ABSTRACT
Despite the importance of strain compatibility, most of the enological strain selection studies are carried out separately on yeasts and lactic acid bacteria (LAB). In this study, the enological traits and interactions between native yeasts and LAB were studied. The H2 S and acetic acid production, growth rates at 8 °C, killer phenotypes, flocculation, and tolerance to must and wine inhibitors were determined for 25 Saccharomyces yeasts. The ability to grow under two wine-like conditions was also determined in 37 LAB (Oenococcus oeni and Lactobacillus plantarum). The yeast-LAB compatibility of selected strains was tested in a sequential scheme. Finally, microvinification trials were performed using two strains from each group to determine the efficiencies and quality parameters. The phenotypic characterization by the K-means and hierarchical clusters indicated a correlation between flocculation and optical density increase in simulated must and wine medium (r = -0.415) and grouped the prominent yeasts SR19, SR26, and N05 as moderately flocculent, killer, acid producing, and highly tolerant strains. Among the LAB, L. plantarum FU39 grew 230% more than the rest. With regard to interactions, LAB growth stimulation (14-fold on average) due to the previous action of yeasts, particularly of SR19, was observed. The final quality of all wines was similar, but yeast SR19 performed a faster and more efficient fermentation than did N05, Also L. plantarum FU39 fermented faster than did O. oeni VC32. The use of quantitative data, and multivariate analyses allowed an integrative approach to the selection of a compatible and efficient pair of enological yeast-LAB strains. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: An alternative scheme is proposed for the joint selection of yeast and lactic acid bacteria strains, which allows us to foresee the interactions that may occur between them during winemaking. The kinetic parameters, turbidimetrically measured and analyzed by multivariate methods, simplify the detection of outstanding selectable microorganisms. This methodology can be implemented at any cellar or even any fermentative industry that aims to select compatible yeast and lactic acid bacteria.
