Winemaking: Where age-old traditions blend with modern biosolutions

Winemaking has always balanced tradition and innovation, weathering existential threats throughout history. Today, shifting climates drive biological changes in vineyards, challenging age-old practices.

This audio article is part of The Biosolutions Bulletin. For the text version of this article and to get The Biosolutions Bulletin delivered monthly directly to your inbox, please go to: https://www.novonesis.com/en/biosolutions-bulletin

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Winemaking: Where age-old traditions blend with modern biosolutions

Winemaking has always balanced tradition and innovation, weathering existential threats throughout history. Today, shifting climates drive biological changes in vineyards, challenging age-old practices. Biological problems demand biological solutions, and winemakers are turning to biosolutions—yeasts, bacteria, and enzymes—to navigate this new reality. 

In this episode of the Biosolutions Bulletin by Novonesis you will learn how these natural allies are transformative partners, helping winemakers adapt while preserving the soul of their craft, resulting in a future where wine’s legacy thrives, even amid unprecedented challenges. 

In the mid-19th century, European vineyards were under siege. A fungal disease called powdery mildew had swept across the continent in the 1850s, coating grapevines in a white, dusty film that stunted growth and ruined harvests1. Hoping to find resistant stock, growers imported cuttings of American grapevines. But along with those cuttings came an uninvited stowaway: a tiny root-feeding insect known as phylloxera. 

The mystery was finally solved in 1868, when French botanist Jules-Émile Planchon discovered phylloxera clinging to the roots of dying grapevines2. But identifying the culprit was only the beginning — the cure remained elusive. 

The breakthrough came through an unlikely partnership. Planchon, working with American entomologist Charles V. Riley, realized that while phylloxera was common in North America, native American grapevines had evolved resistance. The solution was radical but effective: grafting French grapevine stems onto American roots. These hybrid plants carried the heritage of French grapes above ground while drawing resilience from American roots below. 

At first, traditionalists resisted, fearing that “foreign” roots would corrupt the taste of their wines. But as vineyard after vineyard collapsed, grafting became the only way forward. It worked — French viticulture (the science, art, and practice of growing and cultivating grapevines) survived, and the method spread across the world.  

History shows that in times of existential threat, innovation rises to meet the challenge. In the 19th century, phylloxera nearly wiped out winemaking until rootstock grafting saved the vineyards. In the 21st century, the threat is climate change. How it is reshaping grapes and destabilizing winemaking traditions is something we explored in the first part of this article ((hyperlink to How climate change is unraveling winemaking).  

To confront the threat of climate change, winemakers now have an assortment of innovative solutions known as biosolutions. These include yeasts, bacteria, and enzymes that help them adapt to changing realities without compromising wine quality. At the same time, biosolutions support sustainability by enabling winemakers to extract more from their grapes while using fewer resources.  

Headhunting the best candidates from nature 

Imagine you are a headhunter tasked with filling the CFO position for a global company. There are countless professionals with finance experience, but would you recommend them all?   

Of course not! You would carefully evaluate their resumes, weigh their unique strengths, and select only the few who can reliably perform under pressure.  

If you are a great headhunter, companies come to trust you to find the right candidates for critical roles. Over the years, you build a strong pool of talent, each with unique expertise. Once established, you become the go-to headhunter to match the right person with the right job. 

Winemaking and biosolutions work much the same way.  

The world is full of yeasts and bacteria — they exist on grape skins, in the soil, in the air, and in wineries themselves. Winemakers have relied on them for centuries to carry out fermentation and unlock the flavors and characteristics that define wine. However, as climate change creates challenging conditions, not all of them are equally suited for the demands of modern winemaking. Some strains falter in highly acidic musts. Others collapse when alcohol levels rise too high — outcomes that are becoming more common as grapes ripen faster and sweeter in a warming climate. 

Yet among this vast diversity are rare strains of yeast and bacteria whose “resumes” stand out: resilient, reliable, and able to perform consistently even under stress. These yeasts and bacteria evolved over millions of years in different environments, acquiring traits that now make them the most dependable candidates for delivering results in high-stress conditions. 

