<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Aim</strong>: Evaluating <em>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</em> strains for their color adsorption aptitude by using <em>Grape Skin Agar</em> in order to protect the phenolic compounds responsible for the color of red wines; proposing a suitable and innovative medium to be included among the tests currently used for wine strain selection.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Methods and results</strong>: The strains were identified by fluorescence-Internal transcribed spacer (f-ITS) PCR and PCR-Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), confirmed by sequencing of ITS fragment, and tested for the parameter “aptitude to adsorb polyphenolic compounds” on the innovative chromogenic medium <em>Grape Skin Agar</em>. Laboratory-scale fermentations were carried out in must with and without SO<sub>2</sub>. The SO<sub>2</sub> determined a decrease in tint, color intensity, and total polyphenol content. The strains M2V CHU7 and M2F CHU9 produced wines with the lowest color intensity, with and without SO<sub>2</sub>, respectively. By contrast, the strains M2F VUP4 and M2V CHU1, with and without SO<sub>2</sub>, respectively, produced wines with the highest color intensity, and therefore, they could improve the production of red wines.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Conclusion</strong>: The study highlights great variability and significant differences among strains in regard to their aptitude to modulate wine color. <em>Grape Skin Agar </em>should be a useful medium to be included in the selection tests currently performed for <em>S. cerevisiae</em> strains.</p><strong>Significance and impact of the study</strong>: Our study confirms that yeast strains can modulate the chromatic properties of red wines according to their aptitude to adsorb polyphenols, as tested on <em>Grape Skin Agar</em>. Combining colored polyphenolic compound adsorption assay on Petri plate and laboratory-scale fermentation trials provides an effective way to test yeasts for their capability to improve the chromatic quality of the wines.