• Universitat de València
• Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

• Agustín Aranda Fernández

Yeasts are microorganisms responsible for the production of fermented beverages and foods (wine, beer or bread), as well as additives and nutritional supplements. Improving the fermentation processes in which wine yeasts participate is essential for the oenological industry as they are key in their contribution to the quality and stability of wines.

Wine is a complex product whose components must be balanced. Glycerol is a compound that contributes to the body of a wine. However, attempts to increase its production by yeasts often lead to an increase in volatile acidity, in the form of acetic acid, a compound with a markedly negative character for the final product. Reducing the amount of acetic acid is a trend in modern oenology.

On the other hand, in the wine fermentation process, the bulk of the metabolism of the sugars present in the must is dedicated to the production of ethanol. Global warming results in an increase in the sugar content of grape must, with a consequent increase in ethanol levels.

Researchers at the Institute for Integrative Systems Biology, a joint centre of the Universitat de València and the Spanish National Research Council, have described a new method for obtaining yeast strains with improved wine-making properties. The yeast strains thus obtained have been validated in a tasting of the organoleptic properties of the wine produced with them.

The main application of this invention is in the field of oenology, specifically in the wine-making process to achieve the following objectives:

• Obtaining new wine yeast strains with the desired properties.
• Obtaining wine with improved properties: lower alcohol and acetic acid concentration and higher glycerol production.
• Vinification of grape must for its use in wine, champagne, cava, vermouth and other fermentations.
• Obtaining new yeast strains with new organoleptic characteristics for its use in other fermented beverages (beer, cider, etc.).

The main advantages provided by the invention are:

• Yeast strains with proven improved wine-making properties.
• New simple method to obtain new yeast strains for different industrial applications.

• Patent applied