Trebbiano wine produced by using Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains endowed with β-glucosidase activity

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the ability of four strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae endowed with beta-glucosidase activity to improve the Trebbiano wine aroma profiles and quality. In particular, the strain effects on fermentation kinetics, sugar and acid concentrations, volatile aroma compound profiles, colour, and catechins parameters were evaluated. The four strains of S. cerevisiae were tested in comparison with a commercial strain. The results showed that the four wild strains had high fermentation rates associated with an efficient conversion of grape sugars to alcohol. In addition, each strain imparted specific features to the wine. In fact, significant differences in relation to the inoculated strain were observed mainly in residual sugar content, succinic and tartaric acid concentrations, and volatile aroma compound profiles as esters, higher alcohols, and terpenes. In particular, the products obtained with S. cerevisiae BV12 and BV14 were characterized by lowest residual sugar contents. Moreover, BV14 and AS15 produced the wines with the highest concentrations of succinic and tartaric acids. Also, the wine obtained with the strains AS11 and AS15 showed high concentrations of monoterpenes and particularly linalool and geraniol having a strong sensorial impact. Furthermore, the wine obtained with the strain AS11 showed a minor decrease in colour intensity, probably due to the highest content of total SO2. These results outlined the importance of the strain selection, tailor made based on the wine feature and the wine making process adopted.