Study of the oenological characteristicsand enzymatic activities of wine yeasts

Seventy-four wine strains of theSaccharomycesgenus were tested to study their oenological characteristics and enzymatic activities. These strains were isolated from spontaneous microbiota taken from cellars in the Valdepeñas region (Spain) and identified by contour homogeneous electric field (CHEF) technique. When Cluster Analysis was applied to oenological properties, only SH2production, tolerance to 120of ethanol and synthesis of killer toxin contributed to the distribution of the strains in the different statistical groups. All the strains possessed esterase activity and some also showed protease and pectinase activities. None of them hadβ-D-glucosidase activity.