IVAS 2022 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 IVAS 9 IVAS 2022 9 Profiling the Metschnikowia yeast populations in spontaneous fermentation of Amarone della Valpolicella

Profiling the Metschnikowia yeast populations in spontaneous fermentation of Amarone della Valpolicella

Abstract

The microbial diversity during spontaneous grape must fermentation has a determinant influence on the chemical composition and sensory properties of wine. Therefore, yeast diversity is an important target to better understand wine regionality. Hence, the aim of this study was to isolate, identify, and characterize the yeast core microbiota in grape must during the early stage of lab-scale spontaneous fermentation of withered grapes to produce Amarone della Valpolicella wine (Verona, Italy). At the end of the withering process, chosen grape bunches, mainly of Corvina and Corvinone varieties, were pressed and transferred to glass bottles in the laboratory for spontaneous fermentation (SF). To investigate the impact of grape washing on microbial removal, one batch of grapes was submitted to a washing step in aqueous solution (1% w/v citric acid) at the winery before pressing. Microbial composition was investigated during the first five days of fermentation, a stage known for greater variability of microorganisms, isolating yeast colonies from WL agar plates. Overall, 67 colonies were purified and the partial 26S rRNA gene sequencing allowed the identification of six different species, among which Metschnikowia spp. was prevalent. Indeed, 42 isolates of this genus were obtained, deriving from musts of washed grapes (22) and from non-washed grapes (20). Interestingly, the washing step did not impact on the presence of pulcherrimin-producing isolates. A more in-depth characterization was carried out on those 42 isolates, as Metschnikowia spp. are acknowledged to contribute to the diversity and complexity of wine taste. A strain level analysis was performed by means of fingerprinting profiles (primer (GTG)5) and phenotypic characterization (sulfite reductase, β-glucosidase, and esterase enzymatic activities). 11 genotypic profiles and 6 different phenotypic combinations were observed among the 42 isolates. Considering both approaches, it was possible to define the presence of 19 strains of Metschnikowia spp., most of them isolated only once, but some present in both washed and non-washed grapes, throughout the whole sampling period. Results obtained in this study shed light on the native Metschnikowia yeast community of washed and non-washed withered grapes, that is composed by diverse strains, and highlight that this biodiversity can be underestimated if only genotypic or phenotypic properties are investigated. This diversity represents a reservoir of strains with enological/pro technological significance that could be applied and combined to improve the sensory characteristics of wine and fermented beverages. 

DOI:

Publication date: June 27, 2022

Issue: IVAS 2022

Type: Poster

Authors

Martelli Francesco1, Checchia Ilaria1, Troiano Eleonora1, Gatto Veronica1, Leal Binati Renato1, Torriani Sandra1 and Felis Giovanna E.1

1Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, Italy

Contact the author

Keywords

non-Saccharomyces; microbial diversity; spontaneous fermentation; wine quality; grape washing

Tags

IVAS 2022 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

Short-term relationships between climate and grapevine trunk diseases in southern French vineyards

[lwp_divi_breadcrumbs home_text="IVES" use_before_icon="on" before_icon="||divi||400" module_id="publication-ariane" _builder_version="4.19.4" _module_preset="default" module_text_align="center" module_font_size="16px" text_orientation="center"...

Is wine terroir a valid concept under a changing climate?

The OIV[i] defines terroir as a concept referring to an area in which collective knowledge of the interactions between the physical and biological environment (soil, topography, climate, landscape characteristics and biodiversity features) and vitivinicultural practices develops, providing distinctive wine characteristics. Those are perceptible in the taste of wine, which drives consumer preference and, therefore, wine’s value in the marketplace. Geographical indications (GI) are recognized regulatory constructs formalizing and protecting the nexus between wine taste and the terroir generating it. Despite considering updates, GIs do not consider the nexus as a dynamic one and do not anticipate change, namely of climate. Being climate a fundamental feature of terroir, it strongly impacts wine characteristics, such as taste. According to IPCC[ii], many widespread, rapid and unprecedented changes of climate occurred, some being irreversible over hundreds to thousands of years. Climatic shifts and atmospheric-driven extreme events have been widely reported worldwide. Recent climatic trends are projected to strengthen in upcoming decades, whereas extremes are expected to increase in frequency and intensity, forcing wines away from GI definitions. Geographical shifts of viticultural suitability are projected, often moving into regions and countries different from current ones. Some authors propose adaptation in viticulture, winemaking and product innovation. We show evidence of climate changing wine characteristics in the Douro valley, home of 270-year-old Port GI. We discuss herein resist or adapt stances for when climate changes the nexus between terroir and wine characteristics. Using the MED-GOLD[iii] dashboard, a tool allowing for easy visual navigation of past and future climates, we demonstrate how policymakers can identify future moments, throughout the 21st century under different emission scenarios, when GI specifications will likely need updates (e.g., boundaries, varieties) to reduce climate-change impacts.

