TY - JOUR T1 - Effects of Co-Inoculation on Wine Quality Attributes of the High-Acid, Red Hybrid Variety Chambourcin JF - American Journal of Enology and Viticulture JO - Am. J. Enol. Vitic. DO - 10.5344/ajev.2015.15084 SP - ajev.2015.15084 AU - Laura J. Homich AU - Joshua A. Scheinberg AU - Ryan J. Elias AU - Denise M. Gardner Y1 - 2016/01/05 UR - http://www.ajevonline.org/content/early/2015/12/23/ajev.2015.15084.abstract N2 - Simultaneous fermentation with yeast and malolactic bacteria has been reported as an effective means for increasing production efficiency and microbiological stability, as well as improving the flavor characteristics in wine. In the present study, co-inoculation (i.e., simultaneous yeast and bacteria inoculation) was compared to traditional sequential fermentation (i.e., inoculation of bacteria after completion of primary fermentation) in the vinification of wine made from the red French-American hybrid variety, Chambourcin. Although production length, from the inoculation of primary fermentation through the completion of malolactic fermentation, varied between treatments, yeast and bacteria populations were monitored and enumerated throughout fermentation, showing similar survival trends in both treatments. Alcohol concentration post-malolactic fermentation was statistically (p < 0.05) higher in co-inoculated wines; however, this difference was negligible. No other statistically significant differences amongst wine chemistries were found between treatments. Potential perceptible differences in wines were evaluated using a triangle difference test (n = 92). Consistent with chemical analyses, sensory evaluation showed no perceptible difference between wines produced by co-inoculation or sequential inoculation. This study demonstrates that co-inoculation can be employed as a technique for the vinification of high-acid red varieties, such as Chambourcin, without altering wine quality, while improving production efficiency. ER -