Vanille-Charlotte Achaintre,* Céline Sparrow and Christophe Morge
*Groupe Sofralab, 409 montée de la serve, 38290, France 
(vcachaintre@sofralab.com)

Reducing sulfite additions in enology has been a core technical concern for several years. To date, there is no existing product or process that alone is technically capable of fully replacing SO2. Chitosan, a molecule with well-known anti-microbial properties, has been particularly interesting. However, there were no enological or scientific studies on the impact of chitosan on native grape microorganisms. Sofralab Group has conducted several trials on two vintages to identify the bacteria and yeasts impacted by a chitosan-based treatment on musts, thanks to targeted metagenomics. To do so, a purification protocol was specifically developed by the R&D team of the company. Using Oenovegan Micro FA, a product based on chitosan, makes it possible to secure alcoholic fermentations, while guaranteeing biocontrol of spoilage microorganisms and preserving the organoleptic qualities of musts and wines. Chitosan has greater impact on diversity and abundance of microorganisms than sulfites and a much faster efficacy, making it a perfect substitute or complement to sulfites for antimicrobial activity in winemaking.

Funding Support: Groupe Sofralab and Université de Poitiers