Abstract
Over the last decades, the average alcohol content of wine has increased due to climate change and consumer preferences for particular wine styles that resulted in increased grape sugar levels at harvest. Therefore, alcohol reduction is a current challenge in the winemaking industry. Among several strategies under study, the use of non-conventional yeasts in combination with Saccharomyces cerevisiae plays an important role for lowering ethanol production in wines nowadays. In the present work, 33 native non-Saccharomyces strains were assayed in sequential culture with a S. cerevisiae wine strain to determine their potential for reducing the alcohol content in Malvar white wines. Four of the non-Saccharomyces strains (Wickerhamomyces anomalus 21A-5C, Meyerozyma guilliermondii CLI 1217, and two Metschnikowia pulcherrima (CLI 68 and CLI 460)) studied in sequential combination with S. cerevisiae CLI 889 were best able to produce dry wines with decreased alcohol proportion in comparison with one that was inoculated only with S. cerevisiae. These sequential fermentations produced wines with between 0.8% (v/v) and 1.3% (v/v) lower ethanol concentrations in Malvar wines, showing significant differences compared with the control. In addition, these combinations provided favorable oenological characteristics to wines such as high glycerol proportion, volatile higher alcohols, and esters with fruity and sweet character.
Highlights
At present, the increasing alcohol content in wines is closely related to climate change and consumer choice for full-bodied, rich, and ripe fruit flavor profiles, which often involve increased grape maturity [1,2,3]
Our strategy for ethanol reduction was the use of one non-Saccharomyces strain that exhibited a low ethanol yield but consumed enough sugars to affect the ethanol concentration (Section I) and be compatible with S. cerevisiae in order to ensure the completion of fermentation (Section II)
The present results indicated that sequential cultures of native non-Saccharomyces
Summary
The increasing alcohol content in wines is closely related to climate change and consumer choice for full-bodied, rich, and ripe fruit flavor profiles, which often involve increased grape maturity [1,2,3]. The worldwide trend towards more frequent warm periods during the grapevine growing season has increased sugar content in grapes and the alcohol concentration in wines [4]. Wines with elevated alcohol content can lead to harmful health effects [8] and increase costs in markets where taxes are linked to the ethanol level in many countries [9]. Among the various methodologies aimed at the reduction of alcohol content in wines, microbiological approaches may be promising to preserve organoleptic characteristics and quality in wines. They are profitable and easy to implement strategies that do not require the need
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