Antimicrobial Compounds in Wine

Ipsum vinum est potestas et possession (wine itself is power and possession). Wine is a complex system that triggers multisensory cognitive stimuli. Wine and its consumption are thoroughly intertwined with the development of human society. The beverage was appreciated in many ancient mythologies and plays an essential part in Christianity and rituals to this day. Wine has been said to enlighten and inspire artists and has even been prohibited by law and some religions, but has nevertheless played a role in human civilizations since the beginning. Winemaking is also a prospering and economically important industry and a longtime symbol of status and luxury. In winemaking, the formation of the final product is influenced by several factors that contribute to the chemical and sensory complexity often associated with quality vintages. Factors such as terroir, climatic conditions, variety of the grape, all aspects of the winemaking process to the smallest details, including metabolic processes carried out by yeast and malolactic bacteria, and the conditions for the maturation and storage of the final product, up to, and even beyond the point of deciding to open the bottle and enjoy the wine. In conjunction with the empiric and scientific process of winemaking, different molecules with antibacterial activity can be identified in wine during the production process, and several of them are clearly present in the final product. Some of these antibacterial components are phytochemicals, such as flavonoids and phenolic compounds, that may be delivered to the final product (wine) as a part of the grape, a variety of potential additive compounds, or from the oak barrels or clay amphoras used during the maturation process. Others are produced by yeasts and malolactic bacteria and play a role not only in the moderation of the fermentation process but contributing to the microbiological safety and beneficial properties spectra of the final product. Lactic acid bacteria, responsible for conducting malolactic fermentation, contribute to the final balance of the wine but are also directly involved in the production of different compounds exhibiting antibacterial activity. Some examples of these compounds include bacteriocins (antibacterial peptides), diacetyl, organic acids, reuterin, hydrogen peroxide, and carbon dioxide. Major aspects of these different beneficial metabolites are the subject of discussion in this review with the aim of highlighting their beneficial functions.