Volatile compounds produced in wine by Colombian wild Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains

Abstract

Some tropical Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, isolated from Champús, a traditional Colombian low alcoholic fermented beverage, were characterised in order to select yeasts for aroma improvement in wine. H 2S production, volatile acidity, β-glucosidase activity, higher alcoholesters and terpenes production were evaluated in this study. These tropical strains were characterised by a considerable production of ethyl hexanoate, 2-phenylethanol, 2-phenylethyl acetate, and geraniol, detected by SPME-GC-MS. Odor activity values were calculated to analyse the effects of yeasts strains on wine aroma, resulting in six distinctive wine groups, as evidenced by discriminant analysis. These results suggest that Saccharomyces strains isolated from Champús can be an important source for new tropical yeast biotypes with potential winemaking applications, producing a wide range of aroma compounds.