Over decades, scientists have been headhunting the best candidates from nature: collecting, cataloguing, and testing thousands of these natural variants from around the world. Out of this immense pool, only a handful are selected for their remarkable performance — the “top recruits” for winemaking. Optimized and quality assured, these are the biosolutions that step in when climate change disrupts the process. 

Biosolutions, however, are not limited to yeasts and bacteria. They also include enzymes. Wondering what enzymes are? For a deep dive, you can read “Enzymes: Catalysts of change, masters of transformation”, an article from one of our previous editions.  

In short: enzymes are natural proteins produced by all living organisms, valued for their precision. They carry out essential tasks of life, like breaking down food during digestion in humans, and enabling photosynthesis in plants, the process where sunlight is converted into energy to fuel growth and development. 

The yeasts and bacteria that drive winemaking also rely on enzymes to perform their work, like breaking down grape skins to release the juice and aromas, or converting sugar in the grape juice into alcohol during fermentation. Winemakers can harness this precision directly by adding targeted enzymes to guide or improve specific steps of winemaking instead of relying solely on a specialized yeast or bacteria.  

Let us now look at each of the three types of biosolutions in winemaking — yeasts, bacteria, and enzymes — and see how they help address the impacts of climate change on grapes. 

Yeasts, the fermentation specialists 

Yeasts are the backbone of winemaking. They are the workforce that transforms grape sugars into alcohol. Without them, there would be no fermentation, no wine, just sweet grape juice. But just as not every candidate in a talent pool is suited for a high-pressure role, not all yeasts perform equally well when conditions get rough. 

This is where carefully selected yeasts — the “star recruits” of biosolutions — step in. Identified from thousands of natural variants, these strains bring resilience, precision, and reliability to the table. They not only ensure that fermentation finishes smoothly but also contribute qualities like acidity, aroma, or body, depending on what the wine needs. In an era where climate change makes grape harvests unpredictable, these yeasts provide the consistency that winemakers can count on: 

Yeasts that Adapt to Climate Challenges

1. Saccharomyces cerevisiae (high-alcohol tolerant):
Not all S. cerevisiae strains are equal. Selecting strains that tolerate higher alcohol than 14–15% ensures fermentation continues, preserving wine quality.

2. Lachancea thermotolerans:
Hot seasons produce grapes high in sugar but low in acidity, risking heavy, flat wines. L. thermotolerans converts some sugar into lactic acid (like yogurt), restoring freshness, reducing alcohol slightly, and maintaining balance. 

Yeasts Supporting Sustainability

1. Pichia kluyveri3:
Added before fermentation, it quickly colonizes must, outcompeting unwanted microbes. This stabilizes grapes, prevents premature fermentation, and reduces spoilage—especially valuable when grapes travel long distances.

2. Torulaspora delbrueckii4:
Competes with harmful microbes and slightly slows fermentation, mimicking complex “wild” fermentations. It adds aroma, softens the palate, and reduces the need for sulfites, supporting more sustainable wines.

 Yeasts that Make Winemaking More Efficient

Introducing yeast can be risky: dried yeast requires rehydration, and errors can kill cells or stall fermentation, especially as climate change produces unpredictable musts.

Direct-inoculation yeasts eliminate this risk. Unlike traditional dried yeast, they do not need to be rehydrated or acclimatized before use. Winemakers can add them straight into the must, where they start fermenting immediately – reducing risk, saving time, and ensuring a strong, reliable fermentation even under difficult conditions. 

Bacteria, the silent stabilizers 

Bacteria are just as important as yeast in winemaking. Their moment to shine comes during malolactic fermentation (MLF), which happens after the yeast have finished turning sugar into alcohol (alcoholic fermentation).

So, what is MLF? Well, grapes naturally contain two main acids: tartaric acid (grape acid) and malic acid (apple acid), which is sharp and tart. After the alcoholic fermentation, the presence of too much malic acid can make wines taste harsh or unbalanced. So, in MLF, a special bacterium is added, typically Oenococcus oeni, which transforms the malic acid into lactic acid, which in turn makes wine creamier and gives it mouthfeel.

