New Brock research is exploring the potential for a Niagara-specific yeast strain to alleviate fruit quality issues caused by vineyard diseases, help wine fermentation and improve wine flavour.<\/p>\n
Biological Sciences master\u2019s student Daniel Phillipow is researching a locally isolated Niagara yeast strain and its ability to add positive fruity flavours to wine while mitigating negative effects of fruit breakdown caused by sour rot and Botrytis, a fungi group that causes plant diseases, such as noble rot in grapes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Saccharomyces uvarum<\/em> strain that we call CN1 is not the traditional yeast used in wine fermentation,\u201d says Phillipow, whose research is being supervised by Debbie Inglis, Director of Brock\u2019s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI). \u201cIt was first isolated from Riesling Icewine grapes and is thought to be unique to our region.\u201d<\/p>\n During fermentation, CN1 has been found to consume acetic acid, which can create notes of vinegar in the final product and convert it into fruity and floral esters that enhance the sensory profile of wine in Cabernet Franc trials.<\/p>\n While CCOVI Oenology Scientist Jennifer Kelly has had positive results fermenting Cabernet Franc red wine with CN1, Phillipow\u2019s research is exploring whether it can successfully be used for Riesling white wine fermentation.<\/p>\n Phillipow has inoculated and fermented Riesling must \u2014 the juice extracted from destemmed, crushed and pressed grapes \u2014 with different levels of sour rot and Botrytis and is in the process of measuring compounds created by either CN1 or commercial wine yeast to determine what flavours are appearing. During the next stage of his research, he will bottle the wines and use sensory evaluation to determine if there is a perceivable difference between wines fermented with the different yeast strains and rot levels.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, we are hoping the deployment of this yeast strain will provide winemakers with a new tool to differentiate their wines in the marketplace and also combat challenges from climate change by using fruit that may have otherwise been rejected,\u201d Phillipow says.<\/p>\n