Abstract
Filamentous fungi are rarely reported as responsible for spoiling wine. Cork taint was detected in sparkling wine; therefore, we investigated fungal contamination as a possible cause of organoleptic alteration. Spoiled wine was filtered and membranes were plated onto potato dextrose agar (PDA). The cork stoppers used for sealing bottles were cut and also plated onto PDA. Fungal strains were phenotypically characterized and molecularly identified by sequencing of a fragment of the 28S nrRNA gene (LSU) and (occasionally) by other additional molecular markers. Twenty-seven strains were isolated and sixteen species were identified, all of them belonging to the phylum Ascomycota. The fungi isolated from wine were three species of Aspergillus section Nidulantes, a species of Penicillium section Exicaulis and Beauveria bassiana. Candida patagonica was isolated from both sort of samples, and the fungi isolated from cork stoppers were Altenaria alternata and Cladosporium cladosporioides. Surprisingly, most of the taxa recovered from the cork stoppers and/or wine were new to the science: a new genus (Dactylodendron) and seven new species belonging to the genera Cladophialophora, Dactylodendron, Kirschsteiniothelia, Rasamsonia, and Talaromyces. Future studies could let us know if these fungi would be able to produce compounds responsible for cork taint.
Highlights
Sparkling wine is one of the most economically important wine varieties in southern Europe. It is produced by the “champenoise” method, which consists of two steps: a primary alcoholic fermentation, in which the grape must is transformed to the wine base; and a second alcoholic fermentation after the addition of sucrose, selected yeasts, and bentonite to the base wine, which is bottled, closed with a metal cap or a cork stopper, and allowed to age in cellars for a longer period of time [1]
Alternaria alternata and Cladosporium cladosporioides were identified on cork stoppers, but Beauveria bassiana and Candida patagonica were only found in sparkling wine
We found a new genus (Dactylodendron) and eight new species (Cladophialophora recurvata, Dactylodendron ebriosum, Dactylodendron pluriseptatum, Kirschteiniothelia ebriosa, Kirschteiniothelia vinigena, Rasamsonia frigotolerans, Talaromyces speluncarum and Talaromyces subericola)
Summary
Sparkling wine is one of the most economically important wine varieties in southern Europe It is produced by the “champenoise” method, which consists of two steps: a primary alcoholic fermentation, in which the grape must is transformed to the wine base (cuvée); and a second alcoholic fermentation after the addition of sucrose, selected yeasts, and bentonite to the base wine, which is bottled, closed with a metal cap or a cork stopper, and allowed to age in cellars for a longer period of time (at least 12 months for French champagne and 9 months in the case of the Spanish—mostly Catalonian— “cava”) [1]. A certain diversity of environmental microorganisms, mainly bacteria and fungi, can produce organoleptic alterations that render the wine undrinkable. Some of these fungi can be present on the cork stoppers and/or be acquired by exposure of the must to bio-aerosols, perhaps because of poor environmental microbiological control at the cellar. Among several fungi recovered from agglomerate cork stoppers, Acremonium strictum, Chrysonilia sitophila, Cladosporium oxysporum, Fusarium oxysporum, Paecilomyces viridis, Penicillium chrysogenum, Trichoderma longibrachiatum, Trichoderma viride, and Verticillium psalliotae have displayed such an effect [5]
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