Publication Date:
2016-03-06
Description:
In several grape varieties the dominating aryl alkyl alcohols found are the volatile group of phenylpropanoids related compounds, such as glycosylated benzyl and 2-phenylethyl alcohol, which contribute to wine with floral and fruity aroma after being hydrolyzed during fermentation. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is largely recognized as the main agent in grape must fermentation, but yeast strains belonging to other genera, including Hanseniaspora , are known to predominate during the first stages of alcoholic fermentation. Although non- Saccharomyces yeast strains have a well-recognized genetic diversity, the understanding of their impact on wine flavor richness is still incipient. In this work, eleven Hansenisapora vineae strains were used to ferment a chemically defined simil-grape fermentation medium, resembling the nutrient composition of grape juice but devoid of grape derived secondary metabolites. GC-MS analysis was performed to determine volatile compounds in the produced wines. Our results showed that benzyl alcohol, benzyl acetate, and 2- phenylethyl acetate are significantly synthetized by H . vineae strains. Levels of these compounds found in fermentations with eleven H . vineae different strains were 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than those measured in fermentations with a known S . cerevisiae wine strain. Implications on winemaking in response to the negative correlation of benzyl alcohol, benzyl acetate, and 2- phenylethyl acetate production with yeast assimilable nitrogen concentrations are discussed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Print ISSN:
0749-503X
Electronic ISSN:
1097-0061
Topics:
Biology
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