Microbial biofilms in oenology

Abstract

Biofilms are sessile microbial communities whose lifestyle confers specific properties. In recent years, they have attracted great interest in many research fields. Biofilms are indeed the cause of recurrent industrial problems, while microbial contaminations can finally impact the quality of a finished product or human health. However, these same properties can be interesting for several applications. Oenology is no exception, whether for potential damages to wine quality caused by biofilms or their beneficial effects through winemaking steps, from grape to bottle. This paper reviews yeast and bacterial biofilms in oenology, their nature, their negative effects, as well as the applications linked to their presence in wine and the mechanisms involved in their formation.