Abstract
Most yeast strains produce glycerol in larger quantities when cultivated at higher temperatures. This is probably the reason why red wines contain higher amounts of glycerol than white wines. In this work, we tried a kinetic and thermodynamic approach to suggest a mechanistic reason for this phenomenon. A glycolytic model consisting of the kinetics of the individual enzymes constituting it was the starting point. The temperature and ethanol effects on the apparent kinetics of individual enzymes were determined and were incorporated into the model. The Arrhenius equation energy of activation was determined for each enzyme and it was found that the enzymes in the upper part of the glycolytic pathway were more dependent on the temperature. The model improved with these changes could qualitatively simulate the ethanol and glycerol production curves and that more glycerol is produced at higher temperatures. Here we propose that the differences in the temperature dependence of the enzymes around the glycerol branch are the reason for glycerol accumulation at higher temperatures.
- Received August 2018.
- Revision received November 2018.
- Accepted December 2018.
- Published online December 2018
- Copyright © 2018 by the American Society for Enology and Viticulture. All rights reserved.
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