The role of biotechnology in wine production

1. Biotechnology in
Wine production
Mahmod
Alali

2. Introduction to Wine:
• Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented fruit juice.
• Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various
types of yeast.
Types of Wine:
• Red wine.
• White Wine.
Classification of Wine:
• Sparkling wine.
• Desert wine.
• Ice wine.
• Fortified wine.
• Table wine.

3. Steps of wine production:
• Viticulture
• Harvesting
• Crushing
• Fermentation
• Draining
• Pressing
• Mixing
• Clarification
• Aging
• Bottling

4. Biotechnology in wine production:
• wine is the perfect example of biotechnology. One of the
reasons for this is fermentation!
• fermentation basically involves converting sugar into
alcohol, but there are many ways in which the juice from
grapes can be fermented. Sometimes yeast is added to the
vats of red or white wine to ferment them, for example.
• When making wine, traditional microbiology is based on
the use of yeast species known as saccharomyces
cerevisiae. However, another commonly used
microorganism is oenococcus oeni, which helps to do
malolactic fermentation.

5. • This lactic acid bacteria grows in the wine and it encourages
fermentation that actually improves the wine’s quality.
• For red wines specifically, carbon dioxide gets released during the
process of fermentation.
• This encourages the grape skins to float to the surface. Winemakers
have to punch these skins down to ensure they remain in contact with
the juice, thus enhancing the flavor and quality of the wine.

6. What About Genetic Modification Of Wine?
• Biotechnology is focused on finding solutions to problems, and one
of the problems faced by winemakers is bacteria that can enter the
winemaking process and cause wine to spoil, thus reducing its value.
• Some types of bacteria, such as Pediococcus sp and lactobacillus sp
can create volatile compounds that have a variety of unpleasant
consequences, such as giving wine a bitter taste or causing it to have
an oily or slimy texture.
• Biotechnologists have been finding ways to combat these problems
in winemaking. An example is the development of genetically-
modified wine.
• By transforming yeast with the use of a bacteriocin gene, which is an
antimicrobial peptide produced by bacteria, this can kill off bacteria,
as the Yeast journal has reported.

7. Here are other ways in which genetic
modification is changing the future of wine:
• A genetic engineering technique called RNA-guided
Cas9 nuclease has been found to increase resveratrol
levels in wine.
• Resveratrol is usually mentioned in health articles
because it’s a compound found in red wine that protects
the body against disease, but it can also eliminate
hangovers.
• Researchers from the University of Illinois (via Eureka
Alert) have found that using this nuclease to cut copies of
a gene in yeast can help them achieve these benefits.

8. GRAPES THAT CAN FIGHT
MILDEW:
• Grapes have three genes that allow mildew spores to
attach themselves to the grapes, but researchers from
Rutgers University in New Jersey (via USDA) have
found that by isolating them and using CRISPR/Cas gene
editing techniques to edit the areas where the gene might
be present or adding new genes, this could prevent genes
that allow mildew from flourishing.

9. Biotechnology Innovations That Are Already
Improving Wine:
THE USE OF METHOXYPYRAZINES IN WINE
PRODUCTION :
• Methoxypyrazines are chemicals that can have a massive effect on the
quality of wine. Research has found that using the right amount of this
chemical can result in a fruity and leafy wine that is clean and crisp,
as 1849 Wine reports.
• To ensure the perfect amount of methoxypyrazines in wine, wine
producers have to ensure the best climatic conditions. Interestingly,
this biotechnology has already resulted in delicious wines being
produced – it pioneered the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc from
McCorquodale in New Zealand.

10. THE USE OF COLD FERMENTATION:
• This is a technique involved in making wine that dates back to the
1980s! Scientists discovered that when wine fermentation occurred
in ambient temperatures, this resulted in unwanted bacteria that
would kill off the yeast. The result?
• The wine produced would be too sweet. To prevent this,
winemakers would try to control the bacteria with the use of
sulphur dioxide, but then the use of stainless steel came along as a
way to give winemakers the chance to better control the
temperature of the fermentation process.
• The result was wine that was more aromatic, fresh, and clean
because bacteria was naturally reduced. That’s biotechnology in
action!

11. Thank you
for your
attention