Formation of ethyl acetate and isoamyl acetate by various species of wine yeasts

Formation of ethyl acetate and isoamyl acetate by seven wine yeast strains in a model grape juice was examined during fermentation. The amounts in which the two esters are produced during fermentation were found to depend on the particular yeast strain, its specific production rate and its rate of survival in the wine. Kloeckera apiculata exhibited the highest ability for acetate formation. Hansenula subpelliculosa, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Torulaspora delbrueckii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae produced intermediate levels and Pichia membranaefaciens and Candida guilliermondii very low levels of the two esters measured in this study. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.