Yeast influence on volatile composition of wines

Nine Saccharomyces cerevisiae and four Saccharomyces bayanus strains used i n the production of Trebbiano wine were examined. The aim of this study is to evaluate the different abilities of various yeast strains in wine-making . The possibility of yeast discrimination on the basis of their volatile pr oduction is another possibility. Wine chemical analyses showed statisticall y significant differences depending on the yeast strain used. Some compound s such as 2-phenylethahol, 2-phenethyl acetate, ethyl lactate, 3-ethoxyprop anol, and, to a lesser extent, diethyl succinate and propionic acid charact erized examined Saccharomyces bayanus yeasts. Moreover, these strains did n ot produce any undesirable compounds, such as acetic acid and sulfur anhydr ide. For these reasons and because they synthesized malic acid, they could be more suitable for white wine production. The other yeasts showed great d ifferences, which are difficult to correlate with the strain. However, some strains had peculiar characteristics, such as an uncommonly high concentra tion of n-propanol and 3-ethoxypropanol.