Influence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lachancea thermotolerans co-inoculation on volatile profile in fermentations of a must with a high sugar content

The aim of this work was to evaluate how the use of mixed cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lachancea thermotolerans indigenous yeast strains influences the volatile composition of wine. Multivariate curve resolution (MCR) method has been applied to data analysis. Five fermentation trials were carried out: three co-inoculated with L. thermotolerans: S. cerevisiae, at the ratio of 50:1, 20:1 and 5:1 respectively, and two with a pure culture of each strain. A must from sun-dried Pedro Ximenez grapes was employed. Volatile composition was determined by dual sequential stir bar sorptive extraction, followed by GC-MS analysis. MCR provided 171 peaks. Results in co-inoculation fermentations revealed that the majority compounds obtained in each case followed the same trend as that observed for the pure culture of the strain that was present in a higher proportion. Finally, 50:1 and 20:1 seemed to be the best proportions to obtain a wine with a quality volatile profile.