Quality and Composition of Airen Wines Fermented by Sequential Inoculation of Lachancea thermotolerans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae

This study evaluates the influence of Lachancea thermotolerans on low-acidity Airen grape must from the south of Spain. For this purpose, combined fermentations with Lachancea thermotolerans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were compared to a single fermentation by S. cerevisiae. Results of all developed analyses showed significant differences in several parameters including acidity, population growth kinetics, concentration of amino acids, volatile and non-volatile compounds, and sensorial parameters. The Airen wine quality increased mainly due to the acidification by L. thermotolerans. The acidification process caused a lactic acid increment of 3.18 g/L and a reduction of 0.22 in pH compared to the control fermentation, performed by S. cerevisiae.