This is a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisae that the Research Center of the Institute of Grosseto has selected starting from the Sangiovese grapes from the Vigna Benefizio vineyard , located in the town of Preselle (Scansano, Grosseto). The project was conducted with the students of class 5A of the agricultural technician, Enology and Viticulture address, who throughout the school year characterized the microorganism, both from a genetic and technological point of view. The CRISBA, in collaboration with the CREA (Research Center for Viticulture and Enology) of Asti, has verified the potential of the strain, which shows a good fermentative power and tolerates well the lack of readily assimilable nitrogen. These and other positive properties have made it suitable to continue the winemaking tests on a real scale and it has been used by the Grosseto cooperative for a fermentation test on 200 hectolitres of must.
“As a winery – explains Benedetto Grechi , President of Cantina Vignaioli Morellino di Scansano – we believe in science, innovation and progress and for this reason we were very pleased to collaborate with the CRISBA research center, giving students the opportunity to test themselves with a concrete case. The hope is that thanks to this selection of yeasts made directly in our vineyards we will be able to further enhance the expression of our territory”.
“The collaboration with Cantina Vignaioli Morellino di Scansano – continues Professor Lorenzo Moncini – has allowed us to remain faithful to one of the founding principles of CRISBA: carrying out research together with students and at the service of the territory. The students have had the opportunity to try their hand at teaching based on the scientific method and aimed at offering a concrete service to one of the most important entities in the Italian wine scene. Furthermore, by testing the yeast on a real scale, we had the immediate application of our experimental work. A privilege for those who do research, often accustomed to long times between laboratory evidence and their actual use”.
The project, which also involves Unioncamere, began in September 2023 and aims to identify those ecotypic yeasts that guarantee great technological reliability without, however, homologating the characteristics and sensory originality of the wine produced .
