Use of Lysozyme to Inhibit Malolactic Fermentation and to Stabilize Wine After Malolactic Fermentation

¹ Institut Technique de la Vigne et du Vin (ITV), 6 rue du 16^ème Chasseur, 21200 Beaune, France
² Fordras S. A., 20 viale Stefano Franscini, Lugano Switzerland
³ Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne (BIVB), 12 Boulevard Bretonnière, 21200 Beaune, France
⁴ Institut d'Oenologie de Bordeaux, Université de Bordeaux II, 33400 Talence, France.

Lysozyme was evaluated for its ability to reduce the lactic bacteria flora in musts and in wines after completion of the malolactic conversion. An addition of 500 mg lysozyme per liter of grape must inhibited malolactic fermentation, while the addition of 250 mg/L to red wines, after malolactic fermentation, promoted microbiological stabilization. Control lots (without lysozyme) had higher bacterial populations. In the wines to which lysozyme was added, there was no increase in the content of acetic acid and biogenic amines during a period of six months at 18°C. Control lots after fermentation and processing had volatile acidity levels 20% higher and a cumulative value for histamine, tyramine, and putrescine four times higher.

Key words: lysozyme, lactic acid bacteria, malolactic fermentation, acetic acid, biogenic amines

Submitted on August 10, 1995