 MLF has historically been a slow and uncertain step. Winemakers once had to prepare “build-up” cultures and carefully manage conditions, which tied up tanks and sometimes failed. Direct-inoculation bacterial cultures have changed this. Like their yeast counterparts, they can be added straight into the wine, resulting in 2-3 weeks’ shorter fermentation time, cutting down on energy use for temperature control and freeing tanks up sooner. This not only saves cost but also lower the winery’s environmental footprint. In addition, bacteria also help winemakers make their wine less dependent on sulfites by naturally suppressing the growth of spoilage organisms.

Even so, climate change complicates this process. In higher temperatures grapes tend to have less malic acid content5, increasing the pH levels, which creates an environment perfect for unwanted microbes to thrive. Left unchecked, these microbes can create off-flavors and spoil the wine. This is where another set of carefully selected bacterial biosolutions step in — strains chosen for their reliability, safety, and ability to perform under stress:

Bacteria that adapt to climate challenges 

Oenococcus oeni (high-alcohol tolerant strains) – Some select variants can thrive at alcohol levels up to 16% and high pH levels6, completing malolactic fermentation without getting stuck (i.e., without the bacteria stopping prematurely and leaving the wine harsh or unstable). This ensures wines are stable and smooth, even when the harvest delivers grapes outside the historical norm. 

Lactobacillus plantarum – Strains of this bacterium act quickly during malolactic fermentation, establishing themselves early and stabilizing the wine before unwanted microbes can take over. But not only that: Some L. plantarum strains can carry out MLF without producing biogenic amines7 — natural compounds like histamine and tyramine that can cause headaches or other unwanted effects — making the wine safer and easier to enjoy.  

Enzymes, the precision tools 

 If yeasts are the workforce and bacteria stabilizers, enzymes are the precision tools of winemaking. They do not ferment or stabilize; instead, they help winemakers unlock more from the grapes themselves.  

Grapes are full of juice and natural compounds that often remain trapped within their skins or bound in forms that yeast alone cannot access. While microbes naturally produce some enzymes during fermentation, modern winemaking also uses carefully selected enzymes added directly to the grapes or must. Each one has a highly specific role — like a key fitting a single lock — and this precision makes them invaluable.  

From improving juice yield to enhancing color and aroma, enzymes not only give winemakers more control but also help them adapt to the pressures of climate change: 

Extraction enzymes (pectinases): Like all fruits, grapes contain pectin — the same compound that makes jams thicken and gives fruits their fleshy texture. Pectin makes it harder to release juice from grapes. Extraction enzymes, known as pectinases, break down these natural barriers, releasing more juice and unlocking aroma compounds hidden in the skins. These enzymes also help cut through the thick skins of grapes, one of the impacts extreme weather conditions can have on the fruits.  
 
In practice, this means winemakers can extract up to 5 percent8 more juice from the same grapes, while cutting the cloudiness (turbidity) by more than half. These enzymes also help minimize unwanted “green” or herbaceous flavors that sometimes appear when grapes are stressed by heat or uneven ripening. The outcome is simple: more wine, brighter aromas, and cleaner flavors — all with fewer resources. 

Maceration enzymes: When producing white and rosé wines, maceration — the brief period when grape skins are in contact with the juice — is one of the most delicate steps. The aim is to draw out flavor, aroma, and color without damaging the skins. Maceration enzymes make this process more precise and efficient. By breaking down cell walls in the skins, they release more aroma compounds, giving wines a stronger expression of their grape variety. They also speed up juice release by as much as 30 percent9, producing more free-run juice with less pressure. Lower pressure means less damage to the skins, higher press capacity, and cleaner juice with lower turbidity. In short, maceration enzymes help winemakers capture more aroma, extract more usable juice, and protect grape quality — an advantage that matters even more in hotter or unpredictable seasons.

In short, enzymes allow wineries to do more with what they have, while reducing waste, energy use, and environmental impact.   

