a green character and altered aromatic profile). We describe the different efforts made to overcome this biotechnological hurdle
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