Evolution of the Lipid Contents of Champagne Wine During the Second Fermentation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

¹ Laboratoire de Recherche Möet & Chandon, 6 rue Croix de Bussy, 51200 Epernay, France.
² Laboratoire des Membranes Biologiques, Université Paris 7, 75005 Paris, France.

During the second fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae in Champagne wine, the neutral lipid composition of the wine was greatly affected. The main characteristic of this process was the release of triacylglycerol from yeasts into the wine. Moreover, changes of the lipid contents resulted from multiple chemical reactions which occurred in wine, i.e., the degradation of both free fatty acids and diacylglycerols. The oxidation of triacylglycerol fatty acids (specifically on C-2 position of glycerol) and their release into the wine was an additional reaction; these peculiar fatty acids were rapidly degraded into smaller molecules which could have important organoleptic properties and thus partly modify the flavor of Champagne wine.

Key words: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, second fermentation, Champagne wine, lipid composition, fatty acids

Submitted on July 22, 1988