The use of selected yeasts for wine-making has clear advantages over t
he traditional spontaneous fermentation. We have designed a simple and
effective procedure to select wine yeasts for industrial use based on
technological characteristics of the yeasts. The procedure consists o
f just two steps. The first is a preselection based on resistance to s
ulfur dioxide, killer phenotype, growth at high temperature and low fo
am production. The second is a selection based on volatile acidity, et
hanol production, and residual sugars. Most of the selected yeasts (66
.6%) produced wines of greater acceptance than those from spontaneous
fermentation. (C) 1997 Academic Press Limited.