Interactions between yeast autolysates and volatile compounds in wine and model solution

The addition of a commercial yeast autolysate to a model solution of five typical wine aroma compounds (ethyl octanoate, linalool, 2-phenylethanol, β-ionone and octanoic acid) was investigated considering different variables, such as temperature, pH and the presence of highly concentrated natural volatile substances in wine (e.g. 3-methyl-1-butanol). The interactions of such compounds with both yeast walls and released colloids were studied using gas chromatography, with liquid–liquid extraction and solid-phase microextraction. The results were compared with those obtained by adding the commercial product to a white table wine, spiked with the five standard compounds. The data confirmed that yeast walls mainly bind less polar molecules: their loss in synthetic medium seemed to increase at higher pH values. Temperature and pH affected differently the interactions between yeast colloids and volatile compounds in wine and model solution: in complex solutions (as the addition of 3-methyl-1-butanol demonstrated) the interaction mechanisms could be influenced by competitive or other matrix-related effects, which can reduce the binding of single compounds, or even enhance their volatility.