MLF performance by L. plantarum and its sensorial impact in Malbec wines of Argentina

LERENA M.C; SARI S; PEREZ M.D; ROJO, M.C; MERCADO, L; KRIEGER, S; COMBINA M

Mendoza

Congreso; 37th OIV Congress; 2014

During malolactic fermentation (MLF) malic acid present in grape must is converted to lactic acid by a decarboxylation reaction conducted by lactic acid bacteria, mainly Oenococcus oeni. Recently, a new strain of Lactobacillus plantarum (V22) suitable for MLF in high pH wines has been selected. This microorganism has a larger number of genes encoding enzymes associated with flavor and aroma production, compared with O.oeni. The objective of this work was to evaluate MLF performed by L. plantarum V22 in Malbec musts at semiindustrial scale and the analysis of the sensory profile of the obtained wines. No alterations in AF kinetics attributable to the coinoculation with V22 were observed. The ability of L. plantarum to completely consume malic acid present in the must was higher in musts where the pH was above 3.5 during the entire fermentation. A gradual decrease in the population of V22 along fermentation was observed. However populations remained viable over 104 CFU/ml. At a sensory level the wines showed significant differences in 11 descriptors (ANOVA p ≤ 0.05). The wines fermented with L. plantarum showed higher intensity for herbaceus descriptors, tobacco, eucalyptus, floral, caramel and roasted. Furthermore wines fermented with O. oeni showed greater intensity descriptor for black berries.