Angela Pietrafesa

Name and Surname: Angela Pietrafesa

Cycle: XXXIII - Curriculum: Food Sciences and Engineering

Tutor: Prof.ssa Angela Capece

Co-tutor: Prof.ssa Patrizia Romano

Title of the project

Non-Saccharomyces yeasts for reduction of ethanol content in wine

Aims of the project

The PhD project aims to optimize the fermentation process through the use of non-conventional yeasts, belonging to different non-Saccharomyces species, such as Debaryomyces polymorphus, Hanseniaspora uvarum, Starmerella bacillaris and Zygosaccharomyces bailii. The activity will be addressed to the identification of the most suitable non-Saccharomyces strains for use in mixed fermentation with S. cerevisiae, for production of wine with reduced alcohol content and increased aromatic complexity. The selected strain can be proposed as a starter to the cellars interested in developing new strategies for reduction of alcohol content in wines, which is a very sensitive problem for winemaking industry.

Publications

Pietrafesa, A., Capece, A., Pietrafesa, R., Bely, M., & Romano, P. (2020). Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Hanseniaspora uvarum mixed starter cultures: Influence of microbial/physical interactions on wine characteristics. Yeast, 37, 609–621.

Alberico, G., Pietrafesa, A., Capece, A., Pietrafesa, R., Siesto, G., & Romano, P. 2019. Exploitation of technological variability among wild non-Saccharomyces yeasts to select mixed starters for the production of low alcohol wines. BIO Web of Conferences, 15, 02031.

Capece A., Romaniello R., Pietrafesa A., Siesto G., Pietrafesa R., Zambuto M., Romano R. 2018. Use of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii in co-fermentations with S. cerevisiae for the production of craft beers with potential healthy value-added. International Journal of Food Microbiology 284: 22–30.

E-mail: angela.pietrafesa@unibas.it