Association between Grape Yeast Communities and the Vineyard Ecosystems

Abstract

The grape yeast biota from several wine-producing areas, with distinct soil types and grapevine training systems, was assessed on five islands of Azores Archipelago, and differences in yeast communities composition associated with the geographic origin of the grapes were explored. Fifty-seven grape samples belonging to the Vitis vinifera grapevine cultivars Verdelho dos Açores (Verdelho), Arinto da Terceira (Arinto) and Terrantez do Pico (Terrantez) were collected in two consecutive years and 40 spontaneous fermentations were achieved. A total of 1710 yeast isolates were obtained from freshly crushed grapes and 1200 from final stage of fermentations. Twenty-eight species were identified, Hanseniaspura uvarum, Pichia terricola and Metschnikowia pulcherrima being the three most representative species isolated. Candida carpophila was encountered for the first time as an inhabitant of grape or wine-associated environments. In both sampling years, a higher proportion of H. uvarum in fresh grapes from Verdelho cultivar was observed, in comparison with Arinto cultivar. Qualitatively significant differences were found among yeast communities from several locations on five islands of the Archipelago, particularly in locations with distinctive agro-ecological compositions. Our results are in agreement with the statement that grape-associated microbial biogeography is non-randomly associated with interactions of climate, soil, cultivar, and vine training systems in vineyard ecosystems. Our observations strongly support a possible linkage between grape yeast and wine typicality, reinforcing the statement that different viticultural terroirs harbor distinctive yeast biota, in particular in vineyards with very distinctive environmental conditions.

Isolation and Identification of the Indigenous Yeast Population during Spontaneous Fermentation of Isabella (Vitis labrusca L.) Grape Must

“…It is remarkable that these two yeast species are present on Vitis labrusca L. grapes from two such distant regions in the world (i.e., Azores archipelago and Argentina), corresponding to different geographic regions and production conditions in their respective vineyards. Moreover, C. azymoides and P. cecembensis were not found in grape musts from Vitis vinifera L. vineyards in the Azores archipelago (Drumonde-Neves et al, 2017). In our study, we did not find Barnettozyma californica , an additional potential specific yeast from Vitis labrusca L. grapes (Drumonde-Neves et al, 2016).…”

“…Although some of these yeast species have been described in winemaking ecosystems (i.e., H. uvarum, S. bacillaris, T. delbrueckii, H. vineae, I. hanoiensis ) (Zott et al, 2008; Albertin et al, 2014; Padilla et al, 2016a; Drumonde-Neves et al, 2017), other species such as C. azymoides, C. californica and P. cecembensis , have not previously been isolated from Vitis vinifera L. grapes. This observation reinforces the interest in searching for wine yeast diversity in ecological niches alternative to the traditional Vitis vinifera L. environments (Combina et al, 2005; Knight et al, 2015; Capece et al, 2016; Vigentini et al, 2016).…”

“…This could be explained by the fortuitous presence of rare yeast species on Vitis labrusca L. grapes from the Azores Archipelago, appearing because of particular environmental influences and/or vineyard and/or winery production conditions. C. azymoides and P. cecembensis , however, were not present on Vitis vinifera L. grape musts from the same geographic location (Azores Archipelago) (Drumonde-Neves et al, 2017). Moreover, the finding of C. azymoides and P. cecembensis during spontaneous fermentation of Isabella grapes harvested in Argentina strongly suggests that at least these two yeast species are associated with Vitis labrusca L. grapes, independently of their geographic origin and/or the associated human interventions.…”

Microbial and Chemical Diversity of Traditional Non-Cereal Based Alcoholic Beverages of Sub-Saharan Africa

“…This is probably because yeasts are naturally found on the tree barks, leaves, and skins of fruits [69]. Grapes for example, harbor a number of fermenting yeasts on their skins such as Kloeckera spp., Hanseniaspora spp., Candida spp., Pichia spp., Kluyveromyce spp., Metschnikowia spp., and Cryptococcus spp.…”

“…Grapes for example, harbor a number of fermenting yeasts on their skins such as Kloeckera spp., Hanseniaspora spp., Candida spp., Pichia spp., Kluyveromyce spp., Metschnikowia spp., and Cryptococcus spp. [67,70,71] with Hanseniaspora uvarum, Pichia terricola, and Metschnikowia pulcherrima being the three most representative species isolated to date [69]. The most well-known and best fermenting yeast, S. cerevisiae, however, is found in very low frequencies on some fruits such as the grape skins, and in vineyards soils [72].…”