Effect of sequential inoculation (Torulaspora delbrueckii/Saccharomyces cerevisiae) in the first fermentation on the foam properties of sparkling wine (Cava)

¹ Departament de Bioquímica i Biotecnologia, Facultat d'Enologia de Tarragona, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, C/Marcel.li Domingo, s/n. 43007 Tarragona, Spain
² Lallemand BIO S.L. C/ Galileu 303, 1 a  planta, 08028-Barcelona, Spain

Abstract

In a previous study we reported that sequential inoculation of Torulaspora delbrueckii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae during the first fermentation increased the protein concentration and improved the foaming properties of a base wine. Since effervescence and foam of sparkling wines are key quality factors, the interest of this practice for sparkling wine industry is obvious. In this paper we study whether the foaming properties of the sparkling wines produced from the base wines obtained by sequential inoculation with T. delbrueckii and S. cerevisiae remains better than those of their controls produced from base wines fermented only with S. cerevisiae. The obtained results confirmed that sequential inoculation in the production of the base wine originated sparkling wines with significantly higher maximum heights of foam than conventional inoculation, probably because autolysis of the T. delbrueckii cells in the base wine released higher amounts of proteins, especially of the low molecular weight fraction.