Selection of indigenous Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains for Nero dʹAvola wine and evaluation of selected starter implantation in pilot fermentation

The present research studied Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts isolated from Nero dʹAvola grapes, collected in different areas of the Sicily region. RAPD-PCR analysis with M13 primer was used for preliminary discrimination among 341 S. cerevisiae isolates. Inoculated fermentations with S. cerevisiae strains, exhibiting different RAPD-PCR fingerprinting, revealed the impact of selected strains on volatile compound concentration. Two selected strains were used in fermentation at cellar level and the restriction analysis of mtDNA on yeast colonies isolated during fermentation was used to control strain implantation. This study represents an important step to establish a collection of indigenous S. cerevisiae strains isolated from a unique environment, such as Nero dʹAvola vineyards. Different starter implantation throughout inoculated fermentation represents an additional character, which might be considered during the selection program for wine starter cultures.