Chr. Hansen Launches Premium Yeast Product for Wine Making

With the innovative PRELUDE from Chr. Hansen winemakers get the benefit of wild alcoholic fermentations without the risk of losing control of the process.

27 Aug 2009 --- Demanding winemakers, producing white, blush or red wines (still or sparkling) and looking for additional complexity being closer to wild ferments are in for a pleasant surprise with Chr. Hansen’s brand new yeast product.

“PRELUDE is an extremely innovative product as this is the first time a pure non-Saccharomyces specie is proposed to winemakers as an oenological product. It is a pure strain of Torulaspora delbrueckii and a premium yeast product for wine making because it allows for some of the advantages from wild alcoholic fermentation: mouth feel, complexity and specific flavors in the wine,” explains Laurent Hubert, Marketing Director, Chr. Hansen.

Occurs naturally in wild ferments

‘‘Torulaspora delbrueckii is a wine yeast that naturally occurs in wild ferments, contributing to the special characters these wines have, and Chr. Hansen was the first company in the world to develop this yeast for commercial use. Now, winemakers have the flexibility of using the single strain,’’ explains Dr. Hentie Swiegers, Head of Department for Wine Innovation, who developed the product with his team in Denmark and tested it in wine regions across the world.

Differentiate wines and create additional value

The strain behind PRELUDE has been selected among many others for the strong improvement of the ‘wine value’ it has proven to provide during wine tastings.

‘We have mainly targeted the wine segment that is growing now during the economic downturn: bottles of wine at a price between 4.5 € and 14 € (or 7 US$ and 20 US$). Wines produced with PRELUDE all received higher tasting notes and were rated at higher prices (consumer perception). This is exactly what wineries and winemakers are looking for now: differentiation, value creation and return on investment… PRELUDE has a bright future!” adds Hubert.

Global trend for natural products

The new product is launched now in a number of European countries where customers have already expressed a strong interest in the concept: Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and in the USA.

For the vintage 2010 it will launch in Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

“There is a global trend for natural products and closer-to-nature production processes. PRELUDE is exactly what demanding winemakers are asking for: a way to achieve alcoholic fermentation with the benefits of spontaneous fermentation but none of the risks. Conventional and organic winemakers around the world are already huge fans of our non-Saccharomyces concept … we bet they will love this one,” says Hubert.

To wine makers all over the world have two parameters are absolutely essential:

-quality (both taste and safety)
-and differentiation

“Through the expertise we offer to winemakers we have at hand an innovative and growing ‘natural tool box’ made of yeast and bacteria catering to the two key success factors at the same time,” concludes Laurent Hubert.

The new PRELUDE is the 5th yeast product in Chr. Hansen’s ‘Non-Saccharomyces’ range of yeasts for winemaking.