Influence of different Lachancea thermotolerans strains in wine acidity

Wine acidity is a parameter of great importance that influences different quality factors of the product such as biological stability or organoleptic characteristics. In the current context of climate change, which gives rise to wines with higher levels of ethanol and lower acidity, the biological acidification with yeast species such as Lachancea thermotolerans could be a solution.

In this work, the effect of the inoculation of different L. thermotolerans on the acidity of wine was studied. For this, microvinifications were carried out with pasteurized must and the evolution of fermentation was monitored by measuring the weight lost. The results were compared with a control fermented with a commercial strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Uvaferm VRB®, Lallemand). In the obtained wines, the most important oenological parameters were analysed.

Data showed differences in the fermentation kinetics among the strains of L. thermotolerans, and the commercial strain of S. cerevisiae was the fastest one. The wines inoculated with the L. thermotolerans strains presented significantly lower pH than the control wines and the production of lactic acid showed high variability among the strains, with concentrations ranging from 0,88 g/L to 4,19 g/L, which highlights the importance of strain selection processes. Overall, the results obtained in this work demonstrated the potential of the L. thermotolerans strains studied to be used as inoculums for biological acidification.