Abstract:
Two wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains (Sa and Sb) were tested for white wine
production using Assyrtiko grape of Santorini. A third commercial Saccharomyces strain was also
studied for comparison reasons. Two concentrations of yeast extract and diammonium phosphate
(DAP) were added to the must (150 and 250 mg/L) in order to evaluate the effect of nitrogen content
on the final wine quality. Analytical methods (HPLC, GC-MS) and sensory analysis were employed
to assess the quality of the wines. Fermentation kinetics were monitored throughout the experiment.
By the second day of fermentation, all strains showed an approximate consumption of 70% of amino
acids. Differences among strains were observed regarding inorganic nitrogen requirements. Sb
strain resulted in higher concentrations of higher alcohols (1.9-fold) and ketones (5.6-fold) and lower
concentrations of esters (1.2-fold) compared to the control, while Sa strain resulted in higher content
of fatty acids (2.1-fold). Both indigenous strains scored better results in aroma quality, body and
acidity compared to control. The overall evaluation of the data highlights the great potential of the
indigenous S. cerevisiae strains as fermentation starters providing promising results in the sector of
terroir wines.
