Selection and modification of yeasts and lactic acid bacteria for wine fermentation

Abstract

Historically, the fermentation of grape juice to wine has been carried out by indigenous yeasts found on the berry. However, in newer wine regions, e.g. the USA, inoculation with selected wine yeast strains is employed. Grape juice is high in nutritional factors and difficulties in fermentation usually arise from the inhibitory effects of the high concentration of sugar initially present and the ethanol produced. A secondary fermentation, brought about by indigenous or added lactic acid bacteria, converts malic acid to lactic acid and carbon dioxide and often occurs. This ‘malolactic’ fermentation is usually slow. For both yeast and bacterial fermentations strain selection is based more on fermentation performance than on sensory characteristics of the wine, with increased tolerance of the yeast to ethanol and of the bacteria to low pH being emphasized. Attempts to increase the malolactic fermentation rate have been made by cloning and transferring the malolactic gene from Lactobacillus to wine yeast. In early attempts to produce wines with enhanced or novel sensory characteristics a leucine-less mutant of a homothallic wine yeast has been obtained which does not produce isoamyl alcohol.