Inoculating with Yeast to Acidify VIN Inoculating with Yeast to Acidify
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Extract of La Vigne december 2019 issue © LALLEMAND ŒNOLOGIE 2019 Inoculating with Yeast to Acidify VIN Inoculating with Yeast to Acidify A non-Saccharomyces yeast can acidify white and red musts by converting a small amount of sugar into lactic acid at the start of alcoholic fermentation. This is a new way to acidify wine. thas become common practice in mended waiting 48 hours”, admitted the oe- the south of France to acidify nologist.“But at least we saw that it worked musts, oftenwithtartaricacid – well! Onceitstarted, it didn’t stopuntil rea- I ching an alcohollevel of 8°,”headded. thecheapest solution.But last year, an alternative appeared in the form For their first trial in white must, Musyt and of Laktia. This non-Saccharomyces yeast Porteclosely monitoredthe tank. They soon convertsafew gramsofsugar into lactic noticed that Laktia was heavily acidifying acid at the start of alcoholic fermenta- the medium.Sulphiting to stop it was out of LAKTIA, anon-Saccharomyces yeast, is apromising natural acidifier. ©GUTNER tion (AF),before disappearing. “It’s a the question since AF was in progress. “The more natural acidification,” saidLouis- only method was cold treatment. We cooled the Michel Musyt, who is in charge of Châ- tank to around 14-15°C. Thisstopped Laktia teau Carbon d’Artigues in the Graves but not the Saccharomyces, which continued to vintageinits ownright,weblended it,” she wineregion. ferment,” said Porte. said. Mas de la Chevalière produces10,000 In total, Laktia produced 9g/L of lactic acid, hL of Chardonnay ayear. Marquier has not which is ahuge amount !There is amarked repeated the experiment this year: “The cost u IN WHITE MUSTS difference in taste. “The Sémillon made with of this technique is not insignificant (see in- Laktia has amore lemony flavor. It is much sert).But it’saninteresting alternative. I’m As aBasis forBlending tighter but too acidic to be of interest on its thinkingabout identifying somehigher quality own. We are going to blend it with afuller-bo- parcels to try it again.” Advised by Marie-Laurence Porte of the Eno- died Sémillon to obtain amore balanced sens LaboratoryinCadillac,Louis-Michel blend,” saidMusyt. In Alsace, acidification is stillbanned. “And Musyt tested Laktia in 30 hL of Sémillonthis Last year, Stéphanie Marquier –winemaker yet, Gewurztraminerreally needs it,” said year. The test was, to say the least, spectacu- at Mas de la Chevalière in Béziers –observed Alain Freyburger –winemaker at Domaines lar since it obtained aSémillon with apHof something similar, although less extreme, Schlumberger in Alsace. Since he cannot 2.9 and total acidity (TA) of 10 g/L whereas in 40 hL of Chardonnay. “The TA of this wine acidify,Freyburger turned to Laktiatopep the control had apHof3.35and TA of 4g/L. increased by 0.8 g/L and its pH dropped by 0.1. up his very aromatic vine variety.“It gene- “We inoculated with aSaccharomyces yeast 72 To taste, it seemed more acidic andmineral. rallyhas apHof3.8 and TA of 3.6 g/L. Using hours after adding Laktia whereas it is recom- Since we didn’t have enough volume to make a thisnon-Saccharomycesyeast, Imanagedto An Acidifying Yeast ForReds, But Tested in Whites Laktia is anon-Saccharomyces yeast of the Lachancea thermotolerans Laktia’sproduct technical datasheet onlymentions species. “It wasselectedinLaRioJa, Spain in 2016.The aim wastofind anatural its useinred musts. But according to empirical tests acidification method forthis region, which has slightlyacidicreds,” said Anthony conducted by oenologists and wine growers, this yeast is Silvano of Lallemand, the companythat developed this yeast.Laktiaconverts also effectiveinwhites. Furthermore, it does notseem to sugar, especially glucose, intolactic acid. It significantlyincreases the pH and total producemilkynotes, as might be expected given that,like acidityofmusts. But it consumes alot of nitrogen. “It consumes 60-80 mg/L in the lactic acid bacteria,itproduces lactic acid. “Itseems to work first threedaysfollowing inoculation,” continued Silvano.Asaresult, it shouldbe better when the pH is high –around 3.6–and does not used in musts containing at least 150 mg/L of assimilablenitrogenorwith consume as much nitrogen as in redmusts,” addedMarie- appropriatenutrition management.Itisinoculatedinavery similar waytoa LaurencePorte. “Aftertests and feedback from wine growers Saccharomyces,exceptthat it needs to be rehydrated at approximately30°C rather in France, Spain and Italythat we’llbereceiving this