A fermentation of Fiano di Avellino grape must was carried out at 9°C with the aim of selecting cryotolerant yeast strains and testing their fermentative performances and volatile production following molecular characterization. A total of 20 yeast cultures were isolated at different fermentation stages. Based on molecular identification and characterization, Metschnikowia (M.) pulcherrima, Hanseniaspora (H.) uvarum, Staremerella (St.) bacillaris, Saccharomyces (S.) cerevisiae, S. kudriavzevii, and S. paradoxus were found to be the yeast species dominating the fermentation. S. paradoxus has been rarely isolated in vineyards and never in the cellar environment. Moreover, in this study, S. kudriavzevii is detected for the first time in vine-wine environments. Both S. kudriavzevii and S. paradoxus co-occurred with S. cerevisiae when grapes were micro-fermented at low temperatures. The growth kinetics of the three species were greatly affected by the fermentation temperature. As a consequence, Fiano wines obtained with S. kudriavzevii and S. paradoxus significantly differed from those made by S. cerevisiae in terms of chemical and volatile composition.
Keywords: S. kudriavzevii; S. paradoxus; Saccharomyces; VOCs; cryotolerant; diversity; fermentation; grapes; wine; yeast.