INFLUENCE OF INDIGENOUS AND COMMERCIAL YEASTS ON THE PRODUCTION OF RED WINE FROM VRANEC, MERLOT AND FRANKOVKA IN VINICA WINE REGION

The aim of this study was the influence of yeasts on the production of red wines from the wine region of Vinica. The research was conducted on three grape varieties, cultivated in 3 different micro locations, each of which has its own unique characteristics and different altitudes. The three grape varieties were included: Vranec (cultivated in the area of Krshla, Vinica, at an altitude of 400m), Frankovka (cultivated in the area of Baltaci, Vinica, at an altitude of 520m) and Merlot (cultivated in Dragobrashte, Vinica, at an altitude of 540m ). The main goal of the research is to define the effect of the yeast on the quality of young wines. The indigenous types of yeast already present in the grapes (wild yeasts) and the commercial types from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae family which were isolated for use in international production of red wines of average tannin value (SELECTYS® LA DÉLICIEUSE) were applied. The research of the wines was carried out in the Wine Institute at the State Phytosanitary Laboratory in Skopje(North Macedonia) and involved examination of the wine quality parameters such micro and macro wine elements with ICP/MS and FOSS WINESCAN, parameters for alcohol, sugar, total acids, volatile acids, pH, total/volatile acids. This research gave insight of the correlation between samples of the wine and their parameters. It was further expanded with parameters for micro and macro wine elements which also shows the correlation of the wine samples. The wine region of Vinica is a developing region of great potential and this is the first step to presenting a vision for wine development in the region.