Lactic Acid bacteria

Like yeast, indigenous lactic acid bacteria in wine originate from grapes. The species diversity is relatively high in the grapes and juice; however, as the environment changes (by the addition of SO2, extraction of phenolic compounds, presence of ethanol, etc.), the population decreases.

After alcoholic fermentation, usually only a single species remains: O. oeni. During ageing, Pediococcus damnosus can also develop.

Despite their relative specificity, lactic acid bacteria broadly cause more or less significant organoleptic changes. Theses changes may include beneficial activities such as malolactic fermentation but they may also be harmful (ropy wines, biogenic amine production, excess of volatile acidity, etc.). It is therefore necessary to identify and count the populations involved. Various analytical tools are available for this purpose.

Méthod	Culture on selective medium	Epifluorescence microscopy	Real time PCR
Results	Population of cultivable lactic acid bacteria : CFU*/mL	Population of viable bacteria in cellules/mL	Population of lactic acid bacteria in  equivalent CFU*/mL
Volume	125 mL	125 mL	125 mL
Analysis duration	12 days	1 day	days

* CFU = Colony Forming Unit

Méthode	Real time PCR	PCR on wine / colonie
Results	Population of lactic acid bacteria producing biogenic amines in equivalent CFU*/mL	Presence / absence of lactic acid bacteria with ropy character (ropy wines)
Volume	125 mL	125 mL / Petri dish
Analysis duration	2 days	12 days/ 2 days

* CFU = Colony Forming Unit

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• Genetic test with reference strains