Let's take a moment for some fun facts

1. Red wine color comes from the skin, not juice10 

Here’s a surprise: Most grape juice is actually clear, whether the grape is green or red/black. The red in red wines comes from the grape skins. During fermentation, pigments called anthocyanins seep from the skins into the juice, giving wine its color. There are various white wines that are made from red grapes because as long as the juice is separated quickly from the skins, the result remains white. Some popular examples include Champagne made from grapes like Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, and Blanco de Tempranillo made from the Tempranillo grapes. 

2. From sour wine to kitchen staple11 

The word “vinegar” comes from the French vinaigre, meaning “sour wine” — and that’s exactly how it was discovered. Leave wine exposed to air, and acetic acid bacteria transform it into vinegar. Far from waste, ancient Babylonians were using vinegar as early as 3000 BC for food and preservation, with traces even found in Egyptian urns. By the Renaissance, France had an entire industry producing flavored vinegars with herbs and fruits. And in 1864, Louis Pasteur finally explained the science behind: wine + oxygen + the right microbes = vinegar. 

3. World’s oldest wine is 2,000 years old12 

Move over, vintage Bordeaux, the oldest liquid wine ever found was discovered in a Roman tomb in Carmona, Spain. Archaeologists opened a 2,000-year-old glass urn and were stunned to find liquid still sloshing inside. Tests confirmed it was once white wine, preserved by the sealed urn and lead casing. This makes it the world’s oldest wine still in liquid form — about 300 years older than the previous record-holder, a Roman wine unearthed in Speyer, Germany, back in 1867! And no, if you are wondering, you cannot taste this wine! It was never meant for consumption. At the bottom of the glass vessel, archaeologists found cremated bone fragments and a gold ring, confirming the urn was part of a burial ritual.

Securing the future of wine

As the wine industry is facing unprecedented pressure from climate change, shifting grape chemistry, and unpredictable harvests, biosolutions are quietly reshaping winemaking from the inside out. By selecting the right yeasts, bacteria, and enzymes, winemakers can meet these challenges, protect quality, and get more from every grape — all while using fewer resources and reducing waste. These natural tools aren’t just helping wines reach their full potential; they’re ensuring that centuries-old traditions and modern science work together, keeping the art of winemaking more resilient, sustainable, and ready for whatever the next harvest brings. 

References:  

1. Major Outbreaks in the Nineteenth Century Shaped Grape Phylloxera Contemporary Genetic Structure in Europe. 
   https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-54122-0  
    
    
2. Jules-Émile Planchon. https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/jules-emile-planchon/  
    
    
3. Viniflora® Frootzen™
   https://www.gusmerenterprises.com/catalog/wine/wine-fermentation/novonesis/freeze-dried-frootzen/  
    
    
4. Viniflora® Prelude™
   https://www.gusmerenterprises.com/catalog/wine/wine-fermentation/novonesis-yeast/prelude/  
    
    
5. Climate change associated effects on grape and wine quality and production
   https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0963996910001535  
    
    
6. Viniflora™ malolactic bacteria
   https://nz.engage.novozymes.com/l/701243/2025-04-02/24rlgj/701243/1743605589sHNZeGY5/Viniflora_malolactic_bacteria_onepager_EN_v3.pdf  
    
    
7. Viniflora® NoVA™
   https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/747494ab/files/uploaded/12-CHR-mlf%20Viniflora%20NoVA%20TDS.pdf  
    
    
8. VinoCrush® Classic
   https://www.novonesis.com/en/biosolutions/food-and-beverages/beverages/wine/extraction/vinocrush-classic  
    
    
9. Vinozym® FCE G
   https://www.novonesis.com/en/biosolutions/food-and-beverages/beverages/wine/maceration/vinozym-fce-g 
    
    
10. A review of the current knowledge of red wine colour. https://oeno-one.eu/article/view/1604  
     
     
11. The history of vinegar and of its acetification systems https://www.unige.ch/sphn/Publications/ArchivesSciences/AdS%202004-2015/AdS%202009%20Vol%2062%20Fasc%202/147-160_05_Bourgeois_62_2.pdf  
     
     
12. The Oldest-Wine-in-the-World Title Goes to a 2,000-Year-Old White Found in Southwestern Spain https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-oldest-wine-in-the-world-title-goes-to-a-2-000-year-old-white-found-in/