Application of Non-Saccharomyces Yeasts to Wine-Making Process

Winemaking is a complex process involving the interaction of different microbes. The two main groups of microorganisms involved are yeasts and bacteria. Non-Saccharomyces yeasts are present on the grape surface and also on the cellar. Although these yeasts can produce spoilage, these microorganisms could also possess many interesting technological properties which could be exploited in food processing. It has been shown that some of the metabolites that these yeasts produce may be beneficial and contribute to the complexity of the wine and secrete enzymes providing interesting wine organoleptic characteristics. On the other hand, non-Saccharomyces yeasts are the key to obtain wines with reduced ethanol content. Among secreted enzymes, β-glucosidase activity is involved in the release of terpenes to wine, thus contributing to varietal aroma while β-xylosidase enzyme is also interesting in industry due to its involvement in the degradation of hemicellulose by hydrolyzing its main heteroglycan (xylan).