Enological suitability of a yeast strain indigenous to Castilla-La Mancha for red wine production
Abstract
The suitability of an indigenous yeast strain, selected in Castilla-La Mancha by the Instituto de la Vid y el Vino de Castilla-La Mancha (IVICAM), both from a microbiological and an enological point of view wes studied in order to evaluate its potential use as starter of the alcoholic fermentation for red wine production.
Several grape musts of the varieties Cencibel and Garnacha were inoculated with the selected strain (L6) and it was proven that this strain was capable of dominating other yeasts, being thus responsible for the fermentative process. As for the aroma composition, a lower content of volatile phenols was identified in the wines produced by the selected strain, compared to the wine produced by the indigenous strain. Moreover, a panel of tasters positively scored the wines produced by the selected strain. Finally, it was proven that the L6 strain is genetically stable under different stress conditions.