A non-targeted metabolomic approach for the characterization of chemical profile of sparkling wines produced using autochthonous yeast strains

The Champenoise method for the production of sparkling wines consists of an "in bottle" re-fermentation induced by a low number of commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains. However, the limited use of these strains can induce a flattening of the sensorial properties of the produced wine. Indeed, the volatile compounds produced by the yeasts during the fermentative process, play an essential role in the constitution of the Bouchet of sparkling wines prepared using indigenous grape varieties and, in particular, deriving from Apulia (Southern Italy), whose economic significance is constantly increasing . To the best of our knowledge, only two investigations assessed the influence of the autochthonous starter strains on the volatiles profile of sparkling wine. Moreover, no information exists on the oenological potential, for the production of typical sparkling wine, of the indigenous grape cv Maresco. This investigation evaluated the impact of the selected autochthonous yeast strains on the chemical properties of Maresco sparkling wines applying a non-targeted metabolomics approach by the application of HPLC-HRMS and GC-MS techniques. Saccharomyces cerevisiae DV10 (Lallemand, USA) was used as control. The obtained findings indicated that native yeast strains, previously selected, influenced the amount of several fermentative compounds, i.e. polysaccharides, organic acids, phenolic acids, and lipids. In order to reveal any grouping of the wines based on the composition of volatile compounds and chemical data, as well as to identify the main components contained within each group, the data were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA). Also, the correlation matrix on HPLC-HRMS/GC-MS data was performed and permitted to obtain a map, which is a useful tool to monitor the different patterns of aroma release. This contribution supplies information that will support the modulation of the sensorial properties of regional sparkling wines obtained from typical autochthonous grape varieties by using selected autochthonous microbial resources. Acknowledgments: This work was partially supported by the Apulia Region projects: "Innovazione nella tradizione: tecnologie innovative per esaltare le qualità dei vini autoctoni spumante della murgia barese-INVISPUBA" (P.S.R. Puglia 2014/2020 -Misura 16.2).