Abstract
Yeast play an essential role in wine quality. The dynamics of yeast strains during fermentation determine the final chemical and sensory characteristics of wines. This study aims to evaluate the Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains diversity in organic wineries from Galicia (NW Spain). Samples from spontaneous fermentations were taken in five wineries over three consecutive years (2013 to 2015). The samples were transported to the laboratory and processed following standard methodology for yeast isolation. S. cerevisiae strains were differentiated by mDNA-RFLPs. A total of 66 different strains were identified. Some of them presented a wide distribution and appeared in several wineries. However, other strains were typical from a specific winery. Similarity analysis using two different statistical tests showed significant differences in strain diversity among wineries. The results also revealed high biodiversity indexes; however, only some strains showed an important incidence in their distribution and frequency. Our findings confirmed that spontaneous fermentation favored the existence of a high S. cerevisiae strain diversity in organic wineries from Galicia. The presence of different yeasts during fermentation, specially winery-specific strains, contribute to increased wine complexity and differentiation.
Highlights
Organic products are highly appreciated by consumers because they are healthier, and their production is more sustainable and respectful with the environment
It is worth noting the obligation to use yeasts derived from organic raw materials [5]; in this sense, commercial strains of S. cerevisiae from organic production are already available in the market
We have described the genetic diversity of S. cerevisiae strains in spontaneous fermentations and their prevalence in the environment at the experimental winery of Estación de Viticultura e Enoloxía de Galicia (EVEGA-AGACAL) [27,46]
Summary
Organic products are highly appreciated by consumers because they are healthier, and their production is more sustainable and respectful with the environment. The specific case of vineyards has seen an increase of 368% [1]. These data consolidate Spain as the European Union country with the largest area of organic farming, leading the area of biological vineyard in the EU [2]. According to European Union regulations, the elaboration and labeling of organic wine require grapes from organic production, the use of authorized products and the respect of certain practices in the winery [3,4]. The practices of organic cultivation and spontaneous winemaking favor the diversity of native yeasts [6,7,8,9]
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