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Abstract
The main role of acidity and pH is to confer microbial stability to wines. No less relevant, they also preserve the color and sensory properties of wines. Tartaric and malic acids are generally the most prominent acids in wines, while others such as succinic, citric, lactic, and pyruvic can exist in minor concentrations. Multiple reactions occur during winemaking and processing, resulting in changes in the concentration of these acids in wines. Two major groups of microorganisms are involved in such modifications: the wine yeasts, particularly strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which carry out alcoholic fermentation; and lactic acid bacteria, which commonly conduct malolactic fermentation. This review examines various such modifications that occur in the pre-existing acids of grape berries and in others that result from this microbial activity as a means to elucidate the link between microbial diversity and wine composition.
Highlights
Acidity plays a crucial role in many aspects of the winemaking process, since influences taste and mouthfeel perception, red color intensity, the solubility of tartrate and proteins, and the efficiency of fining [1]
In low acidic wines, tartaric acid is commonly used for pH adjustment [1,2], mostly because yeast and wine bacteria are unable to metabolize it, while most of the other organic acids can serve as substrates for such microorganisms, contributing themselves, favorably or unfavorably, to the quality of the wine
The major acids are synthetized and degraded by different metabolic pathways: l-malic acid is synthesized in fruit, through the carboxylation of phosphoenolpyruvate in cytosol, that originates oxaloacetate (OAA), which through the cytosolic NAD-dependent malate dehydrogenase (MDH) is reduced to malate [4]
Summary
Acidity plays a crucial role in many aspects of the winemaking process, since influences taste and mouthfeel perception, red color intensity, the solubility of tartrate and proteins, and the efficiency of fining [1]. The lower the pH is, the lower the susceptibility of wines to microbial spoilage. Acidity is dependent on several factors, such as grape-vine cultivar, climate conditions, and vineyards cultural practices. To assess the best time for harvesting, the amount of acids and sugars in grape berries should be perfectly balanced, always taking into account the type of wine to be produced. The major concern is the choice of a deacidification process, and generally, biological deacidification is the preferred approach. A good understanding of acids modification during the winemaking process is essential to make good wines
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