Abstract
Malolactic fermentation is a vital red wine-making process to enhance the sensory quality. The objective of this study is to elucidate the starter cultures’ role in modifying phenolic compounds, biogenic amines, and volatile compounds after red wine malolactic fermentation. We initiated the malolactic fermentation in Cabernet Gernishct wine by using two Oenococcus oeni and two Lactobacillus plantarum strains. Results showed that after malolactic fermentation, wines experienced a content decrease of total flavanols and total flavonols, accompanied by the accumulation of phenolic acids. The Lactobacillus plantarum strains, compared to Oenococcus oeni, exhibited a prevention against the accumulation of biogenic amines. The malolactic fermentation increased the total esters and modified the aromatic features compared to the unfermented wine. The Lactobacillus plantarum strains retained more aromas than the Oenococcus oeni strains did. Principal component analysis revealed that different strains could distinctly alter the wine characteristics being investigated in this study. These indicated that Lactobacillus plantarum could serve as a better alternative starter for conducting red wine malolactic fermentation.
Highlights
Malolactic fermentation is a vital red wine-making process after alcoholic fermentation since it can significantly improve the taste quality of red wine through converting the tart-taste malic acid into softer-taste lactic acid [1]
Four lactic acid bacteria strains were used in the present study, including two L. plantarum strains (Lp39, CICC6240 and C8-1, CICC23138) and two O. oeni strains (Viniflora®® Oenos and CiNe)
The total phenolic compounds before the malolactic fermentation was 95.72 mg/L
Summary
Malolactic fermentation is a vital red wine-making process after alcoholic fermentation since it can significantly improve the taste quality of red wine through converting the tart-taste malic acid into softer-taste lactic acid [1]. It plays an important role in enhancing the aromatic complexity of wine via metabolism of nutrients by lactic acid bacteria [2,3,4]. It has been known that indigenous lactic acid bacteria naturally present in grapes must initiate spontaneous malolactic fermentation in wine [5,6]. L. plantarum was found to release a more diverse array of enzymes during malolactic fermentation, potentially improving the organoleptic features of wine [17,18,19,20]
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