This study explored the effect of three strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on the quality of wine produced from the ‘Black Sun’ grape cultivar, known for its exceptional winemaking potential. While yeast influence on wine quality is well-documented, specific strains’ affecting the wine made from ‘Black Sun’ grapes (Vitis complex × V. amurensis) have not been thoroughly studied. In this study, we assessed various wine quality attributes, including colour characteristics, oenological parameters, antioxidant activity, and free fatty acid composition. Our results revealed significant differences among the yeast strains in their influence on wine quality. The wine fermented with ‘Turbo’ showed the highest levels of total soluble solids (4.0 °Brix), colour parameters (L* = 33.81, a* = 2.91, b* = 0.43 and C*ab = 2.95), and a pH of 3.25. In contrast, ‘Fermivin’ fermentation resulted in the highest alcohol content (11% v/v), free fatty acids, antioxidant properties, and hue angles. ‘Lalvin’ demonstrated intermediate values across most wine characteristics such as total soluble solids, alcohol percentage, antioxidant properties and free fatty acids. Principal component analysis confirmed these distinctions, with ‘Turbo’ separating mainly on total soluble solids, colour parameters, and pH, while ‘Fermivin’ differentiated based on free fatty acids, alcohol content, antioxidant properties, and hue angles. Additionally, ‘Lalvin’ yeast was separated from the other strains mainly by its impact on the hue angle, total acidity, and specific free fatty acids. In this work, the evaluated wine quality attributes indicated that the yeast strain ‘Fermivin’ produced the most favourable wine characteristics among those analysed. This research highlights the importance of selecting yeast strains to enhance both the oenological qualities and functional properties of wine made from the ‘Black Sun’ grape.
Zebro et al. (Sat,) studied this question.