The influence of the yeast and type of culture on the volatile composition of wines fermented without sulfur dioxide

Abstract

The influence of pure, mixed, and sequential cultures of Kloeckera apiculata, Torulaspora delbrueckii, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the volatile composition of wines obtained without addition of sulfur dioxide was studied. Major volatile, minor volatile, and fatty acid composition were analyzed by using micropacked columns. Application of principal component analysis and cluster analysis to the data showed that differences between flavor compounds are mainly due to the yeasts and the type of culture used for fermentation. Saccharomyces cerevisiae produces the largest amounts of medium chain length carboxylic acids and ethyl esters. It is also shown that the growth of K. apiculata and T. delbrueckii prior to S. cerevisiae gives rise to wines whose volatile compositions are significantly different from those obtained by using only S. cerevisiae.