Yeast Propagation Systems
We’ve already discussed how important yeast is in winemaking—but did you know it’s just as important that yeast is propagated correctly? Proper propagation improves the viability and vitality of your inoculum and helps reduce production costs for alcoholic beverages—delivering higher profitability and greater efficiency in your production processes.
What is yeast?
Yeast is a single-celled fungus naturally present on grapes. It feeds on sugars and hydrogen-containing compounds. It does this through enzymes that are part of its metabolism—enzymes that ferment sugars and convert them into carbon dioxide and alcohol.
Yeast is also known as a fermenting agent and is used with cereals and fruits (such as grapes) to produce alcoholic beverages thanks to its ability to transform compounds during fermentation.
In winemaking, yeasts are responsible for fermenting must sugars and producing ethanol.
How do you propagate yeast?
Yeast propagates through budding, a process that is performed in an automated and controlled way inside LEV2050 yeast-propagation bioreactors installed at the winery.
During alcoholic fermentation, yeasts generate toxic metabolites. For that reason, we recommend using our DETOXI-LEV to achieve strong fermentation kinetics through to completion—even in challenging wines.
What do we offer?
LEV2050 provides different bioreactors to support yeast propagation:
- LEV2050 BR-LEV-LC reactors
- LEV2050 BR-CV reactors (for sparkling wine tirage)
In terms of yeasts, we recommend FLO-1, a flocculant liquid yeast ideal for propagation and subsequent bâtonnage in bioreactors. This enables a lysate with balanced protein and polysaccharide contributions for wine finishing.
Sesma Brewing has already trusted our BR-LEV-LC for artisan beer production and has verified first-hand its effectiveness as a yeast propagation system. As a result, they achieved higher beer quality, eliminated product contamination, and improved production profitability.
Ready to increase your winery performance?
Learn about all the services we offer and upgrade your production to achieve higher-quality wines and beers.