The Interaction of Sulfur Dioxide, pH, and Dimethyl Dicarbonate on the Growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Montrachet and Leuconostoc oenos MCW

¹ Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616-5270.

Wine yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae Montrachet and malolactic bacteria Leuconostoc oenos MCW were grown in and acclimatized to wine with significant amounts of sulfur dioxide. The cultures were transferred to wine at different pH levels with varying amounts of SO₂ and dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC). Both compounds were inhibitors to yeast and bacteria growth, and there was a synergistic activity between them. With a free SO₂ level of 25 mg/L and the addition of 50 mg/L DMDC, control of the yeast and the bacteria was excellent at pH 3.6 or lower in a sweet white table wine and a dry red table wine.

Key words: dimethyl dicarbonate, Leuconostoc oenos, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, sulfur dioxide, yeast

Submitted on January 8, 1988