Specialty yeasts for advanced winemaking

Chr. Hansen's range of specialty yeasts are for winemakers looking to achieve distinctive wild fermentation characters in their wines. It includes 'non-Saccharomyces' sourced from different wine regions around the world.

Chr. Hansen offer four different specialty wine yeast products to help winemakers initiate pre-fermentation. The three pure-strain products can be inoculated as 'first yeasts' into grape juice/musts to initiate alcoholic fermentation. Winemakers can then follow this by their preference of classical yeast, from the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The benefit of Chr. Hansen speciality yeasts is in helping winemakers differentiate their products. From natural winemakers to large producers, the concept of selecting and using several populations of yeasts from different species is now regarded as a highly attractive field of investigation for advanced winemakers.

All Chr. Hansen yeasts are suitable for organic winemakers.

NON SACCHAROMYCES YEASTS

VINIFLORA FROOTZEN®

Perfect for white, rosé and light red wines, particularly fruity styles of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris and Riesling.

Viniflora Frootzen is the first and only Pichia kluyveri yeast available for winemakers, delivering intense flavours, elegance and freshness to wines,

It is based on a selected strain of the wine yeast (Pichia kluyveri) found naturally in New Zealand grape juice, which is found to create naturally authentic fruitier wines.

Viniflora Frootzen should be used in sequential inoculation, where a second yeast – typically a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain – is added two days later, when the fermentation temperature is around 18/19°C. This is because Frootzen cannot support more than 4 or 5% alcohol.

This process of two sequential inoculations mimics what happens in wild fermentation, bringing the best of two worlds: the complexity of wild yeasts with the safety and technical security of a controlled, alcoholic fermentation.

VINIFLORA® PRELUDE™

Perfect for Pinot Noir, Merlot, Grenache Noir, quality rosés and barrel-matured whites.

Viniflora Prelude™ was the world's first pure strain of Torulaspora available for winemakers.

Torulaspora delbrueckii is an osmotolerant yeast that gives lower concentrations of volatile acidity, especially in high-sugar musts. It generates more flavour complexity due to the production of high concentrations of medium-chain fatty-acid esters (more stable esters) and promotes malolactic fermentation, due to a decreased production of toxic medium-chain fatty acids.

One of the main characteristics of Torulaspora delbrueckii is its high production of mannoproteins, which create wines with a fuller, smoother mouthfeel and palate weight.

Prelude™ is a pure strain of Torulaspora delbrueckii for use in sequential inoculation with winemakers’ preferred Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It increases the body, softens the palate and rounds the mouthfeel of wines.

It is particulaly suitable for premium and ultrapremium wines from Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet-Franc, that will be aged in barrels or with oak chips, as there is a clear synergy between this strain of Torulaspora and wood influence.

SACCHAROMYCES YEAST

VINIFLORA® MERIT™

Perfect for Mediterranean-style red wines and secondary fermentation sparkling styles, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Merlot, Syrah/Shiraz and 'classic method' sparkling wines.

Selected with global warming consequences in mind, this strain is able to achieve alcoholic fermentation in high-alcohol wines or during the second alcoholic fermentation in sparkling wines!

MERIT™ is a fast and stable fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast with a low nitrogen requirement and low SO2 production, ideal for red and warm-climate wine fermentation (Figure 1). MERIT™ gives crisp and fresh wines and is perfect for use with our non-Saccharomyces yeasts, such as PRELUDE™, CONCERTO™and FROOTZEN™. Due to its low SO2 production, MERIT™ also secures a favorable environment for malolactic fermentation.

MERIT™ has been selected from a warm climate and therefore has a high alcohol tolerance (up to 16 % vol.). Global warming has increased the sugar content in grapes in several places around the world, and MERIT™ is winning hearts and minds for its ability to:

finish alcoholic fermentation even in harsh conditions, while avoiding a lot of problem
give the requested complexity to both the body and the bouquet of red wines.

MERIT™ is used the world over in areas such as: the Rhône Valley, Languedoc and Bordeaux in France; Amarone, Toscany, Piemonte in Italy; Douro or Rioja in Spain. On top of this many premium wines from California, Australia or South Africa are built around this high-quality yeast.

BLENDED YEAST

VINIFLORA® MELODY™

Perfect for barrel-fermented whites and red where balance, complexity and mouthfeel are preferred, particularly Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Merlot.

The best of two worlds in one blend: wild fermentation effect through selected, high-quality yeast strains!

MELODY™ is a blend of 3 yeasts, Kluyveromyces thermotolerans, Torulaspora delbrueckii for the wild touch and a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain selected to take the lead during alcoholic fermentation and finish the consumption of sugars even in high-alcohol wine.

In white wines, MELODY™ gives tropical fruitness and an overall aromatic intensity, combined with a round, balanced mouthfeel (Figure 1). MELODY™ can also be used for red wines, where fruity as well as spicy notes will be more pronounced (Figure 2).

MELODY™ is among the best products available on the market for managing fermentations in high-end wines: Chardonnay, Chenin and Sauvignon-Blanc, but also on red grapes varieties such as Cabernet-Sauvignon, Merlot, Tempranillo and Syrah.

The product is very often associated with the following malolactic cultures:

VINIFLORA® CINE™, when winemakers don’t want typical buttery, creamy flavors associated with malolactic fermentation

VINIFLORA® CH35, when winemakers seek these typical malolactic flavors.