Wine is a highly complex mixture of compounds which largely define its appearance, aroma, flavour and mouth‐feel properties. The compounds responsible for those attributes have been derived in turn from three major sources, viz. grapes, microbes and, when used, wood (most commonly, oak). The grape‐derived compounds provide varietal distinction in addition to giving wine its basic structure. Thus, the floral monoterpenes largely define Muscat‐related wines and the fruity volatile thiols define Sauvignon‐related wines; the grape acids and tannins, together with alcohol, contribute the palate and mouth‐feel properties. Yeast fermentation of sugars not only produces ethanol and carbon dioxide but a range of minor but sensorially important volatile metabolites which gives wine its vinous character. These volatile metabolites, which comprise esters, higher alcohols, carbonyls, volatile fatty acids and sulfur compounds, are derived from sugar and amino acid metabolism. The malolactic fermentation, when needed, not only provides deacidification, but can enhance the flavour profile. The aroma and flavour profile of wine is the result of an almost infinite number of variations in production, whether in the vineyard or the winery. In addition to the obvious, such as the grapes selected, the winemaker employs a variety of techniques and tools to produce wines with specific flavour profiles. One of these tools is the choice of microorganism to conduct fermentation. During alcoholic fermentation, the wine yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae brings forth the major changes between grape must and wine: modifying aroma, flavour, mouth‐feel, colour and chemical complexity. The wine bacterium Oenococcus oeni adds its contribution to wines that undergo malolactic fermentation. Thus flavour‐active yeasts and bacterial strains can produce desirable sensory results by helping to extract compounds from the solids in grape must, by modifying grape‐derived molecules and by producing flavour‐active metabolites. This article reviews some of the most important flavour compounds found in wine, and their microbiological origin.

Yeasts are predominant in the ancient and complex process of winemaking. In spontaneous fermentations, there is a progressive growth pattern of indigenous yeasts, with the final stages invariably being dominated by the alcohol-tolerant strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This species is universally known as the 'wine yeast' and is widely preferred for initiating wine fermentations. The primary role of wine yeast is to catalyze the rapid, complete and efficient conversion of grape sugars to ethanol, carbon dioxide and other minor, but important, metabolites without the development of off-flavours. However, due to the demanding nature of modern winemaking practices and sophisticated wine markets, there is an ever-growing quest for specialized wine yeast strains possessing a wide range of optimized, improved or novel oenological properties. This review highlights the wealth of untapped indigenous yeasts with oenological potential, the complexity of wine yeasts' genetic features and the genetic techniques often used in strain development. The current status of genetically improved wine yeasts and potential targets for further strain development are outlined. In light of the limited knowledge of industrial wine yeasts' complex genomes and the daunting challenges to comply with strict statutory regulations and consumer demands regarding the future use of genetically modified strains, this review cautions against unrealistic expectations over the short term. However, the staggering potential advantages of improved wine yeasts to both the winemaker and consumer in the third millennium are pointed out.

The most mysterious aspect of wine is the endless variety of flavours that stem from a complex, completely non-lin ear system of interactions among many hundreds of compounds. In its widest sense, wine flavour refers to the over all impression of both aroma and taste components. Aroma is usually associated with odorous, volatile compounds; the bouquet of wine refers to the more complex flavour compounds which evolve as a result of fermentation, ele vage and ageing. With the exception of terpenes in the aromatic grape varieties and alkoxypyrazines in the herba ceous cultivars, perceived flavour is the result of absolute amounts and specific ratios of many of these interactive compounds, rather than being attributable to a single "impact" compound. Without underestimating the complex ity of these interactive effects or negating the definitive role played by the accumulated secondary grape metabo lites in the varietal character of wine, this review will focus mainly on the contribution of yeast fermentation to the sensorial quality of the final product. Yeast and fermentation conditions are claimed to be the most important fac tors influencing the flavours in wine. Both spontaneous and inoculated wine fermentations are affected by the diversity of yeasts associated with the vineyard and winery. During the primary alcoholic fermentation of sugar, the wine yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, together with other indigenous non-Saccharomyces species, produce ethanol, carbon dioxide and a number of by-products. Of these yeast-derived metabolites, the alcohols, acetates and C4-C8 1tfatty acid ethyl esters are found in the highest concentration in wine. While the volatile metabolites contribute to the fermentation bouquet ubiquitous to all young wines, the production levels of these by-products are variable and yeast strain specific. Therefore, this article also highlights the importance of untapping the hidden wealth of indige nous yeast species present on grapes, and the selection and genetic development of yeast starter culture strains with improved flavour profiles. In the future, some winemakers may prefer to use mixtures of indigenous yeast species and tailored S. cerevisiae strains as starter cultures to reflect the biodiversity and stylistic distinctiveness of a given region. This will help winemakers to fullfil the consumer's demand for individual wines with intact local character and to ensure the survival of wine's most enthralling aspect -its endless variety.

As they are responsible for the fruity character of fermented beverages, volatile esters constitute an important group of aromatic compounds in beer. In modern high-gravity fermentations, which are performed in tall cylindroconical vessels, the beer ester balance is often sub-optimal, resulting in a clear decrease in beer quality. Despite the intensive research aimed at unravelling the precise mechanism and regulation of ester synthesis, our current knowledge remains far from complete. However, a number of factors that influence flavor-active ester production have already been described, including wort composition, wort aeration and fermentor design. A thoughtful adaptation of these parameters allows brewers to steer ester concentrations and thus to control the fruity character of their beers. This paper reviews the current knowledge of the biochemistry behind yeast ester synthesis and discusses the different factors that allow ester formation to be controlled during brewery fermentation.

The contribution by the numerous grape-must-associated non-Saccharomyces yeasts to wine fermentation has been debated extensively. These yeasts, naturally present in all wine fermentations, are metabolically active and their metabolites can impact on wine quality. Although often seen as a source of microbial spoilage, there is substantial contrary evidence pointing to a positive contribution by these yeasts. The role of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in wine fermentation is therefore receiving increasing attention by wine microbiologists in Old and New World wine producing countries. Species that have been investigated for wine production thus far include those from the Candida, Kloeckera, Hanseniaspora, Zygosaccharomyces, Schizosaccharomyces, Torulaspora, Brettanomyces, Saccharomycodes, Pichia and Williopsis genera. In this review the use and role of non-Saccharomyces yeast in wine production is presented and research trends are discussed.