The effect of supplementation with three commercial inactive dry yeasts on the colour, phenolic compounds, polysaccharides and astringency of a model wine solution and red wine.

Background: Nowadays supplementing red wines with commercial inactive dry yeasts is a widespread practice in winemaking because it leads to better balanced wines through increased mouthfeel and smooth astringency. The aim of this article is to study, in a red wine and in a model wine solution, how supplementation with three commercial inactive dry yeasts affects chemical composition and astringency. This will give us a better understanding of the action mechanism involved.

Results: The results suggest that this action mechanism is related to two different phenomena. The first is that inactive yeasts release polysaccharides and oligosaccharides which can increase mouthfeel and inhibit interactions between salivary protein and tannins. The second is that they have a direct effect on the precipitation or absorption of proanthocyanidins, especially the larger polymers, which have been described as the most astringent.

Conclusion: It can be concluded that supplementation with inactive yeasts is indeed a useful tool for smoothing the astringency of red wines. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.