Winemaking of musts at high osmotic strength by thermotolerant yeasts

Fermentation performance of 15 thermotolerant Saccharomyces cerevisiae in three musts from dried grapes at 25, 30, and 40° brix was studied. When the osmotic strength was increased, the volatile acidity and the SO₂ production in the wines also increased: in the must with 40° brix, yeasts produce from 1.63 to 3.65 g acetic acid l^–1 and from 40 to 73.6 mg SO₂ l^–1 due to osmotic stress. From 9.75 to 13.40 ethanol v/v production is observed in must at 30°brix, whereas at 40°brix there is a clear detrimental effect.