Expertise documents

Biogenic Amines in Wine and how to control them

  Biogenic amines are found in fermented food and beverages, including wine. Of the many biogenic amines, histamine, tyramine and putrescine are the most important in wine. It is the metabolism of amino acids by lactic acid bacteria that produce the biogenic amines found in wine. Red wines tend to have higher biogenic amines content than white wines, as this wine type all under go the bacteria driven malolactic fermentation. The direct decarboxylation of amino acids results in the formation of biogenic amines. Extensive biochemical and genomic characterisation has led to simple tests for the identification of biogenic amine genes in LAB strains. Wines produced using native microflora can have high biogenic amine content. Consumer safety justifies taking extra precautions to avoid the production of biogenic amines. Good winemaking practices should be used to avoid the production of biogenic amines; management of must and wine pH to minimise the proliferation of native microflora, stabilise musts or wines for antimicrobial protection with SO2 or new biological solutions (such as Bactiless™ ) and use malolactic bacteria strains (and particularly in co-inoculation) that have been screened for the absence of biogenic amine genes. Compatible with organic winemaking or in a strategy to reduce chemical additions, the use of malolactic bacteria is a key step to achieve wines with low to no biogenic amines. 📝  Read more on this topic in our Winemaking Update  👉   WE-Biogenic-Amines-ENG   

A NATURAL TOOL TO FIGHT BRETTANOMYCES

NoBrett Inside

Brettanomyces bruxellensis constitutes a permanent threat to the quality of wines. These wine alteration yeasts can develop in difficult environments and at any time during the life of a wine, but particularly during the aging phase. Different means are currently used to fight against Brettanomyces, with varying degrees of success. However,...... NBI Chitosan - JMH ENG