RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Stilbenes Can Impair Malolactic Fermentation with Strains of Oenococcus oeni and Lactobacillus plantarum JF American Journal of Enology and Viticulture JO Am J Enol Vitic. FD American Society for Enology and Viticulture SP 56 OP 63 DO 10.5344/ajev.2020.20021 VO 72 IS 1 A1 Sabrina Zimdars A1 Rita Caspers-Weiffenbach A1 Pascal Wegmann-Herr A1 Fabian Weber YR 2021 UL http://www.ajevonline.org/content/72/1/56.abstract AB Malolactic fermentation (MLF) is an important step in winemaking to improve wine quality by deacidification, increased microbial stability, and modified wine flavor. The phenolic composition of the wine influences the growth and metabolism of the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) used for MLF. Due to increased cultivation of fungus-resistant grape cultivars, the present study aimed to analyze the influence of stilbenes on MLF because stilbenes play an important role as phytoalexins in plants to counteract fungal pathogens. The analysis showed that the grapevine-shoot extract Vineatrol and the stilbenes ε-viniferin, ampelopsin A, r2-viniferin, and r-viniferin, as well as mixtures of the five stilbenes, decelerated malic acid degradation. This can be partially attributed to a reduced number of viable cells. However, the direct impact of stilbenes on the malolactic enzyme must also play a role, as shown by the finding that the viability of LAB stabilized, while at the same time, malic acid degradation was reduced. These results show that wines made from stilbene-rich grapes, such as fungus-resistant cultivars, might have a higher risk for a sluggish or incomplete MLF.