Cold pasteurisation of red wines with high hydrostatic pressure to control Dekkera/Brettanomyces: effect on both aromatic and chromatic quality of wine

This paper reports the effect of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) on wines contaminated with Dekkera/Brettanomyces populations of 104 and 106 cfu mL−1 growing at either pH 3.2 or 3.6 (both normal pHs for red wine) and at room temperature (25 °C). HHP (100 MPa for 24 h) was highly effective at controlling the growth of all combinations of starting yeast population and pH, yet caused scant modification of thermosensitive wine molecules such as pigments and volatile compounds (molecules that greatly influence wine quality). The present results support the potential use of HHP as a means of cold-pasteurising wines to control Dekkera/Brettanomyces.