ROZETA HASALLIU1*, KLOTILDA MARKU1, KRENAR GOZHDARI1, MARSEL KEÇI1, RENATA KONGOLI1
1Faculty of Biotechnology and Food, Agricultural University of Tirana
*Corresponding author e-mail: rhasalliu@ubt.edu.al
Abstract:
The aim of this study is to evaluate the spontaneous fermentation based on initial number of yeast in some autochthonous Albanian grape varieties. There are many microorganisms in grape that contribute to the production of wine. Some of them are wild yeast, lactic acid bacteria and acetic acid bacteria. The grapes contain indigenous yeasts which contribute in the spontaneous alcoholic fermentation during the vinification process. On the other hand we can have a controlled alcoholic fermentation by inoculating industrial yeast and controlling the fermentation temperature. In Albania, some of wine producers use spontaneous alcoholic fermentation and others inoculated yeasts that are Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces bayanus or a mix between two yeasts, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces bayanus. During the 2017 year we have produced wine using some Albanian grape varieties like Kallmet, Shesh i Zi and Shesh i Bardhe which are obtained from different areas of Albania. In some grape varieties spontaneous fermentation couldn’t start without the addition of Saccharomyces cerevisiae starter culture. In some others varieties the fermentation couldn’t start even with the addition of starter culture. In the same grape variety Shesh i Bardhe obtained from different areas of Albania, in one vinification trial the fermentation didn’t start even with the addition of starter culture. So, in this study we will do an assessment of initial number of indigenous yeasts in grape varieties used to do wine and a comparison of areas from which these varieties have been obtained.
Keywords: yeast; Albanian grape variety; wine; fermentation.
