Evaluation of different Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains for red winemaking. Influence on the anthocyanin, pyranoanthocyanin and non-anthocyanin phenolic content and colour characteristics of wines

The possible industrial use of three previously-selected Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains (1EV, 2EV and 7EV) has been studied in musts derived from Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon. The anthocyanin, pyranoanthocyanin and non-anthocyanin phenolic content, and colour characteristics of the resulting wines have been compared to those of a commercial strain. Anthocyanins were the compounds most influenced by the yeast strain. Independently of the grape variety, wines derived from 2EV presented significantly higher anthocyanin concentrations than those derived from 1EV and 7EV, which presented similar contents. With the exception of hydroxycinnamic acids and derivatives, no particular influence of the yeast strain was observed on the remaining non-anthocyanin phenolic compounds (i.e, hydroxybenzoic acids and flavanols). Pyranoanthocyanins and metabolites resulting from the alcoholic fermentation such as tyrosol and tryptophol, seemed to be more influenced by the must composition and pH, and thus, by the grape variety, than by the yeast strain.