Mixed fermentations with Starmerella bacillaris (synonym Candida zemplinina) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae for the reduction of the alcohol in the wine.

In recent years there is an increasing global interest for wines with low alcohol content, mainly due to the global climate change and the consumer preferences for wine styles with increased grape maturity. The production of this style of wine is much difficult than previous thought, mainly due to the high sugar concentration present in the grapes at harvest, specially in the warm climate regions. The study presented here aims to evaluate the potential application of Starmerella bacillaris (synonym Candida zemplinina) in combination with Saccharomyces cerevisiae in mixed (co-inoculated and sequentially) inoculated cultures in order to understand better the mechanism of co-habitation between these species and achieve the objective described above. The analyses revealed a decrease of the alcohol and an increase of the glycerol content when the S. cerevisiae was inoculated with 48h delay. Moreover, when S. cerevisiae was inoculated more that 24 h after Starm. bacillaris, this could guarantee a higher proliferation of the latter. However, in this case Starm. bacillaris consume nearly all the free primary amino acids from the must pointing out a careful nitrogen management to allow S. cerevisiae to perform the fermentation. The results of this study appear promising since the use of Starm. bacillaris together with S. cerevisiae in mixed culture fermentations could be considered as a tool to control the production of the alcohol in the wine.