Abstract
Even though Saccharomyces cerevisiae starter cultures are still largely used nowadays, the non-Saccharomyces contribution is re-evaluated, showing positive enological characteristics. Among them, Lachancea thermotolerans is one of the key yeast species that are desired for their contribution to wine sensory characteristics. The main goal of this work was to explore the impact of L. thermotolerans commercial yeast strain used in sequential inoculation with S. cerevisiae commercial yeast on the main enological parameters and volatile aroma profile of Trnjak, Babić, Blatina, and Frankovka red wines and compare it with wines produced by the use of S. cerevisiae commercial yeast strain. In all sequential fermented wines, lactic acid concentrations were significantly higher, ranging from 0.20 mg/L in Trnjak up to 0.92 mg/L in Frankovka wines, while reducing alcohol levels from 0.1% v/v in Trnjak up to 0.9% v/v in Frankovka wines. Among volatile compounds, a significant increase of ethyl lactate and isobutyl acetate, geraniol, and geranyl acetate was detected in all wines made by use of L. thermotolerans. In Babić wines, the strongest influence of sequential fermentation was connected with higher total terpenes and total ester concentrations, while Trnjak sequentially fermented wines stood up with higher total aldehyde, volatile phenol, and total lactone concentrations. Control wines, regardless of variety, stood up with higher concentrations of total higher alcohols, especially isoamyl alcohol. The present work contributed to a better understanding of the fermentation possibilities of selected non-Saccharomyces strains in the overall red wine quality modeling.
Highlights
Wine quality is influenced by many factors starting from the geographical origin of the grapes, varietal grape must composition, vinification process, and microbial activity of yeast species used
The results of basic physicochemical analysis of wines are presented in Table 1 showing that the use of L. thermotolerans yeast in sequential fermentation with S. cerevisiae can be used as one useful tool for alcohol content reduction in wines by the production of lactic acid, leading to biological acidification
Among nonSaccharomyces yeasts, L. thermotolerans stood out as a low acetic acid producer, which has been shown in our work, with volatile acidity not differing compared to values achieved in fermentation conducted by S. cerevisiae commercial yeast
Summary
Wine quality is influenced by many factors starting from the geographical origin of the grapes, varietal grape must composition, vinification process, and microbial activity of yeast species used. Wine is a complex mixture of chemical compounds that contribute differently to overall quality. Volatile aroma compounds that can be divided according to their origin into varietal (grape) aromas, fermentative aromas, and aging aromas are some of the most important contributors to flavor perception. There is a notable sensory difference in aroma composition that is usually not really perceptible at pre-fermentative stages but strongly influenced by microbial activity during wine production [1]. Saccharomyces cerevisiae commercial starter cultures are still largely used with the main goal being the assurance 4.0/).
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