Non-Saccharomyces biodiversity in wine and the ‘microbial terroir’: a survey on Nero di Troia wine, Apulian region, Italy

The aim of this work was to study the biodiversity of cultivable non-Saccharomyces yeasts isolated from North-Apulian region on the autochthonous wiine variety ‘Uva di Troia’ during vintages 2012 and 2013. Grapes were collected in vineyards from four different geographical areas on which four different wines with the status of geographical indication are produced. Different restriction profiles of ITS–5.8S rDNA region, corresponding to Candida boidinii, Candida zemplinina, Hanseniaspora guilliermondii, Issatchenkia terricola, Zygosaccharomyces bailii, Hanseniaspora uvarum, Zygoascus hellenicus and Hanseniaspora opuntiae was observed. The most abundant genera were represented by Hanseniaspora (about 58%, H. guilliermondii 53%, H. uvarum 4% and H. opuntiae 1%) and Candida (about 32%, C. zemplinina 19% and C. boidinii 16%). Significant differences among locations and vintages. This first report on the non-Saccharomyces diversity during the beginning steps of spontaneous alcoholic fermentations from Nero di Troia wines provides the basis for an improved management of non-Saccharomyces in typical Apulian wines important for the development of the local wine industry and to achieve an enhanced standard of safety in the final productions.