Effect of non‐Saccharomyces yeasts fermentation on flavor and quality of rice wine

Non‐Saccharomyces are very important for the flavor and quality of fermented wine. The fermentation kinetics, the flavor characteristic, and sensory evaluation of rice wine fermented with Nakazawaea ishiwadae (SITCY001), different genotypes of Wickerhamomyces anomalus (SITCY125 and SITCY601), and Candida glabrata (SITCY597) were analyzed in this study. Results showed that the curves of reducing sugar consumption were well fitted by Logistic, Boltzmann, and DoseResp models. Compared with other three strains, SITCY125 had higher alcohol contents and lower ratio of ester‐to‐alcohol, indicating stronger alcoholic and mellow aroma. Moreover, rice wine fermented with SITCY125 had higher sensory score in texture, fruit‐aroma, flower‐aroma, and sweetness, while having lower bitterness score. These results indicated that among the four strains, SITCY125 was the best choice to improve the flavor and quality of rice wine, which made the aroma characteristic more distinct and would have potential industrial application prospects in rice wine brewing. Practical applications With more and more people high demand for rice wine flavor, yeasts are widely used to improve the aroma and quality of fermented rice wine. This study would be helpful in promoting the potential industrial application of non‐Saccharomyces yeasts in rice wine brewing.