VINIoT – Precision viticulture service

The project VINIoT pursues the creation of a new technological vineyard monitoring service, which will allow companies in the wine sector in the SUDOE space to monitor plantations in real time and remotely at various levels of precision. The system is based on spectral images and an IoT architecture that allows assessing parameters of interest viticulture and the collection of data at a precise scale (level of grape, plant, plot or vineyard) will be designed. In France, three subjects were specifically developed: evaluation of maturity, of water stress, and detection of flavescence dorée. For the evaluation of maturity, it has been decided first to work at the berry scale in the laboratory, then at the bunch scale and finally in the vineyard. The acquisition of the spectral hyperstal image as well as the reference analyzes to measure the maturity, were carried out in the laboratory after harvesting the berries in a maturity monitoring context. This work focuses on a case study to predict sugar content of three different grape varieties: Syrah, Fer Servadou and Mauzac. A robust method called Roboost-PLSR, developed in the framework of this work (Courand et al., 2022), to improve prediction model performance was applied on spectra after the acquirement of hyperspectral images. Regarding the evaluation of water stress, to work with a significant variability in terms of water status, it has been worked first with potted plants under 2 different water regimes. The facilities have allowed the supervision of irrigation and micro-climatic conditions. The regression models on agronomic variables (stomatal conductance, water potential, …) are studied. To detect flavescence dorée, the experimental plan has consisted of work at leaf scale in the laboratory first, and then in the field. To detect the disease from hyper-spectral imaging, a combination of multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) and factorial discriminant analysis (FDA) was proposed. This strategy proved the potential towards the discrimination of healthy and infected leaves by flavescence dorée based on the use of hyperspectral images (Mas Garcia et al., 2021).

Influence of weather and climatic conditions on the viticultural production in Croatia

The research includes an analysis of the impact of weather conditions on phenological development of the vine and grape quality, through monitoring of four experimental cultivars (Chardonnay, Graševina, Merlot and Plavac mali) over two production years. In each experimental vineyard, which were evenly distributed throughout the regions of Slavonia and The Croatian Danube, Croatian Uplands,

How does aromatic composition of red wines, resulting from varieties adapted to climate change, modulate fruity aroma?

One of the major issues for the wine sector is the impact of climate change linked to the increasing temperatures which affects physicochemical parameters of the grape varieties planted in Bordeaux vineyard and consequently, the quality of wine. In some varietals, the attenuation of their fresh fruity character is accompanied by the accentuation of dried-fruit notes [1]. As a new adaptive strategy on climate change, some winegrowers have initiated changes in the Bordeaux blend of vine varieties [2]. This study intends to explore the fruitiness in wines produced from grape varieties adapted to the future climate of Bordeaux. 10 commercial single–varietal wines from 2018 vintage made from the main grape varieties in the Bordeaux region (Cabernet franc, Cabernet-Sauvignon and Merlot) as well as from indigenous grape varieties from the Mediterranean basin, such as Cyprus (Yiannoudin), France (Syrah), Greece (Agiorgitiko and Xinomavro), Portugal (Touriga Nacional) and Spain (Garnacha and Tempranillo), were selected among 19 samples using sensory descriptive analyses. Both sensory and instrumental analyses were coupled, to investigate their fruity aroma expression. For sensory analysis, samples were prepared from wine, using a semi preparative HPLC method which preserves wine aroma and isolates fruity characteristics in 25 specific fractions [3,4]. Fractions of interest with intense fruity aromas were sensorially selected for each wine by a trained panel and mixed with ethanol and microfiltered water to obtain fruity aromatic reconstitutions (FAR) [5]. A free sorting task was applied to categorize FAR according to their similarities or dissimilarities, and different clusters were highlighted. Instrumental analysis of the different FAR and wines demonstrated variations in their molecular composition. Results obtained from sensory and gas chromatography analysis enrich the knowledge of the fruity expression of red wines from “new” grape varieties opening up new perspectives in wine technology, including blending, thus providing new tools for producers.