Test of four generations of Saccharomyces cerevisiae concerning their effect on antioxidant phenolic compounds in wine

The aim of this research was to study the behaviour of 70 different Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains on the antioxidant compounds level in wines by RP-HPLC/DAD. Micro-winemaking was carried out in Cabernet Sauvignon grape must testing eight Italian wild strains, 12 derived monosporal cultures, 15 hybrids obtained by monosporal spore-to-spore conjugation, 34 monosporal cultures derived from the hybrids, and Zymaflore F15 as control strain. At the end of the winemaking, the wines show significant differences concerning their antioxidant levels in relation to the strain used. Catechin and epicatechin were the principal antioxidant compounds for all the samples. In particular, the catechin content varied from 0 to 79.53 mg/L, while epicatechin varied from 0 to 70.51 mg/L. The vanillic acid level varied from 3.10 to 12.71 mg/L. Gallic and caffeic acids varied, respectively, from 2.54 to 6.77 mg/L and from 0 to 10.63 mg/L. The rutin and quercetin content varied from 0 to 11.77 mg/L and from 0 to 2.09 mg/L, while trans-resveratrol level varied from 0 to 0.85 mg/L. Data validate the main role that wine yeast selection plays to enhance red wine content in antioxidant phenolic compounds.