António Inês

By Fernanda Cosme, Berta Gonçalves, António Inês, António M. Jordão and Alice Vilela

Grape metabolites can be affected by many extrinsic and intrinsic factors, such as grape variety, ripening stage, growing regions, vineyard management practices, and edaphoclimatic conditions. However, there is still much about the in vivo formation of grape metabolites that need to be investigated. The winemaking process also can create distinct wines. Nowadays, wine fermentations are driven mostly by single-strain inoculations, allowing greater control of fermentation. Pure cultures of selected yeast strains, mostly Saccharomyces cerevisiae, are added to grape must, leading to more predictable outcomes and decreasing the risk of spoilage. Besides yeasts, lactic acid bacteria also play an important role, in the final wine quality. Thus, this chapter attempts to present an overview of grape berry physiology and metabolome to provide a deep understanding of the primary and secondary metabolites accumulated in the grape berries and their potential impact in wine quality. In addition, biotechnological approaches for wine quality practiced during wine alcoholic and malolactic fermentation will also be discussed.

Part of the book: Grape and Wine Biotechnology

By Fernanda Cosme, Berta Gonçalves, Eunice A. Bacelar, António Inês, António M. Jordão and Alice Vilela

Phenolic compounds are secondary metabolites abundant in our diet. These compounds may affect positively or negatively the sensory characteristics of food with important impacts on color, flavor, and astringency. An adequate consumption of phenolic compounds may also offer health benefits. After the consumption of fruits, the colon is the main site of microbial fermentation, where high molecular weight phenolic compounds are transformed into low molecular weight phenolic compounds such as phenolic acids or lactone structures by intestinal microbiota, which produce metabolites with biological and antioxidant activity, with evidence on health benefits for humans. A large amount of different phenolic compounds are responsible for physicochemical and sensory characteristics of table grapes and wines. Also, sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is one of the most popular temperate table fruits; they contain flavonoids, flavan‐3‐ols, and flavonols in addition to non‐flavonoid compounds. Anthocyanins are the major polyphenols in blueberries, and this group of phytochemicals is thought to be responsible for many of the health benefits of berry consumption. Therefore, considering the importance of red/dark‐colored fruits phenolic composition, the purpose of this chapter is to make a review of the most recent publications about these fruits’ phenolic composition and their impact on sensorial properties as well as the effect of microorganisms on fruit phenolic composition.

Part of the book: Phenolic Compounds

By António Inês and Virgílio Falco

Wine production is a complex biochemical process that brings into play different microorganisms. Among these, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play a central role in the quality of the final wine. LAB are not only responsible for the malolactic fermentation that usually occurs after the alcoholic fermentation but also contribute for other important biochemical reactions such as esterase and glycosidase activities and citric acid and methionine metabolism. Nonetheless, LAB may also contribute negatively to wine quality by contributing to the production of volatile phenols, biogenic amines, and ethyl carbamate. This chapter aims to integrate the current knowledge about the role of LAB in wine flavor and quality.

Part of the book: Generation of Aromas and Flavours