Reduction of 4-ethylphenol production in red wines using HCDC+ yeasts and cinnamyl esterases.

Hydroxycinnamate decarboxylase (HCDC) activity has been evaluated in several commercial yeast strains. The combined effect of using cinnamyl esterases (CE) and HCDC+ Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains has been studied in the formation of vinylphenolic pyranoanthocyanins (VPAs) during fermentation, analysing the kind and concentration of pigments formed according to the yeast strain used. Wines fermented with yeasts HCDC+ were contaminated with Dekkera bruxellensis and afterwards analysed to evaluate the formation of ethylphenols (EPs). The musts treated with CE and later fermented with HCDC+ yeast strains showed lower contents of 4-ethylphenol than those fermented with HCDC- strains. This reduction in the EP content is due to the transformation of hydroxycinnamic acids in stable VPAs pigments. The associated use of CEs and HCDC+ Saccharomyces strains is a natural strategy to reduce the formation of EPs in wines contaminated by Dekkera/Brettanomyces.

Minimization of ethylphenol precursors in red wines via the formation of pyranoanthocyanins by selected yeasts.

Different strains of Saccharomyces with different hydroxycinnamate decarboxylase (HCDC) activities, estimated by a bioconversion assay, were used for the fermentation of musts enriched with p-coumaric acid and grape anthocyanins, with the aim of favouring the formation of vinylphenolic pyranoanthocyanins, colour stabilization and (especially) the minimization of 4-ethylphenol. The development of anthocyanin-3-O-glucosides (precursors of vinylphenolic adducts), the decarboxylation of p-coumaric acid, and the formation of 4-vinylphenol, 4-ethylphenol and vinylphenolic pyranoanthocyanins were monitored by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS. After fermentation, the wines were inoculated with large numbers (10(4) CFU/ml) of Dekkera bruxellensis to establish their potential for ethylphenol production. The HCDC activity of the strains significantly increased the formation of vinylphenolic pyranoanthocyanins and reduced the final concentration of 4-ethylphenol and 4-ethylguaiacol generated by the vinylreductase activity (VPhR) of D. bruxellensis. Early decarboxylation of hydroxycinnamates to vinylphenols, by means of Saccharomyces strains with strong HCDC activity, and their subsequent binding with anthocyanins to form stable pyranoanthocyanins, is a possible way to reduce the likelihood of ethylphenol production by Brettanomyces during in-barrel aging.