Non-Saccharomyces biodiversity in wine and the ‘microbial terroir’: a survey on Nero di Troia wine from the Apulian region, Italy

The aim of this work was to study the biodiversity of cultivable non-Saccharomyces yeasts isolated from the autochthonous wine variety ‘Uva di Troia’ from the North-Apulian region during vintages 2012 and 2013. Grapes were collected in vineyards from four different geographical areas on which four different wines with the status of geographical indication are produced. Different restriction profiles of ITS–5.8S rDNA regions, corresponding to those of Candida boidinii, Candida zemplinina, Hanseniaspora guilliermondii, Issatchenkia terricola, Zygosaccharomyces bailii, Hanseniaspora uvarum, Zygoascus hellenicus and Hanseniaspora opuntiae, were observed. The most abundant genera were represented by Hanseniaspora guilliermondii and Candida zemplinina. Significant differences among locations and vintages were observed. This first report on non-Saccharomyces diversity during the early steps of spontaneous alcoholic fermentation of Nero di Troia wines provides the basis for an improved management of non-Saccharomyces in typical Apulian wines, which will be important for the development of the local wine industry and to achieve an enhanced standard of safety in the final production.