Evaluation of different Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains on the profile of volatile compounds and polyphenols in cherry wines

Tart cherries of ‘Early Richmond’, widely grown in Shandong (China), were fermented with six different Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains (BM4×4, RA17, RC212, D254, D21 and GRE) to elucidate their influence on the production of volatiles and polyphenols. Acetic acid and 3-methylbutanol were found in the highest concentrations among all identified volatiles with all six yeast strains, followed by 2-methylpropanol and ethyl lactate. RA17 and GRE cherry wines were characterised by a higher amount of esters and acids. D254 wine contained a higher concentration of alcohols. With respect to polyphenols, five phenolic acids and four anthocyanins were identified among all tested samples, with chlorogenic and neochlorogenic acids, cyanidin 3-glucosylrutinoside and cyanidin 3-rutinoside being the major compounds. When using principal component analysis to classify the cherry wines according to the volatiles and polyphenols, they were divided into three groups: (1) RA17 and GRE, (2) RC212 and D254 and (3) BM4×4 and D21.