year, than at 37°C, after which it is added to the must.Inoculation with S. cervisiae is we’regoing to better define the specifications forits optimal done 24 to 72 hours later. SinceLaktiahas lowalcohol tolerance, it starts dying conditions of useinwhites and rosés,” said Silvanoof from 3% strength by volume and stopsproduction of lactic acid. Lallemand. VIN “Decreasing the wine pH allows also to decrease SO2 addition because it’s more active when pH is lower .” Marie-LaurencePorte, oenologist at Enosens LaboratoryinEnosens de Cadillac. hol content by volumedid notdropand was 15%inbothcases,” saidPorte.Totaste, the wines made using Laktia seemed rounder and fruitier than the controls. “The prelimi- nary results show that they contain two to four times more esterswith red fruit aromas than lower the pH to 3.37 and the TA to 6.1 g/L in a bably also goingtotry it on aPinot noir since the controls,” continued Porte. small 40-hL tank,” he said delightedly.But thisvariety easily reaches pH 3.8-4,” he said. “In the firstyear, Iwas slightly concernedatthe the aromatic profile was modified. “You can start of fermentation since there was astrong taste alot of citrus notes, which I’m not looking smell of cheese in the winery. But there was no for in this vine variety. This batch will be ideal u IN RED MUSTS need to worrysince it hadnoconsequences.I for blendingand enhancing arather flabby but experienced the same thing this year,” recalled moretypical Gewurz, with arose and spicypro- Fruitier and Less Sulphur Musyt. Alcoholic fermentation occurred wi- file,” he said. thout any hitch. The fermentation tempera- In the future, Freyburger is thinking about Before his trial in white musts, Musyt tried ture –approximately 23°C –and the increa- making 20% of his 1,200 hL of Gewurztrami- his hand with reds. He tested Laktia in a sing alcohol level stop Laktia naturally. “You ner using Laktia, to obtain atypical –but 200-hL tank of Merlot, Cabernet and Carmè- just need to check that the lactic acid stays un- fresher –blend for this vine variety.“I’m pro- nere in 2018, andthenina350-hL tankin der 5g/L or else it can eventuallyblock mal- 2019. He started from the idea that his wines olactic fermentation.” would be less sensitive to microbial devia- In 2018,Musytcreatedasulphur-free vin- tioniftheywere more acidic. tage using1.5 hL of winemade with Laktia Theresults were similar in both years. “In and blended the rest. “Reducing the wine’s pH 2018, the pH of the control wine after AF was is beneficial for combatting the development of 3.8 andthe TA was 3.6 g/L. This compared to a Bretts,” added Porte. “This also helps reduce pH of 3.6 and TA of 4.9 g/L for the wine made SO2 doses since it is more activewhen the pH is using Laktia,” saidPorte. The yeast produced low. It’s therefore agood tool to make wine 3g/L of lactic acid from afew grams per litre withless, or evenno, sulphur,” she concluded. of glucose/fructose. “Unfortunately, the alco- CLAIRE FURET-GAVALLET TheCost is Holding Back Some Winemakers At the recommended dosage of 25g/hL, the priceis2to3times higher than the priceoftartaric acid addition per hL, depending on the vintage. “Due to itshigh price, we haven’t used Laktia again “The batch acidified with this year,” explained Agnès Arguier,production manageratDom Brial winery(Pyrenées- Laktia will be ideal for Orientales). Nevertheless, she is delighted with the results obtained last year in 250 hL of blending with arather thermovinified Grenache.“Ithought it wasmorecomplex than the control, with moredeveloped fruityand amylic aromas,” she said. As well as acidifying and improving the wine’s profile, the yeast flabby Gewurz.” reduced its alcohol level. “Thecontrol was12.8% strength by vol. whereasthe wine made with Alain Freyburger, winemaker at Domaines Laktia was12.5%,” she added. But that wasnot enough.“Laktia presupposesdoubleinoculation Schlumberger, en Alsace. ©DOMAINES SCHLUMBERGER with yeast, which forpractical reasons Ican’t integrateintoour protocols,” she said with regret. LAKTIATM Give back freshness to your wines Laktia™ is a natural alternative for acidification. Laktia™ is a pure culture of Lachancea thermotolerans, selected by Lallemand Oenology for its unique properties to produce high level of lactic acid during fermentation. Used in sequential inoculation with most selected Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast for red winemaking, Laktia™, by producing significant level of lactic acid, is a natural tool to enhance roundness and more balanced red wine. Natural Solutions that add value to the world of winemaking / www.lallemandwine.com.