Use of non-Saccharomyces yeast strains coupled with ultrasound treatment as a novel technique to accelerate ageing on lees of red wines and its repercussion in sensorial parameters

Abstract

Two novel techniques: use of non-Saccharomyces strains coupled with ultrasound treatment were tested to see their efficiency for accelerating ageing on lees. The combined effects of the techniques were tested to see their impacts on the polysaccharide release and on the organoleptic properties of red wine. Release of polysaccharides was analysed by HPLC-RI. Anthocyanins and aroma compounds were analysed by using HPLC-PDAD/ESI-MS and GC-FID respectively. Also colour and total phenolic index were recorded periodically along the experiment. The non-Saccharomyces strains of Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Saccharomycodes ludwigii and Dekkera bruxellensis showed better results with regards to the amount of polysaccharide release compared to the control Saccharomyces strains. Results showed that ultrasound treatment along with abrasive addition is a reliable technique for shortening the ageing on lees process by strongly increasing the concentration of polysaccharides released into the wine after only two weeks treatment and without adversely affecting the sensorial quality of the wine.