Comparative study of inoculation strategies of Torulaspora delbrueckii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae on the performance of alcoholic and malolactic fermentations in an optimized synthetic grape must.

Progress in oenological biotechnology now makes it possible to control alcoholic (AF) and malolactic (MLF) fermentation processes for the production of wines. Key factors in controlling these processes and enhancing wine quality include the use of selected strains of non-Saccharomyces species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Oenococcus oeni, as well as the method of inoculation (co-inoculation or sequential) and the timing of inoculation. In the present work, we investigated the effects of different inoculation strategies of two Torulaspora delbrueckii (Td-V and Td-P) strains followed by S. cerevisiae. Times (two, four, and six days) and types (co-inoculation and sequential) of inoculation were evaluated on the AF of a synthetic grape must. Furthermore, this synthetic medium was optimized by adding linoleic acid and β-sitosterol to simulate the natural grape must and facilitate reproducible results in potential assays. Subsequently, the wines obtained were inoculated with two strains of Oenococcus oeni to carry out MLF. Parameters after AF were analysed to observe the impact of wine composition on the MLF performance. The results showed that the optimization of the must through the addition of linoleic acid and β-sitosterol significantly enhanced MLF performance. This suggests that these lipids can positively impact the metabolism of O. oeni, leading to improved MLF efficiency. Furthermore, we observed that a 4-day contact period with T. delbrueckii leads to the most efficient MLF process and contributed to the modification of certain AF metabolites, such as the reduction of ethanol and acetic acid, as well as an increase in available nitrogen. The combination of Td-P with Oo-VP41 for 4 or 6 days during MLF showed that it could be the optimal option in terms of efficiency. By evaluating different T. delbrueckii inoculation strategies, optimizing the synthetic medium and studying the effects on wine composition, we aimed to gain insights into the relationship between AF conditions and subsequent MLF performance. Through this study, we aim to provide valuable insights for winemakers and researchers in the field of wine production and will contribute to a better understanding of the complex interactions between these species in the fermentation process.

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Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.