Immobilization of yeast on dried raisin berries for use in dry white wine-making

Cells of a commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain (Uvaferme 299) were immobilized on dried raisin berries (Sultanina variety) to produce an immobilized biocatalyst for use in dry white wine-making. The immobilised biocatalyst was found to be suitable for wine making at ambient temperatures (15–25 °C). The wines produced had low volatile acidities and low methanol and acetaldehyde contents, while volatile by-products showed no statistically significant differences from wines produced by free cells. The immobilized cell system had a good operational stability for more than 4 months. Sensory evaluation revealed differences between wines produced by immobilized and free cells.