A metabolomic study of the effect of yeast strain (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces kudriavzevii) on the development of varietal wine aroma

Abstract

Wine varietal aroma develops from grape aroma precursors through molecular rearrangements, hydrolysis reactions, and yeast enzymatic activity. Although yeast strains are known to modulate aroma formation during fermentation, their influence on precursors and aroma evolution during ageing remains insufficiently understood. Four Saccharomyces strains with different aroma-modulating capacities were studied: three S. cerevisiae strains and one S. kudriavzevii strain. Each strain fermented a dealcoholised mistelle prepared from equal proportions of six grape varieties. The resulting wines underwent accelerated anoxic ageing at 75 °C for 0, 12, 24, and 96 h. Major and minor aroma compounds, polyfunctional mercaptans, and the non-hydrolysed precursor fraction were analysed using GC-FID, GC-MS, HPLC-MS, and UHPLC-QTOF-MS. Significant yeast-dependent differences were found in most fermentative volatiles and in precursor-derived aromas, including vinylphenols, polyfunctional mercaptans, rose oxide, ethyl leucate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl dihydrocinnamate, γ-lactones, massoia lactone, and some volatile phenols. Effects on norisoprenoids were limited and no effect was observed for vanilla derivatives. Yeast strain therefore influences both initial volatile formation and the evolution of some precursor-derived aromas during ageing.

References

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 764364. The LAAE acknowledges support from the Government of Aragón (T29) and the European Social Fund. B.G.M. acknowledges a predoctoral fellowship from the Department of Science, Universities and Knowledge Society of the Government of Aragón (2024 call). The authors thank María Savirón Sánchez from the Mass Spectrometry Service of the University of Zaragoza.