Quality and Composition of Airén Wines Fermented by Sequential Inoculation of Lachancea thermotolerans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract

This study evaluates the influence of Lachancea thermotolerans on low-acidity Airén grape must from the south of Spain. For this purpose, combined fermentations with Lachancea thermotolerans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were compared to a single fermentation by S. cerevisiae. Results of all developed analyses showed significant differences in several parameters including acidity, population growth kinetics, concentration of amino acids, volatile and non-volatile compounds, and sensorial parameters. The Airén wine quality increased mainly due to the acidification by L. thermotolerans. The acidification process caused a lactic acid increment of 3.18 g/L and a reduction of 0.22 in pH compared to the control fermentation, performed by S. cerevisiae.

Keywords

• Airén wine
• Lachancea thermotolerans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae
• l-lactic and pyruvic acid
• glycerol and ethanol
• amino acids and biogenic amines
• combined fermentation