Vasile Răzvan Filimon, Roxana Mihaela Filimon, Ancuța Nechita, Florin Dumitru Bora, Liliana Rotaru, Valeriu V. Cotea
ABSTRACT. Nowadays, consumers go towards products that provide food security and nutritional richness, consumption of highly alcoholic beverages not complying with these health-related requirements. This study aimed to obtain low-alcohol wines by performing sequential alcoholic fermentation of grape must (Muscat Ottonel). Thus, 11 commercial yeast strains (10 Saccharomyces cerevisiae and 1 Torulaspora delbrueckii) were preliminarily tested in anaerobic and semi-anaerobic conditions. Based on laboratory tests, grape must fermentation was sequentially initiated in semi-anaerobic conditions (loose cotton plugs; intermittent homogenization), with the T. delbrueckii strain (106 CFU/mL) and the addition of preliminarily selected S. cerevisiae strains (104 CFU/mL), to the consumption of 50% of the sugars in the must, to complete the fermentation. By applying this technology, dry wines were obtained with an alcohol content lower by up to 1.10% vol., but with a lower concentration of volatile terpenes, due to additional must oxidation. Also, semi-anaerobiosis enhanced glycerol synthesis by yeasts (< 35%), with a positive impact on the sensory characteristics of the wine. Keywords: alcoholic fermentation; glycerol; low-alcohol wine; non-Saccharomyces yeast; Torulaspora delbrueckii.
* Abstract published in Conference Programme dedicated to LIFE SCIENCES TODAY FOR TOMORROW
