Fitness of Selected Indigenous Saccharomyces cerevisiae Strains for White Piceno DOC Wines Production

Abstract

Verdicchio, Passerina and Pecorino are native grape cultivars of the Marche region, cultivated in winemaking area of Ascoli Piceno, in central Italy. In particular, Passerina and Pecorino varieties have been abandoned and forgotten for a long time and only in recent years are rediscovered and appreciated. Here, two indigenous yeasts, isolated from grapes of Verdicchio and Pecorino varieties and identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, were evaluated and compared with commercial starters cultures widely used for the vinification of Piceno DOC (Denominazione Origine Controllata) area at industrial scale. A polyphasic approach, including yeast genotyping, phenotypic traits evaluation and fermentative performance in natural grape juice, was applied to evaluate the fitness of strains. Using interdelta primers, the two selected cultures showed a unique profile while the results of microvinifications showed that both indigenous strains exhibited good enological parameters and fermentative aptitude comparable with that shown by commercial strains used as controls. The profile of volatile compounds of wines of indigenous strains was characterized by a significant high production of isoamyl acetate and ethyl esters at 22 • C and phenyl ethyl acetate at 16 • C. Overall results indicate that the two indigenous selected yeasts showed a genetic and phenotypic specificity and they could be profitably used to characterize the Piceno DOC area wines.

Effects of Pure and Mixed Autochthonous Torulaspora delbrueckii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae on Fermentation and Volatile Compounds of Narince Wines

“…In recent years, there is increasing interest among wine-researchers and winemakers to select local strains with the aim to select starter cultures that are potentially well-adapted to a specific grape must reflecting the biodiversity of a given region, which supports the notion that specific autochthonous yeast strains can be associated with a terroir. Many studies state that production of wines by autochthonous yeasts isolated from its terroir can contribute to the regional character of the wine, especially the wine flavor [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. In the present study, autochthonous S. cerevisiae and T. delbrueckii yeasts previously isolated from the spontaneous fermentation of Narince grapes were used.…”

Reduction of Sulfur Compounds through Genetic Improvement of Native Saccharomyces cerevisiae Useful for Organic and Sulfite-Free Wine

“…However, this feature needs to be further investigated. In this regard, several studies described the important role of native yeasts to confer a specific aromatic imprinting to the wine recognizable with the territory of production, as a biogeography signature of the yeasts used [8,[42][43][44]. The latter aspect represents a valorization to their use as new fermentative starter strains in organic wine production.…”

The Influence of Selected Autochthonous Saccharomyces cerevisiae Strains on the Physicochemical and Sensory Properties of Narince Wines

“…The ability to produce these secondary compounds depends on the yeast species and yeast strains. Therefore, it is important to determine the dynamics of fermentation populations during fermentation, since the metabolism of yeasts has an effect on the chemical and sensory properties of the wine [4,6].…”