Microbial Resources and Enological Significance: Opportunities and Benefits

Abstract

Among the innovative trends in the wine sector, the continuous exploration of enological properties associated with wine microbial resources represents a cornerstone driver of quality improvement. Since the advent of starter cultures technology, the attention has been focused on intraspecific biodiversity within the primary species responsible for alcoholic fermentation (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and, subsequently, for the so-called ‘malolactic fermentation’ (Oenococcus oeni). However, in the last decade, a relevant number of studies proposed the enological exploitation of an increasing number of species (e.g., non-Saccharomyces yeasts) associated with spontaneous fermentation in wine. These new species/strains may provide technological solutions to specific problems and/or improve sensory characteristics, such as complexity, mouth-feel and flavors. This review offers an overview of the available information on the enological/protechnological significance of microbial resources associated with winemaking, summarizing the opportunities and the benefits associated with the enological exploitation of this microbial potential. We discuss proposed solutions to improve quality and safety of wines (e.g., alternative starter cultures, multistrains starter cultures) and future perspectives.

Microbial Resources and Innovation in the Wine Production Sector

“…non-Saccharomyces yeasts combined with S. cerevisiae in controlled mixed fermentations), mimicking the natural diversity associated with spontaneous fermentation, can be recommended to improve wine (Comitini et al, 2011;Ciani & Comitini, 2015;Campbell-Sills et al, 2016;Shekhawat et al, 2017). In this regard, the non-Saccharomyces species, Torulaspora delbrueckii, Metschnikowia pulcherrima, Candida zemplinina and Hanseniaspora uvarum, are cited and intensively investigated the most (Comitini et al, 2011;Medina et al, 2012;Masneuf-Pomarede et al, 2015;Petruzzi et al, 2017a), while strains belonging to the species Lachancea thermotolerans, Metschnikowia fructicola, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, T. delbrueckii, Kluyveromyces thermotolerans, Pichia kluyveri and M. pulcherrima are already commercialised Petruzzi et al, 2017a).…”

“…Numerous studies on the influence of nonSaccharomyces yeast in winemaking have been undertaken on the oenological/technological relevance of these yeast species (Bely et al, 2008;Comitini et al, 2011;Sadoudi et al, 2012;Tristezza et al, 2016b;Petruzzi et al, 2017a). These studies demonstrated that non-Saccharomyces species could have both beneficial and negative influences on the wine fermentation characteristics, thus indicating the need to select strains with optimal oenological properties (Bely et al, 2008;Comitini et al, 2011;De Benedictis et al, 2011;Medina et al, 2012;Lu et al, 2015;Petruzzi et al, 2017a).…”

“…These studies demonstrated that non-Saccharomyces species could have both beneficial and negative influences on the wine fermentation characteristics, thus indicating the need to select strains with optimal oenological properties (Bely et al, 2008;Comitini et al, 2011;De Benedictis et al, 2011;Medina et al, 2012;Lu et al, 2015;Petruzzi et al, 2017a). Indeed, several non-Saccharomyces species have been proven to positively modify the wine chemical composition, contributing especially to the sensory properties of wines (Jolly et al, 2014;Oro et al, 2014;Lu et al, 2015;Petruzzi et al, 2017a).…”

“…These studies demonstrated that non-Saccharomyces species could have both beneficial and negative influences on the wine fermentation characteristics, thus indicating the need to select strains with optimal oenological properties (Bely et al, 2008;Comitini et al, 2011;De Benedictis et al, 2011;Medina et al, 2012;Lu et al, 2015;Petruzzi et al, 2017a). Indeed, several non-Saccharomyces species have been proven to positively modify the wine chemical composition, contributing especially to the sensory properties of wines (Jolly et al, 2014;Oro et al, 2014;Lu et al, 2015;Petruzzi et al, 2017a). However, the growth of certain non-Saccharomyces strains in grape musts can cause the development of antagonistic interactions among yeasts and lead to an excessive accumulation of several undesirable metabolites, such as acetic acid, ethyl acetate, aldehyde and acetoin (Medina et al, 2012;Ciani et al, 2016;Liu et al, 2017), and other phenotypic properties in some cases also characteristic to S. cerevisiae strains from alcoholic beverages .…”

“…However, S. cerevisiae is not the only yeast involved in the process. Selected specific non-Saccharomyces species have been proven to positively modify the chemical composition of the wine, contributing especially to the sensory properties of wines (Bely et al, 2008;Comitini et al, 2011;Liu et al, 2016;Petruzzi et al, 2017a). In contrast, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) perform the malolactic fermentation (MLF).…”