The Kinetics of Yeast Growth and Sugar Utilization in Tirage: The Influence of Different Methods of Starter Culture Preparation and Inoculation Levels

Yeast starter culture prepared aerobically in grape juice and anaerobically and aerobically in wine medium were used to inoculate tirage at cell densities ranging from 0.8 to 6 x 106 viable yeast per mL; lag phase, growth rate, and fermentation time were measured. Inoculum level determined fermentation time for yeast growth in tirage. The properties of the starter culture influenced growth kinetics; however, the time for fermentation was not significantly affected above an inoculation level of 4 x 106 viable yeast per mL, independent of the method of starter culture preparation.