From the Vineyard to the Winery: How Microbial Ecology Drives Regional Distinctiveness of Wine

Abstract

Wine production is a complex process from the vineyard to the winery. On this journey, microbes play a decisive role. From the environment where the vines grow, encompassing soil, topography, weather and climate through to management practices in vineyards, the microbes present can potentially change the composition of wine. Introduction of grapes into the winery and the start of winemaking processes modify microbial communities further. Recent advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology have progressed our understanding of microbial communities associated with grapes and fermentations. We now have a finer appreciation of microbial diversity across wine producing regions to begin to understand how diversity can contribute to wine quality and style characteristics. In this review, we highlight literature surrounding wine-related microorganisms and how these affect factors interact with and shape microbial communities and contribute to wine quality. By discussing the geography, climate and soil of environments and viticulture and winemaking practices, we claim microbial biogeography as a new perspective to impact wine quality and regionality. Depending on geospatial scales, habitats, and taxa, the microbial community respond to local conditions. We discuss the effect of a changing climate on local conditions and how this may alter microbial diversity and thus wine style. With increasing understanding of microbial diversity and their effects on wine fermentation, wine production can be optimised with enhancing the expression of regional characteristics by understanding and managing the microbes present.

Keywords: bacteria; climate; fungi; microbial biogeography; soil; wine quality.

FIGURE 1

Overview of the wine-related microbiota from the vineyard to the winery. Microbiota associated with grapevine phyllosphere, especially grapes, can enter musts and constitute wine microbial consortium, in which fermentative yeasts and LAB conduct alcoholic and malolactic fermentation, respectively. The rhizosphere harbours diverse microbes that can benefit plants by enabling nutrient uptake and tolerance to (a)biotic stress. Soil borne microorganisms might translocate to the phyllosphere internally (endophytes) or externally (epiphytes), thereby entering wine fermentation. Viticulture practices, for example fertilisers/compost addition, can modify soil microbiota via shifting nutrient pools or adding manure borne microorganisms (created with BioRender, https://app.biorender.com/).

FIGURE 2

A scenario of wine microbial biogeography. Grapevine-associated microbiota originates from the local ecosystem encompassing soil, air, precipitation, native forests, etc. Genetic isolation is one driver of the geographic pattern that long distance decreases the gene flow that depends on physical forces and animal vectors (e.g., insects and birds). Climate is a profound environmental element shaping the microbial geographic pattern and thus affects wine quality. Macroclimate exerts influences on the regional pattern of bacteria and fungi. Mesoclimate at the vineyard scale shows weaker influences on the microbial distribution, especially for bacteria. Microclimate within the grapevine, modified by canopy management, may influence associated microbiota, this still remains to be shown (created with BioRender, https://app.biorender.com/).