Biological management of acidity in wine industry: a review

Abstract

Climate change is generating several problems in wine technology. One of the main ones is lack of acidity and difficulties performing malolactic fermentation to stabilize wines before bottling. Among the different available acidity management technologies, such as direct acid addition, ion exchange resins, electro-membrane treatments, or vineyard management, the microbiological option is reliable and deeply studied. The main approach is the increase in malic acid content because of the metabolism of specific Saccharomyces strains and to increase lactic acid because of the metabolism of Lachancea genus. Other non-Saccharomyces yeasts, such as Starmerella bacillaris or Candida stellata can also acidify significantly because of the production of pyruvic or succinic acid. Wine industry needs the removal of malic acid in most red wines before bottling to achieve wine stability. Oenococus oeni performs the malolactic fermentation of red wines on most conditions because of the metabolization of malic acid into lactic acid. However, modern oenology challenges such as high ethanol concentrations, high pH or low levels of malic acid have made researchers to look for other options to reduce potential risks of deviation. Other wine-related microorganisms able to de-acidify malic acid have appeared as interesting alternatives for specific difficult scenarios. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Schizosaccharomyces genus make up nowadays the main studied alternatives.