Use of a flor yeast strain for the second fermentation of sparkling wines: Effect of endogenous CO2 over-pressure on the volatilome

Abstract

Saccharomyces cerevisiae flor yeast is used for the first time in sparkling wine-making. Twenty-six oenological variables and fifty-three volatile metabolites are quantified in the middle (P = 3 bar) and at the end (P = 6 bar) of the second fermentation, carried out in open and closed bottles. A heat-map of volatiles and the fingerprints obtained for ten chemical families and ten odorant series visualize the changes for each condition. Terpenes, fatty acids and volatile phenols increased their contents by pressure effect at the end of the study by 25.0, 7.8 and 2.2%, respectively. The remaining families decrease between 17.4% and 30.1% for furanic compounds and esters in the same stage. A Principal Component Analysis established that nine volatiles are mainly affected by pressure and five by fermentation stage. The use of ethanol-tolerant flor yeasts constitutes an innovative procedure for the enhancement of the sparkling wines diversification.