Which microorganisms contribute to mousy off-flavour in our wines?

Abstract

In recent years, the frequency of occurrence of mousy off-flavours in wines has increased. This could be caused by the significant decrease in sulphur dioxide addition during processing, the increase in pH or even the trend for spontaneous fermentation in wine. This off-flavour was associated with Brettanomyces bruxellensis or lactic acid bacteria metabolisms. Three N-heterocyclic compounds (APY, ETHP, ATHP) were described as involved in mousiness perception. Thus far, no study addressed the variability in that N-heterocycles production according to microorganism strains from different species. Twenty-five wines presenting mousy off-flavour were analysed. In total, 252 bacteria with 90.5 % of Oenococcus oeni and 101 yeast strains with 53.5 % of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were isolated and identified. Their capacity to produce mousy compounds was investigated using Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (SBSE-GC-MS) and a standardised N-heterocycle assay medium. While four and three species of yeast and bacteria, respectively, were isolated from mousy wines, only three species of microorganisms were associated with N-heterocycles production: B. bruxellensis, Lentilactobacillus hilgardii and Oenococcus oeni. The screening was then extended to collection strains for these three species to improve their genetic representativity. Our results show that the levels and the ratios of the three N-heterocycles present huge variations according to the species. In addition, it has been shown that in most mousy wines, B. bruxellensis was not found. Finally, an interesting correlation between ATHP and ETHP was identified.